How to Use a EuroPower Punch

I'm enjoying using my punch to add a variety of design elements into metal components. I introduced you to the punch in a previous post and a tutorial was requested on using it. I found the directions to be a bit difficult to follow so I thought I writing up a photo tutorial would be helpful.  

About the punch:

The  EuroPower Punch is a great tool for punching various sized holes into metal. The punch can make seven different sized holes ranging in size from 3/32" to 9/32" and can be used on metal sheet up to 16 gauge in thickness. 

First, you must decide which size punch to use. You'll need to insert the punch and its' corresponding die into the pliers. Initially I found this process to be a bit persnickety. It seemed awkward to manage and I wanted instructions with photos. Rest assured after running through the process a few times it definitely gets easier. Switching from one size punch and die to another size becomes quick and easy.

Begin with the punch lying on your bench top. Screws and depth gauge facing you.

Remove the screw (as shown in above photo) to release the pivot arm. The upper handle and the pivot arm work in tandam and individually. Sounds weird I know but it can take a little fanagling of these two pieces to get the pivot arm where you need it to be later in the process.

Screw in the die that corresponds to the punch you're using. 

Point to note:

Insert the die portion first or the punch can fall straight through and end up on your bench. 

Position the plier handle and the pivot arm so the hole for the punch is exposed. Insert the punch. You can see in the above photo how I am holding the pivot arm and the handle to allow the hole to be completely exposed.

Insert the punch into the top hole.

Fanagle the pivot arm and top handle to capture the top of the die in the slotted piece of the pivot arm. As shown above. I find it easier to have the Euro punch lying flat on my bench top, while positioning/adjusting the die to meet up with the slotted portion. 

Replace the screw that holds the pivot arm in place.

The punch and die have been successfully installed and you're ready to punch!

Insert the metal.

I find the pliers to be large to hold in my hands. The smaller size punches are easy to punch while holding the pliers in my hands but as the size of the die increases it becomes a bit more labor intensive and I need to use my bench for leverage in order to cut through the metal. As shown above.

(just an fyi...I don't usually work in my kitchen but for the purposes of taking photos and avoiding having to clean up my work bench I was.)

Removing the metal from the punch is easy. An extra lift of the upper handle and the metal will pop right off. 

Have fun creating with your punch!

Ema Kilroy is a lampworker and metalsmith living and working in Central Massachusetts. 

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Inside the Studio with Mary Harding

Inside the Studio with Mary Harding

Welcome to Inside the Studio!

Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.

Congratulations Lecia Woessner !! You have won a $25.00 gift certificate from Humblebeads.com   Please send Heather an email with your information so you can redeem your gift certificate.

Today we visit the studio of

Mary Harding

of

Mary Harding Jewelry

Signs of Spring in Northern New York

I have been enjoying the change in light and since my last Inside the Studio post.  I love Daylight Savings time because it makes my studio day longer. Thanks to our cats, I am up earlier every day and because afternoons are so nice and long, we have put our dinner hour 1 1/2 hours later.  All that extra time is just great for making art beads.  I am totally enjoying all the transformations to the earth that Spring brings like melted snow, green leaves and warmer weather.

I thought this visit I would share some transformations in my work and  show you some pieces I have been making in copper clay and sheet metal recently.  Sometimes I think I like the process of making as much as the product.  It is such a thrill to see the changes materials go through on the way to the finished bead, bracelet bar or toggle clasp.  Take these toggle bars for example.  They start off as wire on a roll

Then the wire is cut into pieces

Then they get annealed and formed into the toggle bar

And then they are patinaed with Liver of Sulfur

And  rubbed with steel wool  and tumbled and polished

And finally get paired up with a toggle clasp which also was transformed by patina.

Copper Clay also goes through many changes before the final art bead goes into the shop or into a piece of jewelry.  I find each of these stages exciting and an important part of the creative process that continues to drive me back to the studio with enthusiasm and a sense of adventure. Copper clay starts off as a lump of copper brown clay like material.  After it is conditioned and formed into a shape it needs to be dried at which point it is a light reddish brown.

When copper clay is in this stage, it is very flexible and can be cut into a more desirable shape with scissors or an exacto knife. The edges can be smoothed with a wet sponge.  Once it re-dries it is fired in a brick lined ceramic kiln (for best results) in a stainless steel container buried in a bed of coconut carbon.  During the firing process the binder that is mixed in with the copper burns off and the pure copper metal remains.

 These pieces are just out of the kiln and some of the  carbon they are fired in is still sticking to them.  Notice their dull surface.  It takes a good spin in the tumbler to get that off.

Tumbled copper clay pendants  Mary Harding

Tumbling can be the final step or a further transformation occurs when a liver of sulfur patina or a flame patina is used.  I think this is my favorite transformation.  But sadly, it is not always possible to get a good flame patina.  Below, as my last example of transformations for this post,  I have included a few pendants that were flamed with my torch with varying results.

