Gemstone slabs from Pennsylvania

(Colorful gemstone slabs from Pennsylvania, self-collected, slabbed) I collected these rock specimens on several rock club fieldtrips, most are from the Fall of 2012. Using my humble wet tile saw with a diamond blade, I slabbed those pictured into 1/4" plus sections. The fresh-cut surfaces reveal more that just a rockhammer break would do alone for study. As lapidary slabs, these rocks (shown wet) show how they would look polished. I intend to craft cabochons for jewelry.

One-of-a-kind Hand-forged Copper Earrings & Pendant

When you cut 1/2" diameter copper water pipe, and dap the segments after annealing, you get beads or rings. This upcycled copper jewelry set came from just such an event.

Making and dying oak wood beads

Yes, you too can make wooden beads from scratch. I've done it, as seen here.

By taking a pruned oak tree branch, leaving it to 'season' (or dry out) for a few weeks in- or outside, then debarking it, you can have wood ready to craft your oak beads. Many tree wood will work, such as maple.

I was fortunate to have an pin oak tree that had required pruning, earlier in the summer. (The tree is in good health, since the day that a squirrel buried a nut one fall, and sprouted over 15 years ago. Now, our yard's squirrels have food for years.)

The steps are simple, and require only natural ingredients. The only items that affected the project's carbon footprint are: an electric saw and a natural gas stove. If you want to go 'more green', you can use a hand saw and a wood fire, made from leftover oak branches.

Greenest yet would be to use a solar reflecting oven. Or, place dying ingredients in a sealed glass jar, and 'brew' outdoors, like sun tea. (The process may be slower, and depth of color may be lighter, without directly boiling your brew.)

The steps in order are: (1.) cut branches into slim blanks, (2.) debark, (3.) sand surfaces, (4.) drill hole near center, and (5.) dye your beads. (Photos shown here.)

Dye Recipe: Add ripe oak acorns from ground to a small quantity of water. Heat and boil acorns, until water becomes dark brown (up to 1/2 an hour).

I use a dedicated stainless steel cook pot for this, to ensure I will not be cooking food later in a tainted vessel, hence ingesting tannin residue imparted into my meal. The tannin compound found in both the oak wood and acorns is inherent in all the bark, leaves, and roots of the tree, as well. Any part of the plant, other than the acorn may be used for this process. That is why it makes such an intense, natural wood dye.

Add beads. Boil from 5-10 minutes, then turn heat off. I left mine soak for about an hour. The oak will absorb whatever water and dye it can. Remove your beads from the dye solution. Then, set out to dry over a couple of days. Finish with a coat or two of melted or paste wax, such as as beeswax or a carnuba compound. Apply, then rub to a shine, and reapply.

This was my first modern attempt at making natural beads. I am satisfied enough to try shaping my wood into various forms. Of course, you can shape your wood beads into any shape you can design and render--either by hand tools, or by a Dremel or flexshaft tool. Good luck with yours.

Copper sheet from plumbing pipe

Yes, you can recycle copper directly from discarded materials into usable, raw material for jewelry-making. Why scrap 3/4" diameter copper plumbing pipe, when you can make sizeable sheet stock?

Well, I did. I had some copper pipe, cut it to a tenable length (6"), then cut it lengthwise to create an opened tube. Next, I annealed the tube with my torch, and let it cool. The softer copper was easier to open up into a curved, almost flat shape.

After annealing and cooling again, I used pliers to hold on size, then hammered on the other, until I got a nearly smooth, flat piece of stock. After another torching, a final anvil hammering left me with a decent, rough copper sheet. It was a bit oxidized, so a sanding or pickling would cure that.

Before I began, I surmised that a 2.5" wide by 6" long sheet would emerge from my forming exercise. I was right. By using Pi, you know, 3.14, from school, I calculated that a 3/4" diameter pipe multiplied by 3.14 would yield about 2.5". Not bad for the math that folks say you might not use in a lifetime, eh?

Anyways, this newly minted thick gauge sheet is well on its way to becoming a couple of originally-designed pendants. More on that soon.

Cuttebone pewter casting of acorn

It is fun to cast again. I molded a cuttlebone to cast in pewter a small acorn from my own backyard. The four photos show the steps in reverse order: (1.) Finished cast acorn removed from mold (artist in photo for scale), (2.) Closeup of acorn casting with button, (3.) Opening of mold to reveal cast acorn (after cooling), (4.) Pouring molten pewter from crucible into gateway of mold.

I recycled the pewter from a poorly-cast figurine that I got from a yard sale. When I'm ready to cast jewelry for sale, I will buy new certified lead-free pewter from a reliable metals supplier.

Finished copper dangle earrings

I just finished a pair of high-polished copper disc earrings and matching pendant. Each earring weighs about 8 grams, so it is light on the ear.

Dapped copper discs

Batch of stamped and dapped copper discs ready for deburring