Category: Instructional

Ultrasonic Cleaning for Chainmaille Jewelry

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Chainmaille jewelry is very difficult to clean thoroughly. I always hand wash the jewelry with high-pressure, soapy water, and that does a pretty good job in most cases. Polishing a piece in my tumbler for an hour or so also helps.

Some pieces will be satisfactorily clean with this process, such as the viperscale and helm weaves. For smaller, tighter chains, however, it never quite gets all the oils and grime out from inside the rings. Even my HP bracelet, which I wear nearly every day, doesn’t get as clean as when I first made it. Forget about cleaning the inside of JPL rings!

Solution: Ultrasonic cleaning.

How Ultrasonic Cleaning Works

Transducers attached to the bottom of the tank create sonic waves in the 44 kHz range, which is super-duper high frequency. The sound waves travel through the liquid. This causes microscopic low-pressure bubbles to form and implode, a process called cavitation. As they implode, they blow off anything attached to the surface of the item to be cleaned, which includes dirt, oils, grime, and whatever other substances are making the jewelry look unclean. Just think of millions of tiny gas explosions all around the jewelry

This process, especially when using hot water and a de-greasing agent (I use a good squirt of Dawn soap), does a really great job cleaning chainmaille jewelry, even in those impossible to reach inner areas!

My Ultrasonic Cleaner

Continue reading “Ultrasonic Cleaning for Chainmaille Jewelry” →

From Wire to Chain Chainmaille Demonstration

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Making chainmaille takes a long time-and I go through a lot of steps (probably more than most chain artisans).

In this 10-minute how-to video demonstration, I show my steps to go from sterling silver wire to chain jewelry.

Steps:

  1. Coiling the wire
  2. Cutting coils into rings
  3. Washing the rings
  4. Preparing the rings: opening and filing
  5. Weaving and welding

Not shown: Washing the chain, removing any residual tarnish, and final polishing – perhaps next time!

Ring details: Sterling silver rings with 2.5 mm inner diameter, 22 gauge wire

Equipment list: Pepetools Jump Ring Maker, Orion mPulse 30 spot welder, many pairs of pliers (dipped in Tool Magic), file.

Chainmaille Process Videos

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Making chainmaille jewelry is a long process. In these three short videos, I’m highlighting the steps.

1. Coiling the sterling silver wire (I usually make 3 – 5 coils at a time, depending on the design)

2. Cutting the coils to make rings

3. Weaving the rings into the chain and welding them shut. (I’ll show just one ring here – visualize this occurring 100+ times.)

FYI: The videos are 15 seconds long and have no sound.

Now, I have left out a few steps, such as washing the lubricant (dish soap) off the cut rings, opening the rings, filing the cut edges (this is the boring part!), getting perfect closures, and cleaning and polishing the final jewelry. Even so, these videos show how I go from the sterling silver wire to weaving a single ring into a piece of chain.

Once I have made the rings, the total time per ring is about 1 minute from opening to welding.

Video one: Coiling the wire

I’m using the Pepe Jump Ring Maker to make wire coils. This is the older version that came with a mounting board. Notice that I use a hand clamp to keep it still while I wind the coil.

Video two: Cutting the coil

I’m also using the Pepe Jump Ring Maker here, as you can see. I put the unit inside a plastic tub to reduce the metal dust flying around. I’ve cut more than 25,000 rings with the Pepe. (See this post for tips on using the Pepe Jump Ring Maker.)

Video three: Weaving and welding a single ring

I use an Orion mPulse 30 for spot welding, which I bought a few months ago. I love, love, love it. If you watch very closely, you’ll see a quick flash – that’s the ring being welded closed.

Tips for Using the Pepe Jump Ring Maker

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(Update: The #1 problem people have when using the Pepe is blade binding, in which the blade slows down a lot and even stops completely. All the tips below will help you use the Pepe more easily and produce better rings, but if your main problem is blade binding, skip directly to Tip #4.)

(Update: This is an older post from my original web site – see it here. Pepe has a newer version of the Jump Ring Maker. It’s basically the same, but without the mounting board and a new, better winding crank. All the advice here applies to the new version, as well.)

