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Kim St. Jean creates the exploding cabochon bracelet using natural materials and metal.







Sawed Prongs Pendant


Techniques:
cold connections, piercing out prongs.
Tools:

  • Hammer
  • Anvil
  • Spring loaded punch
  • 1.8mm hole punch
  • Files
  • Fine tip marker
  • Jewelers saw with 3/0 blades
  • Liver of sulfur supplies
  • ½ clothes pin or burnisher
  • Flex shaft, drill press or other machine drill
  • Jewelers saw and v-slot bench pin

Materials:                   

  • 4x2 inch piece of 24g copper sheet
  • 1 1/2yds of 28g wire
  • Stone or found object for setting

Instructions:

  • Cut two 2” circles out of copper sheet using sheers or a jeweler’s saw.
  • Texture
  • File and smooth all the rough edges of the discs.
  • Place your object to be set in the prongs on the top disc and trace around it with a marker.
  • Punch and drill a hole in the center of the outline.
  • Insert your saw blade in the hole and set your saw frame.
  • Cut the outline of your object out by sawing a jagged ling from one side of the outline to the other. Back up the saw blade to the center of the outline and saw across in a jagged line to the opposite side.
  • Continue backing your saw blade to the center of the outline and sawing across until you have jagged lines all the way around the outline.
  • Remove your saw blade.
  • Tape both discs together with the textured side of each disc facing out.  (The untextured sides of each disc should be facing each other, you should see your texture through the tape on both pieces of metal…this is very important.)
  • Place the disc on your bench block and use a spring loaded punch to make dimples for about 20 holes around the outer edge of the pendant.  These holes should be about 1/8” from the edge and about ¼” apart.
  • Drill all of the holes in the discs.
  • Remove all of the tape.
  • Use a 1/8” drill bit locked in a bead reamer to remove all of the burrs on the backs of the discs.
  • Place both discs in a liver of sulfer solution and remove excess patina with 0000 steel wool.
  • Use your pliers to pull each prong up 90°.   Your stone should slip easily down into the pulled up prongs.  If it does not, re pierce the prongs so that they do.
  • Shape the prongs around your stone. 
  • Place the top disc on top of the bottom disc and press the top disc down on the bottom disc using the lower disc as a tension point for the object being set.
  • Thread one end of your 28g wire in a hole and loop it around 3 times, move to the next hole and continue all the way around the pendant.
  • Tie the wire off by looping under the last three wires.  Cut off any remaining wire.
  • Use the clothes pin and burnisher to fold the prongs over the stone.

Original design and instructions by Kim St.Jean©2010
For more information visit www.studiostjean.com .

Kim St. Jean

Copyright © 2012 Beads Baubles & Jewels. All Rights Reserved.