Faux Bone - June 2010 Meeting Demo

Get ready for a hands-on night of learning about Faux Bone, developed by artist Robert Dancik. We'll be learning to saw, drill, file, shape and manipulate this new product. Demo will be led by Lynette Fisk, who has been experimenting already. Those who attended our April or May meetings may have seen these samples.

 Learn more about her experiments on her blog. Those who ordered in advance will have plenty to play with. We ordered extra, so if you missed the order, we WILL HAVE pieces available for you to purchase to make a ring at the meeting. There will be some extra scrap pieces to experiment with. Rivets and long tiny nuts and bolts will also be on hand.

Tools to bring: jeweler's saw, files, rotary drill, scribe, riveting hammer, bench block or hammering surface,
Materials: metal or glass beads, washers, coins, spacers, charms, wire (various gauges).

Additional things you could use: curling iron, toaster oven (we will bring), linoleum block carving tools, alcohol inks, shoe polish, UV resin (we will bring UV light), metal scraps or tubing, found objects

Sample shown here illustrates some of the techniques you will experiment with in June.

More Faux Bone images at Judith Freyer Thompson's site and on Flickr's Faux Bone group.

April Meeting - Viking Knit

In case you missed the Viking Knit demo in April, here are some pics from the meeting and some finished jewelry people shared in May. Thanks to Pat Kuehn for teaching us this technique!

Cheryl works on straightening her knitted wire.

Pat assists Kana in getting started.

Betty works on her wire knitting.

Pulling the finished knitted wire through a wood drawplate - Thank you Pat for making drawplates for everyone.

Some finished jewelry...this is Carol Hale's bracelet, using fabulous glass end caps she found at a Bead Blast vendor.

Finished necklaces from Janice LeMasters.

Did you finish yours? We would love to see it.

Results of Tumble Polishers Comparison

For those who missed our May meeting and tumble polishing demo, here is a quick overview. Betty Chaisson brought her Magnetic tumble polisher. At $500, it's a great option for those wanting to polish a lot of small items quickly. It looks like a mini food processor and work by whirling very tiny stainless steel pins in a solution of tumbling medium. Check out various other magnetic tumblers and mediums at Otto Frei.

Betty warned us not to mix metals when polishing silver. Tumbling work hardens fired PMC items as well as polishes....the longer you process, the shinier the piece gets.

Jennifer Finley brought 2 Rotary Tumblers - one a Lortone and one an economy model from Harbour Freight. Janie also brought her HF model - which had disappointed her by leaving a dark patina on a silver piece. (The Lortone small jewelry model retails for about $85 while the Harbor Freight model is under $40.) This type of tumbler also uses stainless steel shot, which will cost about $30/lb and is not carried by Harbor Freight.

Some rotary tumbler barrels are constructed from black rubber, and should be cleaned by running without jewelry....be sure to check the instructions! Even the magnetic tumbler info says to clean the tumbling medium/shot before using with jewelry.

TIP: Clean the shot by tumbling in flat Coca Cola.
TIP: Shot must be cleaned and dried after use, and stored dry to prevent rust!

Look before you buy! and know what use you will be making of your tumbler. Read How to Choose a Tumbler, Tumbling instructions, and know what you need before you purchase.

May 2010 Meeting - Tumble Polishers!

Member Betty Chaisson will help us learn about tumblers. She's bringing her magnetic tumbler, which operates differently than the rotary tumblers. (Janie is bringing one of those to compare.) View some types at Otto Frei online.

If you have SILVER pieces you want polished, bring them to the meeting. Betty will explain about the need for keeping separate tumbling mediums for various metals.

If you have a tumbler and want to add to the discussion, feel free to bring it. OR if you have had problems with using your tumbler, bring your questions and results.

We also invite everyone to bring your recent project for our Show & Tell.