Makingjewelry Course

Safety First Preview 03:49

Using humor, Prof. Ahr covers 10 safety tips that will help you to avoid jewelry studio disasters.

Materials And Measurements Preview 02:16

Prof. Ahr covers the scope of the necklace project to be demonstrated in this series of videos.  Here you will find information concerning the materials to be used in the piece including specific measurements.

Making The Chain Elements Preview 08:22

Learn how to coil wire using a mandrel to create tightly compacted, spring-like elements that can be cut into individual jump rings.  These small rings are the building blocks that are used to create your chain.

Creating The Larger Elements Preview 02:09

Using the techniques that you learned in the previous lesson, you will employ larger coiling tool to create the bezels for the feature elements of your necklace project.  These bezels will become the boundaries that will hold the epoxy that will give color to your piece.

Setting Up For Soldering Preview 05:42

This lesson will provide you with all of the information that you will need to know about the soldering process before you light your torch to begin soldering.  Prof. Ahr explains in great detail the types of solder, tools, and safety equipment that are needed to solder safely and efficiently.

Basic Soldering Preview 06:18

You will learn the fundamentals of the soldering process.  Using a well organized work space, Prof. Ahr demonstrates how to quickly solder the numerous "closed rings" to be incorporated into the production of the chain for the necklace project.  

Pick Soldering Preview 07:34

In this lesson, Prof. Ahr demonstrates a professional bench jewelers' technique for quickly soldering numerous jump rings into lengths of chain.  The pick soldering technique will provide you with greater control over the soldering process.

Setting Up A Pickle Pot Preview 06:09

After soldering, it is important to clean your work to preserve tools and avoid mistakes.  This lesson will teach you how to set up a pickle pot using commonly available materials.

Remove Oxidation With Pickle Preview 03:20

Every object that you solder will take a bath in your pickle pot.  In this lecture, Prof. Ahr explains how the pickling process works and the dos and don'ts that will help you to avoid problems.

Disposal Of Pickle Preview 03:18

Eventually you pickle will become unusable and will need to be disposed of.  This lecture provides you with information on how to safely dispose of "spent" pickle in a way that is applicable in most jurisdictions.   

Annealing Preview 04:34

Metal needs to be softened before it can be shaped.  In this lecture you will learn how to soften metal with heat.

Shaping The Chain Preview 07:49

How do jewelers transform round jump rings into oval chain links?  In this lecture Prof. Ahr will show you how.

The Perfect Necklace Length Preview 03:54

Learn how to "style" your necklace so that it's the perfect length.

Transfer The Image Preview 06:48

Your design looks great on paper.  But how do you produce the same result on metal? In this lecture you will learn a simple technique that will enable you to transfer your drawings onto your sheet metal.

Piercing Design Elements Preview 07:01

Soldering The Backing Preview 10:56

You will learn how to control solder in order to apply a pierced backing plate to a large jump ring to create a bezeled element.  In a future lecture you will learn how to fill these bezeled elements with epoxy resin.  

Trim And File Preview 05:12

Learn how to use the jewelers saw and files to perfect the shape of your design elements.  This is a fundamental process to the creation of any metal project.

Connecting The Connectors Preview 14:24

Jewelry relies on smooth transitions between elements to create elegant wearables.  In this lecture, Prof. Ahr teaches you effective ways to solder the transitional connections needed to integrate feature elements into the design of your necklace project.

Tumbling To A Bright Finish Preview 04:13

Learn how to use a simple mechanized system to apply a bright shiny finish to your project.  Likewise, this same process can be used to "work harden" your metal elements.

Assembly Preview 11:43

You made all of the parts.  This lecture teaches you how to put them all together based upon a layout that determines the lengths of chain between the feature elements.

Epoxy Resin Preview 15:03

This lecture will teach you how to properly mix and apply epoxy resin to add color and interest to your piece.  Remember, you don't have to use just one color.

Finishing Touches Preview 03:04

Learn how to apply a clasp to your necklace to finish your project.