Scraphappy – August 2019

I’m part of a jewellery group on Facebook (well, I’m a member of a few now), but this one is run by a wonderful Silversmith, who’s teaching style makes her hints and tips invaluable. Joanne has classes on Skillshare (get 2 free months of premium membership here  Free – did I mention that?!) and one of her recent classes is about creating a specialised tool.

The metal rod on a stick you can see at the front of this photo, is a commercial bezel pusher.

A bezel is the bit of metal that sits around a stone (usually a smooth stone) holding it in to the piece of jewellery.

It’s an essential bit of kit and usually inexpensive – I think I bought mine for under a fiver, but as you can see, it’s reasonably large – the working end of this one is about 5mm x 5mm square.

It’s perfect for pieces such as this large stone: (https://www.etsy.com/uk/DawnGillDesigns/listing/702387670)

 

 

 

 

 

Not so much for these small stones with silver detailing close to the bezel – there’s no room for the tool to fit down the edge:

(https://www.etsy.com/uk/DawnGillDesigns/listing/700439377)

 

 

What I had been using was a tiny steel rule to get into the nooks and crannies, and I was feeling restricted by the material, but now I’ve these new tools, there are many more possibilities. 😀

I used scrap from the Steptoe-Shed, some bolt cutters that Lovely-Sue gave us, prosecco corks from my hoard, some leather scraps also from my bookbinding days and my old whetstone from 1990.

Two hours (and the loss of my fingerprints) later I have these gorgeous mini tools.

Scraphappy is a challenge / regular community posting run by Kate and her chum. There are a number of us that join in – I’m a rarity, working with hard metals. I also am one of the least regular contributors!

The variety of creations made by these talented craftspeople* is astonishing, well worth nipping over to  take a look at their sites, and perhaps follow any that interest you.

Kate, Gun, Titti, Heléne, Eva, Sue, Nanette, Lynn, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Debbierose, Tracy, Jill, Claire, Jan,
Moira, Sandra, Linda, Chris, Nancy, Alys, Kerry, Claire, Jean,
Joanne, Jon, Hayley, Dawn (ME!), Gwen, Connie, Bekki, Pauline and Sue L.

*List accurate for July2019 Kate always has the main list on her site. She always inspires me to consider getting out my needles. ‘Course, I don’t – I’ve shinies to be making, but hey, one can imagine.