Jingle
Bell Rock Pin
BY LORI BUGAJ
Intermediate metalsmithing project.
Editor's note: Lori Bugaj is interviewed in Suzanne
Wade's story on silver jewelry trends; see “Silver
Shows Off,” page 20.
This project shows you some
simple techniques - including piercing, forming, wire wrapping, using
found objects, and bezel setting - that you can use to give your own pieces
more of a 3D effect. The combination of the shiny bezel and jingle bells
set against the flat look of the stone and the satiny tone of the silver
ribbon pin work together to create visual interest.
I like to “draw” with my tools. The jeweler's saw lets me sketch
in the metal, stamps add intricate details, metal wires and found objects
add dimension. With every piece that I create, I try to include movement,
dimension, and humor so my work has an expressive, lifelike quality.
The best part of this project is the joke behind the pin. Enjoy making
and wearing this pin and see how long it takes for those who see it to
get the hidden joke (jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell, rock!).
In a number of the steps, you can choose your level of difficulty. You
can tumble and polish your own stones or buy them. You can use premade
pin stems with rivets or make your own. You can bring the finish of the
pin to a satin shine using satin finish buff wheels for your polishing
wheel or flexible-shaft machine, or you can simply use a brass hand brush
to achieve your final finish. Experiment to decide what works best for
you.
Some safety tips before we start: Be sure you have adequate ventilation
in your work area. Especially when soldering, polishing, sanding, and
working with any chemical. For any steps that require polishing with a
compound or working with ammonia, wear a respirator. For any steps that
require working with a flexible-shaft or polishing machine, wear eye protection.
STEP
1. Polishing the stone.
Note: Skip STEPS 1 through 3 if you have chosen a stone that already
has the shape and sheen you like.
Select a number of relatively flat, smooth, round-edged rocks. I choose
about 20 from my mother's garden that had good color and shape, and that
I didn't think the tumbling process wouldn't ruin (all of them turned
out fine; the one shown was the one I liked best).
STEP 2.
Wash the rocks, then tumble them in your vibratory tumbler. I have an
Ultra-Vibe 18 tumbler into which I put 5 lbs. of 1/4" Angle-Cut Triangle
Ceramic Heavy Cut media with just enough deburring compound that the media
just started to cling to the stones. I let the tumbler run for 6 hours.
I then checked it to make sure that not too much silt had built up, added
about 1/4 cup of water, and let it run for an additional 14 hours. After
20 hours of running time, the rocks had smoother edges and their colors
were more defined, but they still looked like rocks.
STEP 3.
If you want the stone to look wet, polish it with Zam. Rocks usually have
a deeper color once they are polished. You can either polish your stone
or leave it looking more natural.
STEP 4. Making
the bezel and bail.
Make a bezel for your stone that is wide enough to hold the widest part
of your stone from both sides (the bezel edge will be pushed over the
front and back of the stone). The rock will be suspended from this bezel
and will be visible from both sides.
STEP 5.
Solder the bezel using hard solder. A friend taught me a great method
for soldering bezels, and it has never failed me. Cut your bezel wire,
file the ends flat until they meet perfectly, and set the bezel seam on
top of a piece of hard solder. All components should be resting on your
soldering block. Gently heat the bezel all over and draw the solder up
the seam with the torch once it begins to flow.
STEP 6.
Clean up the bezel by sanding the seam, then polishing it with Zam.
STEP 7.
Saw out the bail from 24-gauge sterling sheet and form it using round-nose
and chain-nose pliers.
 STEP
8.
Gently solder the bail to the bezel, making sure that the bail is centered
on the top of the stone and across the width of the bezel wire.
Do not overheat the bezel, or the seam may come apart. Before you solder
the bail to the bezel, be sure you check the form of the bezel to the
shape of the stone.
STEP 9.
Fit the stone to the bezel and see if any sides of the bezel need to be
filed or sanded down before the stone is set. Most stones do not have
an even thickness on all sides. For my stone, I had to file down the bottom
half of the bezel for both the front and back sides of the bezel to give
it a better fit.
Clean up the bezel and bail by sanding, then polishing with Zam.
STEP 10.
Use the bezel pusher and burnisher to set the stone on both sides of the
bezel. Start with the top side and use the bezel pusher to push over the
bezel at the 12, 6, 3, and 9 o'clock positions, in that order. Turn over
the stone and do the same thing to the back side to hold the stone in
place. Continue pushing opposite sides of the bezel top around all parts
of the stone until the bezel wire is flush against the stone on both sides.
Use the burnisher to work the bezel flat against the stone edge.
STEP 11.
Do a final polishing with Zam (you can polish any marks on your stone
as well). Clean up any polishing compound on the set stone using an old
toothbrush dipped in warm soapy water mixed with a little ammonia.
STEP 12. Making
the pin.
Prepolish the 20-gauge sterling silver sheet to remove any scratches.
Clean off any remaining polishing compound with the warm water and ammonia
mixture and the old toothbrush.
 STEP
13.
Trace the pattern onto tracing paper and apply to sterling silver sheet
using rubber cement. **4**
Make sure the words and holly leaves don't extend beyond the middle 11/4"
of the silver piece. You need 1/2" on each side of the center design to
form the curled ribbon.
