The Metal Team at Artisan Whimsy is hosting its first challenge having to do with prong settings. Staci Smith prepared an excellent tutorial, and I can attest to the fact that it is excellent because I was able to follow it. If you are so inclined you can find the tutorial
HERE.
If you love beading and are not yet a member of Artisan Whimsy you really need to check it out. It is a great all-inclusive place to find tutorials, interesting blog articles, and great camaradarie from like-minded folks.
Each month there is something different going on in the form of a challenge for anyone that wants to participate. I love doing challenges so I try to participate in every one of them. Anyway, this challenge was about prong settings. I've never done anything like that. I had never even used a rivet before this challenge, although I had purchased and tucked away a nice little riveting kit from
Rings and Things. I am so good at buying stuff, but not so good at actually using it. I had also purchased a small roll of long skinny silver solder about three years ago to solder sterling silver rings together. I have cabs - I only had one or two ceramic ones but I figured I could make them work. And, I have a torch (which I actually use) Knowing that I had these items, I figured I could do this challenge. WRONG!
I want to start off on a positive note, so I am going to
start with a picture of my finished project. It is a brooch, although I
still need to get a suitable pin back and attach to the back. I may
have something in my stash, but haven't come across them yet.
My first task was to find a cab that I could use as my focal of the
project. The cabs I had were not flat enough and I was afraid that
they would break too easily if I tried pushing the prongs down like the
tutorial instructed. I had to find something that I could use as a
cab. I turned to my collection of antique buttons. I found one that I
thought was pretty enough, but it is a Paris Back and I did not want to
destroy (or do anything to damage) the button. If you collect buttons,
you know that is significant. This button is circa 1880 and in excellent
condition.
That meant I had to cut a hole in the center of the metal backing to allow for the back of the button since the back is not flat. Okay, no problem. So far so good. So after I cut and textured my copper circle, I set about trying to solder the rivets into the holes I had drilled. It turns out that the silver solder that I had wouldn't work on the copper - at least not the way I was trying to do it. I
didn't take pictures of that failure, but just suffice it to say that I
was not going to be able to solder my rivets to the back of my metal and by the time I figured it out, it was too late to go looking for paste solder.
I have restored three old houses in my lifetime and because I restore
them and don't remodel (there is a big difference) I have had the need
to find creative ways to "fix" things including old iron grates and
other old metal objects. "What in the world does that have to do with
the prong challenge?" you might be asking yourself. Well, because of
that history, I have discovered JB Weld - a two part epoxy that dries a
medium gray color. Believe me, it is great, no GREAT, stuff. I have
repaired floor grates, wall grates, metal frames, and even black glass
buttons with this stuff. It holds.
So I figured I
would try the JB Weld on the prongs instead of solder. After a couple
of trial and error things, I was successful.
This is a picture of the front of the copper ring with the prongs held into place.
Since I didn't want the back of the button just sticking out the hole, I decided to cut a piece of textured brass sheeting to back the copper. I would rivet them together. After all, I had a new riveting system, and rivets, so this was a perfect opportunity to use them. I used some silver rivets for contrast.
I made a cage out of bronze wire for this little piece of genuine Nevada USA rough turquoise. I purchased a small selection of rough turquoise on a trip out west and have polished and drilled some of the pieces but I still have a little bag of rough turquoise. This is just as it came from the ground.
All of the patina on the copper and the brass is the result of heating it with my torch which I did several times.
In the first attempt to set the rivets with the JB Weld, I tried to anneal the rivets on the top side with my torch. Well, the JB Weld caught on fire and it is a wonder I didn't burn the garage down. (Actually, I work with my torch inside a little area that I set up with fire bricks so it wasn't as bad as I make it sound.)
So, I cleaned everything off and applied the glue again. The rivets need to be annealed so that the metal is soft and will bend more easily over the cab, or button, in my case. I don't have a prong-setting tool, but the tutorial suggested that you could use a dowel so that is how I bent the prongs. Then I used my flush cutters and file to shape the prongs so that they cradled the button nicely.
And, to prove to you that I have no pride, here is a picture of the backside. I had to pound out a little bump to accommodate the shank of the button, but I tried to keep it as nice as I could. Please tell me, do you guys think the back is too hokey looking or unprofessional or just plain ugly?
I want to purchase some 33mm pin backs because they have holes at 17mm apart and I can rivet the pin back to the front. I wish I had riveted it before I riveted the copper to the brass, but I didn't really have that much of a plan at that point. My current plan is to attach some stars or some other decoration to even out the design.
Anyway, it was a touch and go challenge and I am so, so glad that I participated. I have a personal rule that I don't buy anything special for a challenge and if I participate, I participate with the materials that I have. And, with very, very few exceptions, I stick by that rule. I did in this case. And, I have never made a brooch before. I am pleased with it. What do you guys think?
And, here are links to the other participants. You will see some beautiful things if you take the time to work through them.
