Weldon47
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
I apologize as I haven't posted much recently due to time restraints (having too much work to do and too little time!).
Thought I would show a couple of bracelet projects from the last of '08.
The first was inspired by a trip our family took last fall to an area of Texas called "Lost Maples Natural Area" It is a state park in central Texas where situated in a beautiful canyon, lives a "lost" collection of big tooth maple trees. During the fall they can be spectacular and were so this past November when we got a chance to visit. I came away inspired by the beauty so - here is the result.
All bracelets shown are made in 14 gauge sterling silver. I buy 6x12 sheets and cut off the width desired.
Though not strictly "engraved" per se, this 7/8 wide cuff definitely has engraving in its makeup! I hand engraved a maple leaf (negative or, backward) on the end of a 3/8 steel rod, hardened it and used that as a die to stamp the design into the several colors of gold and silver. A jewelers saw was used to cut out each leaf which was subsequently hard soldered to the bracelet. The bracelet itself was hand textured prior to the application of the leaves and then bent afterward using a GRS former, with a little help from a wood block and a rawhide mallet. When bending bracelets I always use some padding in the device to protect the bracelet & this is even more crucial on bracelets with overlays such as this one. Bending the bracelet beforehand was out for me since I torch solder and keeping all the leaves (12, one for each month!) in place on a compound curve while trying to solder would have driven me nuts (actually, not much of a trip but hey!) Once all the leaves were securely soldered on and the bracelet bent, I retouched the leaves by hand as necessary. Ditto for the heart shaped pendant.
The second bracelet is a silver Quail (the quail is a casting from one of my originals carved first in wax & then cast and reproduced via the lost wax process) & is overlayed onto a 3/4 wide sterling cuff engraved in American style scroll. I use a 120 for the majority of my cutting along with various onglettes and flats for background removal, shading was cut with a modified 18-6 straight liner. The background has been moderately relieved and then matted using a punch. The floral elements or buds between the big scrolls were sculpted (using punches or chislets) and then the edges were masked off and the middle section was gingerly (and I do mean gingerly) and carefully glass beaded for texture. Too much air pressure or blasting for too long a time or too close on soft material like silver will remove detail pronto so if you try this at home, be careful! Unlike the Lost Maples bracelet, this one was bent first and then the overlay added.
The third bracelet is a 1" wide piece reminiscent of the work of Cuno Helfricht whose style is most commonly associated with Colt Single Action factory engraving from the early part of the 20th century. Sunburst designs, chip-edge borders encompassing bold scroll with a punch dot background were Mr. Helfricht's
hallmark.
The past pics are of a design in the cutting stage and then after that segment has been completed. A graceful (hopefully anyway) pattern combining sculpted tendrils and some English scroll. The sculpted flowers will have their gold centers inlayed after the piece is formed and bent.
Just threw those in for fun!
Thanks for looking & hope you enjoy!
Hope you don't mind if I am a little slow answering questions, not so much time available at the moment.
Weldon
I have given some serious thought to putting together a bracelet how-to pamphlet detailing step-by-step how I do it. If there is enough interest I will proceed.
If you would like to be notified, please PM me (no emails) and I will let you know when (& IF) one becomes available!
Thanks
I added several new pics: These are work of a little different nature and show what can happen when you are left alone, unsupervised, locked in the shop without food or water for an extended period of time! Some silver with gold, some silver & some in copper, some in copper/silver bimetal. The engraved "look" is called "Engraffiti", a name I trademarked last year. The idea is a blend of the words engraving and graffiti.
Hope you enjoy
Thought I would show a couple of bracelet projects from the last of '08.
The first was inspired by a trip our family took last fall to an area of Texas called "Lost Maples Natural Area" It is a state park in central Texas where situated in a beautiful canyon, lives a "lost" collection of big tooth maple trees. During the fall they can be spectacular and were so this past November when we got a chance to visit. I came away inspired by the beauty so - here is the result.
All bracelets shown are made in 14 gauge sterling silver. I buy 6x12 sheets and cut off the width desired.
Though not strictly "engraved" per se, this 7/8 wide cuff definitely has engraving in its makeup! I hand engraved a maple leaf (negative or, backward) on the end of a 3/8 steel rod, hardened it and used that as a die to stamp the design into the several colors of gold and silver. A jewelers saw was used to cut out each leaf which was subsequently hard soldered to the bracelet. The bracelet itself was hand textured prior to the application of the leaves and then bent afterward using a GRS former, with a little help from a wood block and a rawhide mallet. When bending bracelets I always use some padding in the device to protect the bracelet & this is even more crucial on bracelets with overlays such as this one. Bending the bracelet beforehand was out for me since I torch solder and keeping all the leaves (12, one for each month!) in place on a compound curve while trying to solder would have driven me nuts (actually, not much of a trip but hey!) Once all the leaves were securely soldered on and the bracelet bent, I retouched the leaves by hand as necessary. Ditto for the heart shaped pendant.
The second bracelet is a silver Quail (the quail is a casting from one of my originals carved first in wax & then cast and reproduced via the lost wax process) & is overlayed onto a 3/4 wide sterling cuff engraved in American style scroll. I use a 120 for the majority of my cutting along with various onglettes and flats for background removal, shading was cut with a modified 18-6 straight liner. The background has been moderately relieved and then matted using a punch. The floral elements or buds between the big scrolls were sculpted (using punches or chislets) and then the edges were masked off and the middle section was gingerly (and I do mean gingerly) and carefully glass beaded for texture. Too much air pressure or blasting for too long a time or too close on soft material like silver will remove detail pronto so if you try this at home, be careful! Unlike the Lost Maples bracelet, this one was bent first and then the overlay added.
The third bracelet is a 1" wide piece reminiscent of the work of Cuno Helfricht whose style is most commonly associated with Colt Single Action factory engraving from the early part of the 20th century. Sunburst designs, chip-edge borders encompassing bold scroll with a punch dot background were Mr. Helfricht's
hallmark.
The past pics are of a design in the cutting stage and then after that segment has been completed. A graceful (hopefully anyway) pattern combining sculpted tendrils and some English scroll. The sculpted flowers will have their gold centers inlayed after the piece is formed and bent.
Just threw those in for fun!
Thanks for looking & hope you enjoy!
Hope you don't mind if I am a little slow answering questions, not so much time available at the moment.
Weldon
I have given some serious thought to putting together a bracelet how-to pamphlet detailing step-by-step how I do it. If there is enough interest I will proceed.
If you would like to be notified, please PM me (no emails) and I will let you know when (& IF) one becomes available!
Thanks
I added several new pics: These are work of a little different nature and show what can happen when you are left alone, unsupervised, locked in the shop without food or water for an extended period of time! Some silver with gold, some silver & some in copper, some in copper/silver bimetal. The engraved "look" is called "Engraffiti", a name I trademarked last year. The idea is a blend of the words engraving and graffiti.
Hope you enjoy
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