Lilac Bloom Pendant  Flame Patina  Mary Harding

Rosemary Donut  Flame Patina  Mary Harding

Cedar Bough Donut   Flame Patina  Mary Harding

Carrots Liver of Sulfur Patina Mary Harding

Thank you for visiting with me in my studio today.  I have enjoyed showing you some of the transformations that occur in my work space.  Now comes  my question for you:

  What is one of the most rewarding/exciting transformations you find in the creating you do?  

Tell us by leaving  a comment below and you will be entered in a random draw to win one of my copper clay nature pendants from my Etsy store. 

The winner will be picked next week.   Have a great one!!

Down by the River - Free Earring Tutorial

Free Project - Art Heart Bangle

 A recent collaboration with Karen Totten of Starry Road Studio allowed me the opportunity to play with some of her copper patina heart beads. I was delighted to find that large hole bead slides easily onto heavy gauge wire that I could then design a hammered bangle around! 

Tools & Materials
12" Ruler
Wood or steel bracelet mandrel
Flush cutter for 14 gauge wire
Jewelers file in medium rasp
Round nose pliers
Flat nose pliers
Steel bench block
Ball peen hammer
1 - 11" piece of pure copper wire in 14 gauge
1 - Copper Patina Heart Bead by Starry Road Studio
1 - 10" piece of 20 gauge copper wire

Optional for patina;
Ocean Blue Patina
Indigo Patina
Paint brush
Sealer


 Step 1. Cut the 11" piece of 14 gauge pure copper wire and round the cut ends of wire with your jewelers file.

 Step 2. Push the 11" piece of wire around the bracelet mandrel, at the 2.5" diameter section. Hammer the wire into bangle shape with the ball peen hammer, turning the bangle as you hammer to create a neat and tidy circle. Expect to have an over lap of about 2" each side at the ends of the wire. Remove the 14 gauge copper from the bracelet mandrel and hammer it on the sides of the wire against your bench block. This will help flatten the bangle and create a clean line on the wearers wrist.

 Step 3. Start the bottom swirl of the bangle with the round nose pliers tip, forming the smallest loop you can at the right hand side, outwards, at end of the 14 gauge bangle. Switch to the flat nose pliers to add more swirl, clamping down on the tiny loop with the flat nose securely in your right hand while you push the wire down with your left hand, towards the side of the blades of the flat nose pliers.  Stop when your bottom swirl is approximately 1/2" across and hammer the front of your swirl with your ball peen hammer against the bracelet mandrel for texture and strength.

 Step 4. Slide the heart bead onto what is now the top wire of the bangle and push it back approximately 1.5" to give yourself room to form the top swirl embellishment. Once again, use the round nose pliers to form a tiny loop at the end of the wire, then switch to the flat nose pliers to continue the decorative swirl as described above.
Be careful with your flat nose pliers and ball peen hammer around the ceramic bead, keep it away from your metal working tools as you form your swirls and bangle. Once the swirl is to your liking, push the bead to other side of the bangle and hammer the front of it against the bracelet mandrel as you did the bottom swirl. 

 Step 5. Wire wrap the ceramic heart into its place with the 10" piece of 20 gauge copper wire. Push the heart bead up against the swirl embellishment.  Mark 3" into the 10" piece of copper wire and wrap this 3" around the 14 gauge bangle, 3 to 4 times, tightening the wire against the 14 gauge base to hold the heart bead, facing forward, tight against the swirl. Push the remianing length of the wire behind the heart bead and cross over to the opposite side to begin wrapping this side of the heart. Wrap 2 to 3 times and stop.

Step 6. Pull your wire through the bangles bottom swirl, right where the base of the swirl begins, pull tight with your flat nose pliers and press the wire down across the top of the bottom swirl. Continue wrapping, going behind the swirls, up into the top swirl and around to the back 2 to  3 more times, pressing into place with the flat nose pliers at each wrap. Keep this wrapping tight as it holds the 2 hammered swirls together.

Step 7. Wrap the 20 gauge wire around the base of the 14 gauge bangle base on the outside of the double swirl embellishment and trim away any excess wire. Press the cut end into the bangle with your flat nose pliers and file the end smooth. Reshape your bangle against the thinner area of the mandrel with light blows, careful not to break the heart bead.

Step 8. I added a patina treatment of traditional ocean blue with a paint brush and then washed over it with dye oxide indigo to add a better contrast between the blue green of the ceramic heart bead. But this is step is optional and the pure copper bangle is beautiful with antiquing and brush finishing.

