Tag Archives: Tech Tips

Spinning Samples

One of the challenges in spinning for a specific project is getting the yarn I want. Part of this is getting the correct diameter in a consistent way from start to finish, so that my final plied yarn comes out … Continue reading

Posted in Fiber | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Silk Hankies – Working Smarter, Not Harder

Back in 2015, when I was a new spinner, I tackled some beautiful silk hankies. They are nothing like “regular” fiber. The basic technique is to peel off one (very) thin hanky, poke a hole in the middle, and draft … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Fiber | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

More Fun With Copper

These are both copper. The round piece was torched, high oxygen, then soaked in hot vinegar. The other piece was previously etched with ferric chloride, then lightly salted & subjected to ammonia fumes to produce the blue patina.

Posted in Art, Metal | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Fooling Around with Copper

I’m working with copper a lot these days. It’s beautiful in its own right and has really interesting properties. Today, for example, I worked on the components for a pair of earrings. I’ve been reading up on ways to put … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Metal | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

MD23 Blink and You Miss It

When fusing fine silver links, the trickiest part is moving the torch away at the exact right instant. Too soon, and your link doesn’t become a circle. Too late, and it’s ruined. Once the red line appears, you can’t blink … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Metal | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

MD22 Fusing Fine Silver

After yesterday’s debacle, it was a relief to find that fusing fine silver links came back just like riding a bike. Note: The rest of this post is a technical description of the fusing process. Feel free to skip down … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Metal | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

MD20 Hydrogen Peroxide & Vinegar

Today was a long, busy day. But I remembered that a mixture of hydrogen peroxide & vinegar will remove the copper from soldered brass. So I mixed some of that up & put yesterday’s piece in to soak – it … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Metal | Tagged , | Leave a comment