Pendant silver and gold

rod

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I am getting a bit better with this technique, and trying this time for some finer detail by interpreting a very nice 19th century line drawing with a gilded flare cut approach.

The photo is big enough to teach me some lessons on what to look for in my next attempt:

Notice that the photo shows very clearly, that I need to do just a little more top surface sanding (with 2000 grit paper). The surface is so shiny, it is hard to see the remaining gold, but it is very clear in the photo. You can also see small areas where the flare cuts were not deep enough to avoid the sand paper. It is essential to lap the silver plate truly flat, before you commence engraving, and I mean flat to .001 inches. This way, the nickel and gold gilding will be sanded off in a few moments, slightly non flat plates will need too much sanding and your flare cuts will be partly eliminated.

Most flare cuts are done with a bright inward inclining cut on the left, then another on the right to make a 'mountain ridge' with a sharp top, but actually the mountain ridge is all below the surface. Do not cut this so that the sharp top edge is exactly level with the top surface, otherwise your sanding will start to remove the ridge top. Instead.... and this is important.... overdo the lean and width of the bright cuts on each side, so they actually overlap. This ensures that the resulting ridge top is safely below the surface level, and so is safe from sanding which would otherwise remove the gilding on the ridge top. Similarly, with those scooped leaf cuts done with a round graver, make sure they overlap into the bounding bright flat cuts, then all the elements are low to the surface and the gilding will remain untouched.

Now, a word on the preparation of the silver oval:

To flatten your oval plate, a good approach is to put a dob of modeling clay on the back side, as a hand hold, and lap it down on a 600 grit, 5 inch diamond disc lap, as used to sharpen your gravers. As you do this, have a smooth paint brush in contact with the wheel to sweep granules of silver clear. This prevents scratches. See some photos below showing the procedure. I then move to various grades of sand paper, down to 2000 grit, and this is done on my granite surface table. Using only sand papers on a glass surface will also do a good job. The flattening takes about ten minutes from start to finish.

The photos are not quite in order, but I think self explanatory. When you get down pretty flat, use a Magic Marker to blacken the surface, if the black can be sanded off, all over, in a few seconds, then the silver plate is very flat, and ready to engrave.

By the way, the border is made by a deep round graver cut, after which the same round graver is hand wriggled. If some of your flat graver wriggled cuts are not quite following the line you intended, have a try with this approach. Cutting the rounded ditch first, you can concentrate fully on getting an accurate line, after which the round graver wriggle is constrained to stay in the groove. But do not give up on smooth flat-graver wriggles!

Rod
 

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mrthe

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Thank you Rod for the photos of all the process,very interesting!
The tip of the modelong clay to hold the plate is very good,and this pendant is Extremely beautyfull!
 

monk

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great info, sir. what effect does the brush impart during the procedure ?
 

rod

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Thank you, colleagues,

Monk, the fine brush helps to clear away silver dust from the lap, and I also brush the sand paper, as we do not want any loose particles to scratch the finish as we go down to very fine paper.

I mentioned in a previous post, and should add here, as a dress rehearsal, before gilding, you can blacken the piece with the usual candle/oil lamp, then fine sand. If the surface is immediately cleared, yet black remains in all of the engraved cuts, then you are good to proceed to the gilding stage.

Rod
 

Mario Sarto

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Rod, looks really nice! I like the engraving and the contrast you added with the gold.

BTW you can glue the sandpaper (different ones) with spray adhesive (aerosol fixative) on several glass panes (use thicker ones). Doing this you'll have more control while sanding the plate (faster and a lot easier). I am doing this for more than twenty years and it is a great help to plan surfaces.

Best
Mario
 

rod

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Thank you, Mario!

Yes, I too have prepared sanding surfaces, which rapidly prepare surfaces to what is usually a visually flat surface, perfect for jewelry. However, on this particular application, super-flat has some benefits, and a contact adhesive layer under the sandpaper presents a layer of variable thickness, and hence a very small wavy surface. By contract, 2000 grit paper on a granite or plate glass surface is flatter.

I confess to being a bit absorbed by flatness. The first year of my apprenticeship, at age 15, was to file a steel plate flat and rectangular ( no particular dimensions were necessary). We all started with a 80mm by 60mm by 10mm thick rusty steel plate, and some badly worn files. After a year of having our results continually rejected by the foreman, most of us ended up with something as small and thin as a postage stamp..... but, my goodness, we all had a refined new appreciation of what flat and rectangular meant. In Japan, young apprentices are sometimes given a chisel to sharpen, and results are rejected for about a year. Although I did not appreciate the process at the time, I now see it was about emptying the mind. Perhaps the Scots and the Japanese do practice Zen, and that the young need to trip over their own 'speed bumps'. Fortunately this occurs when the young brain is not yet fully formed, and we can be putty in the hands of a respected mentor.

I digress ... as usual!

best

Rod
 
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Sam

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Rod, that pendant is absolutely beautiful. You are really onto something great here, and thank you for generously sharing your techniques, which I have added to the Tips Archive. I would think these beauties would be well received in high-end jewelry stores.
 

rod

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Thank you, Sam,

As well as trying to improve, maybe next experiment is to try a mix of different hues of gold. The approach would be to decide what you want to cut and gild with, say 24k. Do that, then wipe the gilded elements with a thin coat of super glue, sand down to bare surface level, the glue will be left in the engraved cuts, and will mask these from further plating in the next stages, when you would cut the next elements to be gilded with, say, rose gold, etc.

Finally, soak the piece in acetone for an hour, to dissolve the making glue, and continue till silver is revealed back on the negative space?

Since you gave me a generous push into the deep end of the swimming pool some years ago, I have come to enjoy the opportunity of rubbing shoulders with so many inspiring master artists, if not in person, then virtually on the forum, and as you know there is plenty of good hearted encouragement, so unlike my early days, learning and improving is a lot of fun. As Sir Isaac Newton once wrote, "... if modest improvements have been made, it is because we have been able to stand on the shoulders of giants..."

Rod
 
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BrianPowley

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Very nice, Rod. The application of the "flare cut" to something other than scrollwork is an idea I've not thought of.
I'll make an attempt at a flare cut pattern to those flute lip plates in the near future. Thanks for the inspiration!
 
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