I love my Pepe Jump Ring maker and couldn’t live without it. Here’s my Pepe set up:

pepe1

The Pepe and Flexishaft Combo costs around $200 (update: more now), and it is worth the price. After buying crappy rings from hobby stores and after using the little wire coiling-thingy from a well-known bead and jewelry supplier, I decided to get serious. Sure, it was a little pricey for me, but I knew it would pay for itself in time and per-ring costs over time.

I have made more than 20,000 rings since purchasing the Jump Ring Maker, and I still love it. Really, really love it. Worth every penny! Continue reading “Tips for Using the Pepe Jump Ring Maker” →

Super-fine Chain Bracelet

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(Originally posted on my old web site in 2014)

For several months now (in 2014!), I have been wanting to make a micromaille JPL chainmaille bracelet. Micromaille is chainmaille that is typically at or below 3.0 mm inner diameter. It’s little. Very little.

The problem, however, is that I didn’t have any way to coil wire into rings that size. The smallest coiling mandrel on the Pepe Ring Maker is 2.5 mm. I have made some nice JPL pieces in 2.5, but I couldn’t go any smaller.

Problem solved! I am using a 2.0mm knitting needle in my Pepe wire coiler, and a spool of 22 gauge (AWG) wire. I just stick the needle in the crank, load some 22 gauge wire, and start winding coils. I didn’t know if I would be able to cut the coils into rings, but they cut just fine, thus leaving me with a nice pile of micromaille jump rings for a very thin chain. Continue reading “Super-fine Chain Bracelet” →

Process for Photoshop Editing Jewelry Models

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Now that I have finished taking pictures of my most recent model, it’s time for the hard work: editing with Photoshop. (I highly recommend Photoshop! You can get a subscription to the Adobe Photography plan if you don’t have Photoshop already. It costs about $10 per month, and it is worth it.) Once the images are done, I will create a new model’s gallery and add the images. 

In the 6 step-by-step videos below, I demonstrate all the steps I go through for Photoshop editing of jewelry models. Each video demonstrates a set of tasks, and I explain how I do them. If you are creating images for your website, these are some typical editing tasks you will likely need to know.

The list of videos and Photoshop editing tasks

Video 1: Replacing the ugly background with a white background (10:36)
Video 2: Removing facial acne and smoothing the skin (17:16)
Video 3: General clean up, removing a tattoo and skin blemishes (11:20)
Video 4: Re-coloring the purple halo around the silver bracelet (4:19)
Video 5: Painting fingernails and replacing the light sheen on top (22:38)
Video 6: Resizing, cropping, adding a watermark, and exporting (10:32)

Here are the Before and After images. The videos show I get from before to after.

Continue reading “Process for Photoshop Editing Jewelry Models” →

Hardening Silver Wire

Posted on by David Bowman

When we were kids, we would open paper clips, bend them back and forth, and see how long it took for the paper clip to break. We thought that by bending the wire repeatedly, we were making it soft enough to break. Actually, though, the opposite was true. When metal is repeatedly hit, twisted, or bent it becomes harder, which makes it brittle enough to break.

This is important to understand when working with silver wire. Pure silver has all of its atoms in a lattice structure, much like crystals. With all the atoms lined up in straight rows and columns, the silver is very flexible and soft. This is why, for example, fine silver (99.9% silver) is not a good material for chainmaille. The rings won’t hold their shape and will open, causing the chain to fall apart.

Continue reading “Hardening Silver Wire” →

Using Tool Magic – Video

Posted on by David Bowman

Before starting work on sterling silver chain mail, I always dip my pliers in Tool Magic. The plastic coating prevents the pliers from marring the silver. It also helps me keep a good grip on the rings so they don’t shoot out from the pliers. The Tool Magic coating gets raggedy after a while and needs to be reapplied-as seen in this video.

Tool Magic only costs a few bucks, and it’s worth it.

Remove Tarnish From Silver Naturally

Posted on by David Bowman

I am often asked, How do you remove tarnish from silver jewelry? There’s two answers: You can do it the wrong way, or you can use my recipe for a safe and natural tarnish remover.