Thank you for visiting us here at ABS and I hope you enjoyed your free project!
Shannon LeVart

missficklemedia.com

Copper Jewelry Components

If you've purchased silver lately, I know there was some wincing on your part at that the price.  With silver prices staying at over $30 per troy ounce, copper is looking pretty attractive as an alternative metal for jewelry designers. 

Here are a few artisan made pendants using copper.  A pendant using recycled copper by KDemARTe.  A copper metal clay pendant from Andrew Thornton.  And two etched metal pendants, the flight-inspired piece by Higher Chakra and an etched flower by FlapYourWing.

Along with using copper pendants from artists, you can alter commercial copper findings by texturing them with hammers, texturing plates or etching them yourself.  With some wire and practice you can make your own clasps, jump rings and earwires.  The copper wire sold at hardware stores is the same copper wire used for jewelry, you can pick up a spool for a few dollars.  You can find sheets of copper at Hobby Lobby in varying thickness for different projects.  You want raw copper wire, beware of copper colored wire sold at craft stores, it has a coating that prevents you from using patinas or a torch with them.

You can also easily antique copper with a beautiful dark finish using liver of sulphur or try your hand at the color patina techniques written about by our own Shannon LeVart in her ebook Color Drenched Metal.

"From Mark Nelson of Rio Grande: Patinas in general can be very sensitive and delicate. Sealing them with a lacquer such as Finish Seal lacquer #335-123 or a wax such as Renaissance wax can help prolong the life of the color and help keep the copper from turning your skin green. Applying a sealer however can alter the color of the patina (usually making it darker)."

Great Links to Check Out:

Make your own spiral wire clasp by Cindy Wimmer

Copper etching with chemicals

Copper etching chemical free

Make your own earwires by Deryn Mentock

How to patina with liver of sulphur

How to patina with Cool Tools patina gel, part 1 & 2

(Copper wire photo altered from: Wormwould via Flickr's creative commons.)

The High Cost of Silver

Today sterling silver is over $30 an ounce.

You can almost hear the tears and gnashing of teeth of jewelry designers everywhere.

If none of this really means anything, if it's the first you've heard of it, allow me to put it into perspective for you. 

These are six beads I bought a week ago, wholesale.  The largest is 20mm tall.

They cost me $27.  Wholesale.

Two years ago, the beads below, also wholesale, cost me $400.  Then, I was shaking my head and half-numb at the cost of $15/ounce.  Now?  They'd cost me double.

Many of my bracelets have four to five silver beads and a large silver toggle in the mix, so doing the math .....yikes.  What are designers who use primarily sterling silver to do?  Customers traditionally don't like change, and switching to plated silver or another metal doesn't always work.

The ten year silver price chart.  

You can keep track of the silver price at www.kitcosilver.com

Why is it so high?

Some say it started when China launched precious metal futures trading in January 2008. Some say it's due to silver riding the coat tails of gold's meteoric rise to over $1000/ounce. And of course historically, precious metals go up when the dollar is down.

So what does this mean for jewelry designers?

It means we're going to have to work even harder to create unique things. Let's take this financial hit on our supplies as an opportunity to push ourselves creatively.  We can continue to use sterling silver, but perhaps less of it.  Instead, we can start looking at beads we may never have considered before.

bracelet with ceramic, wood, and lampwork glass, sterling silver wire and toggle, linked with steel rings

In some of my jewelry, instead of using the four or five silver beads I used to, I choose a pretty toggle, ONE sterling silver bead, and make the rest of the bracelet REALLY count.  The toggle is as important as the beads I choose, and focusing on it as part of the whole, making sure it blends with the entire design, is even more important now.

bracelet made with lampwork glass, ceramic, and one large Thai silver bead

While my customers have been slow to accept copper and brass (which pains me, as there are so. very. many. gorgeous options out there), I've found that by mixing it in slowly with my usual style, it's started to be picked up more often.  If you're meeting resistance to switching metals, adding things in slowly while continuing to use your regular elements (lampwork glass, polymer clay, ceramic) might be a good way to introduce these versatile, beautiful options.

bracelet made with lampwork glass, polymer clay, and copper

Two years ago, I thought, "Surely this can't last!"  And yet here we are.  In 1980, sterling silver rose to an all-time high of $49.45 an ounce.  I certainly hope we're not headed there.  HOWEVER -- I do believe that we as designers are creative enough and resourceful enough to make the most of this.  We can not only educate our buyers as to why certain pieces now cost more, but can attract customers with our new-found creativity born of necessity.  

Bronze Metal Clay pendant, brass chain, and Czech glass

So look at this high rise in sterling silver cost as a challenge to you to work outside your comfort zone.  Look at your beads in an entirely new way.  Discover new metals.  Investigate steel, pewter, and aluminum for a silver color, and view copper and brass with a new eye.  Look at your toggles and clasps not merely as a way to close a piece, but as an integral part of your design.

How have you been dealing with the high rise in the cost of sterling silver?