Jewelry finding

The only fusing I do is to make dichroic jewelry (although I want to branch out a little), so I consider myself somewhat of an expert when it comes to findings.  What I am doing now is buying fine silver strip which I cut into 1" - 1 1/4" strips. Using a large round nose pliers I form a loop at one end and sandwich it between 2 pieces of glass for the pendant. When it is done, I tumble it to harden and polish the fine silver.  I also make sterling bails the same way but I tumble them before cementing them to the pendants.  Here is a picture of some pendants using these bails although one of them has the standard Aanraku bail. http://www.creativelyclaire.com/jewelry/index.php?do=view&item=155

As for earrings, you can make a small loop using fine silver wire and sandwich it between 2 pieces of glass.  Tumble it to harden and shine it and you don't need an earring bail.

Another way you can make your pendants more interesting is to wire wrap them.  I make "donuts" which I wire wrap in sterling (http://www.creativelyclaire.com/jewelry/index.php?do=view&item=69) and I also do this with fused glass slides (no picture).  I'm sure that all of this seems complicated, but remember we all started at the same place and through trial-and-error and practising new techniques we gain assurance and control over our materials.

Good luck.

Claire

Hippos Eating Alligators has exceptional findings for fused glass jewelry artists:

http://www.hipposeatingalligators.com

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Paul
FusedGlass.Org
Helios Kiln Glass Studio
PaulTarlow.com

Paul,

You are right about their selection, I just find it much cheaper to make my own.  I don't make pendants with fused wire loops, so I never use regular bails.

BTW, I love your tutorial on the fold-over pendants.  I will definitely be trying that out.  I also like your fusing and slumping schedules (which is how I came upon the website).

Thanks.

Claire

Thank you Claire and Paul for your help! I'll be trying them out. Claire,you make beautiful jewelry

j.

Judit,

I try not to glue as it is such a process.  I fire a loop of argentium 20 gauge wire between the pieces of glass and add a sterling silver split bail from FDJ Tools to complete.  The only problem is that any glass with lead will react with the wire usually all reds, creams, etc..   I do the same when making earrings except I make a smaller loop and slide onto your earwire.  There is a graduated wire wrapping tool that helps you make consistent loops for each project.  Also PMC+ Silver bails add a distintion to your pieces, but the same rules apply about the glass, that is why I use only Crystal Clear to clear cap my pieces.  I texture the design into my bail strips then wrap them around wooden dowels greased with badger balm to dry, you decide the length of the tail to be fused into the glass.  I also recommend a small piece of fiber paper be placed between the bail and the glass, just in case the glass gets a bit over fused.  After they are dried slide them off and fire your finished bails in a clay saucer filled with vermiculite in your kiln.  Then place in a tumbler with stainless steel shot, 1/2 teaspoon of dawn soap covered with water and tumbled until polished about 2 hours.  You can treat the bail with liver of sulphur if you want to accent the piece, but since you will have to retumble after firing between the glass I do not bother with this.  I once figured that the cost was about $2.00 per bail when the PMC+ was about $36.00 for 28 grams.

I try to make it as low-tech easy as possible. Like one of the earlier responses, I'll fold over flat silver and sandwich that into the glass when I fuse. I split the flat pieces into a V to add a little more interest to the pieces. I've also been able to stamp on the flat silver and add a bit more interest to the piece.

The wire doesn't cost much per piece while some of the bails (depending on the source) can get pricey. Braiding finer wire together can also work.

I've thought about stamping and maybe I'll give it a try.  Thanks.

Claire

thank you all!

Can anyone ( Claire?) tell me where I can buy fine silver strip for my pendant bail? The  shipping cost of the suppliers I found on the internet is crazy high...:(

Thanks for any help!

judit

Hi

It's a mad mad mad mad market out there. There's any number of places that sell silver bezel wire-- Metalliferous, MonsterSlayer, Rio Grande, etc. Fire Mountain Gems has a $5, stuff the box deal that is reasonable, but you'll have to balance postage with upcharges on the bezel wire.

Roxane

Thank you Roxane!

Hey guys, I am not a novice fuser, but I am brand new to this web site (less than 10 minutes), and already I'm loving it! Lots and lots of helpful information.

I was just reading your suggestion and wondered...are you"tumbling" this after it is fused into the glass?  I'mnot familiar with the tumbling thing-just sounds like it might break the glass.  Kathy

Generally, the silver bezel wire is added to the pre-fused glass, fused and voila, ready to go once fired. If the bails need to be cleaned, a polishing cloth or silver polish will do the trick.

--Roxane

I just read Roxane's comment.  If you fuse fine silver wire into the glass, it will come out white.  I have never found a polishing cloth to be effective, so I always tumble.  The fused glass is hard and the shot in the tumbler is not sharp.  My only concern would be if your glass is only a single layer and not fused onto another piece, it could be more breakable.

Claire

I've tumbled lots of pieces and no problem with breakage.

Barry Kaiser

Web Site    www.kaiserglass.com

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