what i've been up to...

I have been doing a lot of etching lately, and the etchant is very hard to get here on the island.  Sometimes Radio Shack has it, and usually they do not! I had been looking into getting Sheri haab's etchant system, which operates on salt and a battery.  Lance looked into it and decided he could make me a reliable etching  unit that did not need harsh chemicals.  He got the idea from this:  http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Electro-Etch-a-Solid-Metal-Plaque/  I have read other electro etching descriptions that say salt does not result in good etches - that you should use copper sulfate crystals for copper , etc, - but i got excellent results on the steel and good results on copper too.

So the picture below is the first resulting set up. (Since then, he has permanently attached bolts that I can hook the electrodes to)

The set up is pretty simple.  You need a 12 volt battery with an anode connector and a diode connector..  Attach one connector to a wire that is then clipped to  a piece of steel .  Connect the opposite side to a wire which is then attached to the piece of steel or copper or brass you wish to etch.  You can't use staz-on or sharpies to create your design because the electified salt will eat it off.  You have to use deco paint markers, nail polish or some type of enamel paint.....vinyl sticky paper or tape works too....so this aspect is more difficult than using the radio shack etchant.

You put water in your container and then saturate it with salt.  I used about 1 1/2 cups salt (5 lb bag from costco for $5!) disolved in about an inch and a half of water in a rubbermaid 15x10 inch container. Lance used an adjustable current 12v battery charger for the power source.  once everything was connected I plugged in the battery.... 

VOILA!  tiny bubbles started coming off the metal electrode plate. (Small piece of metal on the right)

CU of bubbles coming off

Battery charger with red and black connectors... notice the red wires connected to the black and red clips.....the new version now has a black wire connected to the black connector and a red wire attached to the red connector - this way i won't mix them up and connect the wrong ends together......
I put the etchant outside and left the battery charger inside the shop door.  This kept the fumes out of the shop and off of me, but also kept the battery recharger safe from unexpected rain.

This was my first piece.....  stainless steel etched for 30 minutes...design was with nail polish smeared with a pin

Stainless steel that was painted both sides with primer, and then the design was created by scratching of the paint with an awl and an electric engraver

Below is the same cuff (it is HUGE - more for a very large wrist or an upper arm!)  I tumbled it which made the engraved part much smoother, and then Lance colored it with a heat patina...the colors are gorgeous.

I'm hoping all the iridescent colors stay, it being stainless steel and all....

This is a copper pipe marked into rings.  Then I engraved into those covered with primer, and I deco penned the rest.  I forgot to take a pic of them, but they turned out very nice - especially after being tumbled...

...and  this is a a teeny solid bronze troll i finally finished.  It has red swarovski crystal eyes.

 My latest cuff.  Etched (regular acid etching) with celtic designs, formfolded, then primitive bezels set with beetle wings.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SKY!

he still loves cars...

 30 years ago today, at 5:36 am my baby boy was born.  Happy, Happy birthday Skylar!  Always smiling, easy going...NAUGHTY!....All grown up now and a talented  actor, singer, composer and artist.    You are a special joy and I am very honored and blessed to have been chosen by you to be your mom!

ALMOST READY TO MOVE ON....

I finished a few more bracelets...  you are probably about as sick of seeing them as i am of making them....but I am determined to finish the ones I have started....and a few more i have promised to others...then i will be doing a MAJOR refurbishing of my shop.  I just can't stand it anymore....
meanwhile....
I have been experimenting with new ways to add color that will last.  Not so much on silver, but on the copper which darkens as it ages no matter what i coat it with.  This round I am coating the copper cuffs  with ice resin.
so time will tell!

this one started out as a spec commission cuff from a sterling silver spoon with brass snakes and a glass eyeball  (see above) - but the finished spoon was unbalanced and wouldn't stay straight on the wrist, so I cut the spoon handle off and mounted the eye and snakes on silver focal on a copper cuff.  I still have to make the spec commission cuff, and i will be using 2 spoon handles soldered to the spoon bowl so it will fit better.  The snakes and the eye mount will be made from bronze clay....

lots of deep etching

repurposed glass eyeball with snakes on sterling silver spoon bowl

The next one is formfolded, but not etched.  I'm calling it a volcano cuff, because the red folds made a lovely mountain.  I wanted flowing lava but everything i pretested looked tacky and too busy, so i decided to leave it plain.

Colored with vitreous enamel, ice resin
some of the enamel is iridescent

...and this is the finished etched and formfolded copper leaf with pearl cuff.  The pearl is actually peach colored- the pic looks off white for some reason.

 ...and one more sea horse copper cuff ......

Cuff and seahorse are both colored with vitreous enamel and mica...it makes a hard  and durable colored surface.

All of the new copper cuffs are bigger than the ones I made before- 7"- 8 " around...but I like them better looser.  

Today i filled some iridescent green and blue beetle wings with resin.  When set up, i will mount the wings in copper bezels and see how they look on a copper cuff.  No pics of that yet.  The copper cuff part is etched with celtic symbols.  It was made for a friend, and was to have a turquoise stone on it, but it turned out too wide for her...so i will be making  a new celtic copper cuff....
....and that will be the last one..............
whew!

I am soooo ready to move on!