Sue Lane » Student Galleries

Sandcasting Workshop

Sue Lane — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:45:57 +0000

A very enjoyable workshop! Casting is a “hit or miss’ process, so there is always the element of surprise when you have cast in silver and open your mould…

Here are a few images from the day.

Making the mould.

Removing the original item from the mould, before casting in silver.

Heating the silver.

The molten silver.

Some of the castings before filing or cleaning up.

A silver tag.

Silver key.

Phil and Harj make their own wedding rings

Sue Lane — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:20:49 +0000

On Tuesday 17th January Phil and Harj joined me in the studio to make their own wedding rings. We had a lovely day and they made beautifully finished rings, and even a pair or earrings. Here are some images from their day…

Silver wire

Phil and Harj starting to shape the wires

Harj adding solder to the ring

Soldering

Will you marry me!

It fits!

Finishing off the rings

Filing and buffing to remove marks

The finished rings. Polished silver and matt hammered silver.

Gemma and Alex make their own wedding rings

Sue Lane — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:33:04 +0000

On Tuesday 13th December Gemma and Alex joined me in the studio to make their own wedding rings. It was a special day as it was their anniversary of getting together and of their engagement too. We had a really enjoyable day and they made fantastic rings. Here are some images from the day.

Alex and Gemma

9k white gold wire

Shaping the wire with pliers

Ready to cut off the excess.

Cut and ready to bring the ends together.

Soldering

Making the rings smaller

Alex and Gemma working hard to make the rings look lovely!

The finished rings!

Natasha and Ben make their own wedding rings

Sue Lane — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:12:26 +0000

On Saturday 29th October Ben and Natasha joined me in the jewellery making studio to make their wedding rings. Although they had no previous experience of working in metal, they both made wonderful rings. They made each others, with Natasha making a 6mm 9k white gold band whilst Ben made a 2mm palladium band. It was really enjoyable day and over lunch we could compare chicken keeping experiences; so I learnt new things too!

Here are some images form their day:

9k white gold and palladium wire.

Using pliers to shape the metal into a ring shape.

Trying the rings to get the right size.

Made to the right size, and marked ready to cut with the piercing saw.

Adding solder to the ring.

Hammering the ring to make it round.

Filing and buffing the rings to remove any marks.

The finished rings, the palladium is polished while the white gold is matt.

Find out more about making your own wedding rings.

Tom and Caroline make their own wedding rings

Sue Lane — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 08:20:01 +0000

On Friday 16th September Caroline and Tom spent the day in the studio with me making their wedding rings. They were very enthusiastic and excited students who loved the whole process. They made each others rings, so Caroline had the tougher job of turning 5mm platinum wire into a beautiful wedding band. Tom did a fantastic job making Caroline’s ring, even using the small offcuts of platinum from his ring to make Caroline a beautiful little pair of stud earrings!

Here are some of the images from their day in the studio.

5mm platinum and 2mm 18k gold wires

Annealing the wire

Shaping the metal to form a circle, and checking it for size. Caroline made sure Tom was not going to take it off!

Tom assisting Caroline!

Cutting through the over lap to ensure a good join is made ready for soldering

Adding the platinum solder

Once soldered Tom and Caroline hammered the rings to make them round and flat

The final polish!

Platinum requires a lot more work to get a high polish, and Caroline persevered and gave the ring a perfect polish!

And finally - the finished rings!