Please post your comments, suggestions, or questions about the August jewelry-making project in this thread!

Sterling Silver Wire and Turquoise Bead Necklace Project

http://imageevent.com/tacsm/freshoffthedrawingboard?p=14&n=1&m=-1&c=3&l=0&w=4&s=0&z=2

in case that link doesn't work--
http://www.imageevent.com/tacsm/freshoffthedrawingboard
and check out #15'palm beach pretty' bracelet

that reminds me of a couple of sets i made last summer! cool!
theresa
http://www.decidedlydifferentdesign.com
http://www.imageevent.com/tacsm

Nice addition of the beads to your long wire connectors!

Chris

thank you!
i wanted something light, sparkley, and using those beautiful beads, and that's what i came up with-i really enjoyed wearing it this summer
theresa

Does the silver stay stiff enough once you shape the long links. It seems that they would bend to easily if you were to pull on the necklace.

yes the silver stays stiff--i haven't had any problems wearing it and i made a similiar one for my sister in law who teaches school, and she wore it with no problems too--if the silver wire were a smaller gage it wouldn't work, but for me the 20G to 18G has really been the sizes i use most often--sometimes i hammer to harden like i did for this one-as well as to add texture--
http://imageevent.com/tacsm/freshoffthedrawingboard?p=6&n=1&m=-1&c=3&l=0&w=4&s=0&z=2
hope this helps!
theresa

Yes, you need to use a pretty large gauge (thickness) of wire, then you further harden it by tapping with a hammer.

Excellent question, though - the stiffness, or temper, of the metal is a very important factor in wire jewelry.

You can also begin with stiffer wire than "dead soft" - for example, "half hard" wire will be stiffer to begin with. The drawback is that it's harder to make loops than it is with softer wire.

yes, chris, the temper is important--i always use half-hard, never worked with dead soft, but i have some smaller gauge gold-filled wire that is full hard--use it for ear wires, as i don't like a large gauge for that--hope everyone had/have a happy holiday!!
theresa

Well, I usually like to work with dead soft sterling, but I harden it by running it in my gyrock (tumbler) with steel shot. This allows me to make my rings and such easier so I don't have to fight the harder wire.I suppose it you did not have a tumbler you would want a harder wire and/or to harden it with a rubber/rawhide mallet on your steel block.
Makes sense though with ear wires to user a half hard - not much bending is required with them.
Just my two cents worth.....
Becka

I often use the tumbling trick, too. It works great.

And I agree about the ear wires - I don't like to use large gauge for those either, so I did start purchasing 1/2 hard wire just for that purpose.