Horseshoe Lampwork Bracelet, Part 1
On the left, you can see my first piece of jewelry made with my own lampworked beads and hammered silver links. Today, I’ll show you how to make the links, and tomorrow I’ll post how to assemble the bracelet.
Materials:
Sterling silver wire in 10, 18, and 24 gauges
10-12 mm transparent lampworked beads
2 mm silver-plated round beads
Roundnose pliers
Wire cutters
Chainnose pliers
Chasing hammer
Block
Files or sanding sticks
1. Cut 5 1.75″ lengths of 10 gauge silver wire. File the ends smooth.
2. Using your roundnose pliers, bend each piece into a horseshoe shape.
3. Using the flat side of the chasing hammer, flatten and spread the two ends of the horseshoe, then gently flatten the arch area. You want the ends of the horseshoe to be wide enough so that the wrapped loops we add later will hold the beads securely without sliding off. When you’re satisfied with the shape of the link, use the round side of the hammer to texture both sides.
4. File or sand away any nicks or roughness, then gently sand the whole link to bring out the texture.
5. The finished link. You could easily modify the project by creating heart-shaped links, ovals, squares, or any shape you can bend from the 10 gauge wire. Just make a prototype first to see how long a piece you need for each link, then proceed through the steps as shown.
Posted: September 1st, 2009 under Jewelry, Tutorials.