Tarnex? No Way! Anti-tarnish creams and polishes damage your silver by eating into them with toxic chemicals. Forget them. Forget, also, the scrubbing, wiping, and all other “elbow grease.”

The other problem with creams is that they either do not get into all the holes, edges, and corners, or, if they do, they are nearly impossible to clean out later.

Cleaning flatware or other food serving items? Those nasty creams have chemicals that are not good for you. If they are not completely cleaned out, you will end up eating them.

Finally, if you have multiple pieces, like a handful of jewelry items, you have to do them one at a time. That’s a waste of time.

Here’s what you can do instead.

Continue reading “Remove Tarnish From Silver Naturally” →

Working with Jewelry Models

Posted on by David Bowman

The problem: People can look at pictures of jewelry online but can’t try them on to see how they look and feel when worn.

The solution: Have pictures of the jewelry being worn.

There’s only one way to do that, and that is to take pictures of models wearing the jewelry. This means I needed

  • good camera,
  • tripod,
  • back drop curtain,
  • good lights,
  • basic (at least) skill with photo editing software, and
  • women to be the models.

I wanted several models, with several outfits each, to provide a variety of “looks” for wearing jewelry. My thinking is that women could look at sample images the various models, think “Oh, that style is most like me,” and then see all the jewelry on that model. I ended up with four different models, and I’ll probably shoot a couple more to complete this round of images. Once I have a handful of new jewelry designs, I plan to repeat the process.

Continue reading “Working with Jewelry Models” →

First Heirloom Bracelet Soldered Chainmaille

Posted on by David Bowman

Soldering Jump Rings in Chainmaille

update 10/26/2020: I no longer solder rings. Now, I weld them closed, which is stronger and cleaner. For more about welding, see my post Welding Chainmaille and Heirloom Pricing.

For the last few months, I have been working on soldering jump rings for my chainmaille jewelry. I am bringing out a line of “heirloom” jewelry in which all the rings are soldered. In most cases, chainmaille doesn’t require soldered rings: the rings won’t open unless they receive a lot of stress. For example, I have been wearing my Full Persian bracelet nearly every day for almost 2 years, and I have only had to fix one ring near the clasp.

However, with some of the designs that use larger rings in a not-so-dense pattern, the rings may begin to open over time, particularly if they get rough usage. The viperscale bracelet shown below has a big aspect ratio (AR 5.9), so the rings are not strong enough to hold up to long-term tugging or yanking. I had given one of these bracelets to a colleague, who wore it regularly. She is fairly hard on jewelry, and after 8 months, one of the rings opened and fell out. I first started thinking about soldering rings while repairing her bracelet.

Continue reading “First Heirloom Bracelet Soldered Chainmaille” →

Guide for Buying Chainmaille

Posted on by David Bowman

Chainmaille jewelry comes in a wide variety of quality. Some chainmaille jewelry exhibits high-quality craftsmanship, fine materials, and professional  manufacturing techniques. Some chain jewelry shows sloppy work with little attention to detail and uses low-end materials. Most chainmaille jewelry is somewhere in between.

If you are interested in buying chainmaille jewelry, how do you know what you are looking at? What should you look for in chain jewelry to determine whether the piece is worth the price? Continue reading “Guide for Buying Chainmaille” →

Care for Sterling Silver Jewelry

Posted on by David Bowman

Here are some tips for making sure your sterling silver chainmaille  bracelet stays in top condition for years and years.

1. General cleaning
2. Light polishing – Gentle abrasive methods
3. Removing tarnish – Dipping solution method
4. Tumbling for jewelry store shine
5. Avoiding tarnish
6. Damage from stress
7. Repairs

Continue reading “Care for Sterling Silver Jewelry” →

How to Darken Silver with Eggs

Posted on by David Bowman

I have been asked many times about how to remove tarnish from silver, but I was recently asked how to make silver darker. I will show you how to darken silver by using boiled eggs.

Some people like really shiny silver. Some people like silver that is darker, slightly tarnished, and antique-looking. I’m in the first group. I think highly polished silver is beautiful. If you are in the second group, this post is for you.

Continue reading “How to Darken Silver with Eggs” →