Tribal Jewellery

[MrZebra]

I'm going to an event in a couple of weeks that has a "savannah" theme, so I thought I'd try and turn my hoof to making some costume accessories. They're pretty rubbish, but I haven't tried anything like this before. I made them out of electrical wire and feathers that I found in the garden, and soldered them together with my electronics soldering iron.

I'm going with a couple of friends, so I'll see if either of them want one. If not they'll go in the bin :p They only have to last a couple of days anyway.

http://www.mrzebra.co.uk/stuff/tribal-accessories.jpg

[Crocus]

Hi MrZee - I think it's quite unique actually and I think Jazz might like it a lot. I really like the brown feather one's - it will make quite a lovely brooch! Let us know how it went - and try to expand on your ideas.

[jazzactivist]

That's pretty good going for a first attempt, Mr Zebra. I really like all the different items you have soldered on with a flair for design, and the different techniques you've used, like wrapping. I think your jewellery looks good, and you should wear them all yourself with pride. The main difference when working with precious metals is the use of a butane torch and tiny pieces of solder rather than a soldering iron, as that makes the joins look too obvious. If you have another go in future try using something like a kitchen creme brulee torch and some proper silver solder which can be bought from Cookson.com. Probably only worth it if you are thinking of making some jewellery for longer-term use. Unfortunately, there seems to be no such thing as copper solder! If you haven't done so already, why not have a go at making a copper bangle in a design that's open on one side? All you need is a hammer, a cloth (to protect the copper from the hammer blows), a metal file, some fine sandpaper, and a former of some kind to shape it round to your chosen size and shape. Then bend and knock away to form it into shape, and once you're satisfied smooth any raw edges and ends. Good for rheumatism, I'm told. Brass and silver need to be heated (annealed) after being cut to design to soften it for shaping. 'Hope you have a lovely time hoofing it up at the Savannah party.

[franbee]

Those are good, mr z, very tribal.