Week 2 and this week it’s a different process. Last week it was about using hand tools, this week I got the rolling machine on the job for imprinting or embossing designs into silver.

My little pot of silver is starting to shrink and this weekend I started with the obligatory melting. Next comes the bashing to thin it down a bit.  I need to reduce the height of the silver nugget so that I can fit it into my rolling mill to thin it right down.

A rolling mill works to reduce the thickness of the silver gradually, this process takes a while as you need to heat, quench and clean in between. Over time I reduced the nugget from around 1cm down to 1.2mm.

Once I got it down to the required thickness it’s heated to soften and cleaned again then I rolled it through with a steel patterned sheet to imprint the pattern on.  A final heat, clean and polish and the drops are ready for use.  I have used them to make some unique earrings, both a little irregular in shape and random patterns imprinted, making them really unique.

Next week I’m getting creative so watch this space for more creative ways to use up my scraps.

 

MaxPring
Hello and a very warm welcome to Max Pring Jewellery, here you will find a range of hand crafted artisan jewellery and accessories.My passion is for metal, I use mainly Silver alongside a little Gold, Copper and Brass. The main thing I love about metal is that it's so versatile, you can melt it, hammer it, bend it, stamp it, shape it, fuse it, add stones to it and if that's not enough you can texture it, paint it, heat it, etch it and polish it too.  You will see the majority of these techniques used in my work as I do love to play!. I find my inspiration from the lush Welsh countryside<em>, </em>living near Pontypridd in the Rhondda Valleys I have beautiful views across the rolling hills and a wildlife reserve just down the road. There's also a lot of old industrial sites where nature has stepped back in, but you can find some really old interesting textures and patterns on abandoned machinery so I'm never short of inspiration.I try to provide a range of items from simple designs that I make time and time again such as my wrap bangles and scarf rings alongside personalised items and one off artisan pieces, perfect if you like a little something different or want to give a gift with meaning.

Leave your comment