Dealing with Sterling Silver Jewelry Shapes that are Difficult To Polish

Dealing with sterling silver jewelry shapes that are difficult to polish can be challenging.

Yesterday I was working on a large sterling silver jewelry project – a coronet for a friend who is a historic re-enactor. There are a LOT of differences between working on small pieces of jewelry, and working with something this large. And that reality prompted me to make a couple of quick tools to make the polishing safer and more effective.  As I was working, I realized that a couple of the things that I had figured out might be of use to others, so here are two quick tips for polishing large objects.

The sterling silver jewelry piece that I was working on was challenging because it was large with lots of pointy bits that made it waay too dangerous to polish on a big polishing wheel. The opportunity for it to catch in the wheel and either do damage to me or the piece was a serious concern. So that meant it was time to haul out the flex shaft for finishing! But how to hold and polish the piece at the same time? The piece is essentially a large oval, made from a strip of sterling silver one inch wide and 25 inches long. The band is decorated with sterling silver annulets (think donut shapes) and a specialized form of a sterling silver cross with a pointy bottom and exaggerated pointy arms. The annulets are completely soldered flat to the band, but the crosses stick up above the top of the band with all of their pointy goodness just waiting to hook onto any polishing wheel that comes near them. I often polish smaller pieces by simply holding them in my hand, but that was NOT going to work for this large piece of sterling silver jewelry (well it’s more of an accessory than what we think of as jewelry). I am fortunate enough to have a jewelers’ bench in my Studio, so I put padded bench pinthe bench pin into the front of the bench. Now for those of you who don’t have something like a bench pin, well, I would probably lay a chair down on the floor on its side, sit on the floor or a stool, and use one of the legs as a support. The chair leg can serve the same function as a bench pin in this application.

I always have a pile of those white terry cloth shop towels in my Studio. They are inexpensive, and handy for everything from spills to padding, which is exactly what I used one for! I folded the towel in half, wrapped it around the bench pin   and then held it in place with some masking tape. Now I had a clean, slightly rounded and padded, non-scratch support (a temporarily modified bench pin) that I could rest my massive sterling silver jewelry on for polishing. If I were using a chair leg, the towel would protect the chair and give the same kind of padding ( I would NOT do this with grandma’s valuable antique chair, just in case). The piece, remember it is a large oval, could literally hang on the towel-covered bench pin (or chair leg) and easily be held in place with one hand while I polished it with the other. There is another seriously important aspect to this arrangement. When it coronet on padded bench pinwas time to polish the tops of the sterling silver crosses, even the flexshaft wanted to hook onto and dance around the piece. Solution? Press the top of the crosses down into the towel just slightly. The polishing buff could easily do its job on the front of the crosses without catching the edge of the piece. It does get the towel dirty, but that is what those towels are for – they are called shop towels for a reason!

My goal when I whipped up this quick little modified bench pin support was three-fold – protect me, protect the piece, and allow me to polish the piece until the sterling silver gleamed. Mission accomplished! I hope this gives you some ideas for making your own workshop safer and more productive! I’ve included a picture so you can see my “high-tech” support system and what the sterling silver piece looked like while it was being polished. Enjoy!

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Making a Leather Purse With a Brass Frame – pt 1

Making a Leather Purse With a Brass Frame – pt 1.

This post details the decision made during the creation of a medieval-style leather purse, including an enameled copper disc used as a decoration.

via Making a Leather Purse With a Brass Frame – pt 1.

 

Bog Bodies and Enamel Works

Archaeology has a deep rooted attraction for me, one that led me to a degree with a specialization in archaeology. I’ve worked as a salvage archaeologist, conservator, cataloger, and site cartographer. The intricacies of an archaeological site fascinates me, but what really gets me excited are material artifacts like beads, dress accessories, and fabric. Usually there is little, or no, remains of fabric. But the “bog bodies” are a notable exception.

One of my students came across a fascinating report. One bog body found in 1867 was on display in Orkney for 83 years before it was studied. In the last decade the hood from that find was recreated using period weaving techniques. The recreated garment is stunning. Oh, it holds a personal interest for me since my husband’s persona is from Orkney! You can see the study by Jacqui Wood’ on the Orkney Hood in PDF format.

My thanks to Eleanor Morgan for the reference.

I had the rare opportunity to meet a long time friend, Sandra Bradshaw, in Sedona, AZ. Sandy is one of a handful of enamelists in the US who is skilled at the technique of plique a jour. The effect is incredible – her art is like miniature stained glass! I’ve made an exception to my rule of only carrying my own work in my shop. Sandy gave me the singular opportunity to carry a small selection of her award-winning enamels. So, I’m excited to tell you that I have a small number if historically inspired sterling silver and plique a jour crosses. http://www.the-treasury.org/EirnyStore/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=108 These crosses are individually hand soldered and then enameled.