How to make this Dark Tree Necklace...
(This is my first tutorial so any feed back would be greatly appropriated)
Supplies....
2 - 1in copper discs
Pencil/Permanent Marker
Center Punch/Big Nail
Drill bit
Flex Shaft/Dremel/Hand Drill
Wood Board
Masking Tape
Hammers
Saw
Saw blades
Cut Lube/Bees Wax
Binding wire*
Vise/Tweezer
File
Sandpapers
Polishing rag*
* helpful but if you don't have it don't worry
To make this necklace I start with two 1in copper discs. You can make your own if you have a disc cutter or you can purchase them ready made on etsy. I get them from www.bopper.etsy.com.
Starting by drawing out how I want the tree and where I want the holes for the rivets. I first use a pencil to sketch it out and then use a permanent marker over it to make it easier to see the design.
After the design is figured out, I dimple the metal with a nail where I want to drill (the places were the rivets will go, the bail and inside the tree). You want to use a Center Punch or Nail so that the drill bit wont "walk" across the metal. (If it does happen you can just sand it out). I tape the disc to my wood board, so I don't get wholes in my desk. Next drill out the holes using a drill bit (size .038/62) that is the same size or slightly larger as the wire that I will be using, which will be 20g. If your not sure if your drill bit is the correct size, you can use a B&S Gauge or if you don't have one just use a scrap piece of metal to drill and make sure the wire fits with just a tiny bit of room around it.
Time to saw
To saw out the tree I use a number 1 blade. I start by sawing out the larger parts such as the tree truck, then larger branches and such, working around until I am happy with the design. Make sure to take your time.
When it is finished it will look something like this...
Time to work on the back disc
I use a few different hammers to give it texture. Giving it a random "bark" texture.
Next I drill the holes on the bottom disc. To do this I tape down the bottom disc on my drilling board (wood board) using masking tape, then tape the disc that the tree is cut out directly on top. Next just drill through all the holes going round all the way trough the bottom disc. Also at this point I use a little bigger drill bit for the top hole to make it just a little larger then the others.
Time to rivet
This is a process called cold connection, which means there is no heat to connect the metals. We will connect the metal using 20g copper wire that we hammer into place. If you have a vise, you can just put in a straight piece of wire into the vise leaving a couple mm of the wire above the vise to hammer the wire. After one side is hammered thread it through the hole, then cut the wire a few mm above the disc and hammer it again. Then repeat. If you don't have a vise, like me, you can just cut a small piece of wire and using a tweezers hold the wire into place and rivet it that way. I use binding wire to hold the piece in place while I work on all the rivets and to mark which hole is for the bail, so I don't rivet that one.
Backside, it doesn't have to be perfect because we will be sanding it and taking all the imperfections away.
Now the two discs might not match up totally even, so just go around the piece with a file until it is even. After that sand the piece to a nice soft finish, I use 100, 220 and 320 grit sandpaper.
To make the tree pop out a little more I use Silver Black patina on it. After it has dried I sand it a little more to get all the extra black off and then use a polishing rag on it to give it a little shine.
(Copper will tarnish with time giving it a deeper reddish color)
Thank you for checking out my tutorial! If you try this out I would love to see your piece and if you have any questions let me know! Or if you would like to have me make one just for you, I would love too! Go to www.EarthenCreations.etsy.com or click on any picture to see all my jewelry including more versions of this tree!
♥Mel