STEP 14.
Center punch all the holes and the center of the holly leaves. Using a
#71 drill bit, drill the holly leaves, holly berries, and the 3 holes
that will hold the jingle bells. Use the #65 drill bit to drill the hole
that will hold the stone.
Pierce the holly leaves. Use short, controlled strokes, close together
to be able to saw fine detail in the leaves.
STEP 15.
Remove the tracing paper, stamp “HO HO HO” onto the piece, and
file the edges smooth. Look again at the pierced holly leaves (without
the tracing paper on the piece); the ends of the leaves should be sharp
and crisp. Use your saw blade to gently clean up the piercings if necessary
by gently sawing/rubbing the blade against the edge to clean it up.
STEP 16.
Anneal the silver ribbon, then pickle and rinse.
Hint: Mark the front ends of the silver ribbon with 2 Xs using the permanent
marker. As you heat the silver, watch the marks. They will disappear when
the silver is annealed.
 STEP
17.
Wrap masking tape around the 2 ends of your round-nose pliers to prevent
marring the silver when you give the ribbon its 3D look. Using your taped
round-nose pliers, roll the lower right corner of the ribbon away from
you, towards the back center of the piece. Only about 1/4" of the ribbon
will be in back of the pin.
Again using your taped round-nose pliers, roll the upper left corner
of the ribbon toward you and toward the front center of the piece. Only
about 1/4" of the ribbon will be in the front of the pin. Sand any marks
on the silver (if you are gentle and the pliers are well taped, there
shouldn't be any marks).
 STEP
18.
Solder the pin catch and joint onto the back of the ribbon. Solder the
catch onto the rolled back portion of the ribbon, and solder the joint
onto the ribbon, just behind the first “HO.” Pickle and rinse
the pin.
STEP 19.
Use a tiny paintbrush to apply the liver-of-sulfur to color the “HO
HO HOs.” Dip the piece into water to neutralize the liver-of-sulfur
(be sure to follow the manufacturer's directions!).
Finish the pin surface using a square of Scotch-Brite™, satin finish
buffs for your polishing machine, mini fiber wheels for your flexible-shaft,
or a brass hand brush to give the pin the look of a satin ribbon.
STEP 20.
Make the pin stem and set it into the joint, gently squeezing the pin
joint edges to fit side-by-side with the pin stem.
Use 18-gauge sterling silver wire to make a rivet that sticks out just
beyond each end of the pin joint (less than 1mm each side). Use the riveting
hammer to set the rivet. Finish the end of the pin stem using your flexible-shaft
machine and a 320-grit sanding disc. Hold the flexible-shaft machine in
your left hand and use your right hand to form the tip of the pin stem
with the rotating sanding disc.
Note: You can also buy premade pin stems with the rivets already in place.
 STEP
21.
Repeat these instructions for each of the jingle bells, attaching them
to the pin using wire wrapping techniques. Using your chain-nose pliers,
bend the end of a 11/2" to 2" piece of 24-gauge sterling wire 1/2" from
the end (I used a 1-1/2" piece of wire to hold the first bell, 2" to hold
the second bell, and 1-3/4" to hold the third bell).
STEP 22.
Holding the bent end of the wire, wrap the wire around the end of a small
file like you would for creating jump rings, leaving 1/2" at the end.
I wrapped the wire 2 times around for the first bell, 4 times around for
the second bell, and 3 times around for the third bell.
STEP 23.
Using your chain-nose pliers, grab the end of the wires and stretch the
rings apart so they are loose and look like dangling ribbon.
STEP 24.
Feed the top 1/2" of the wire (bent with the pliers) through one of the
holes in the pin. Use your chain-nose pliers to grab the end of the wire
and tightly wrap the wire end around the wire loop created just beneath
the pin. Clip the wire flush and file down sharp ends.
STEP 25.
Bend the bottom end of the wire 1/2" from the end using your chain-nose
pliers. Feed this end through the top of a jingle bell and create a loop.
Use your chain-nose pliers to wrap the wire end around the wire loop just
above the jingle bell. Clip the wire flush and file down sharp ends.
STEP 30.
Attach the bail of the bezel-set stone to the pin with a 20-gauge sterling
wire twisted jump ring. Twisting the wire before making jump rings work
hardens the silver wire making it sturdier and less likely to open. I
use the end of a medium file handle as the mandrel for my jump rings.
This gives the perfect size for dangling items from a finished piece so
they can swing freely.
Lori Bugaj is the owner
and designer for One-Eyed Collie Jewelry Design, based in San Francisco.
Lori uses movement, dimension, and humor to give her pieces a lifelike
quality. Lori was trained in metalsmith techniques in the Pacific Northwest
at Pratt Fine Arts Center, North Seattle Community College, and as an
apprentice for Marlo M Jewelry Design in Seattle, WA. She can be contacted
by e-mail at lekjhb@earthlink.net.
Sadie, Lori's “one-eyed
collie,” was born blind in one eye. Sadie romps, chases, plays, and
enjoys life like every other dog, and brings love and inspiration to her
family.
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