This design started with a strip of rusted steel. I love rusty metal and was pretty excited when I saw this strip of metal and realized that I could shape it and drill it to use in a piece of jewelry. I manipulated it around and decided I liked it as a pendant. In the original design I left the back long and was going to add a bezel with an old photo and resin. You will see that part in the photos and then it disappears as I finish the piece. I liked it less and less as I added the other parts of the design so I sawed it off. I think that is one of the hardest parts of the design process is keeping it balanced. I always walk away from a piece and come back later to see if it’s still working for me.
After deciding that I was using the rusty steel, I had to dig through my stash to find the perfect stone to use with it. I like to make an inspiration pile as I search through things, just pulling items I think might work and keeping them available until the piece is complete.
I came across this piece of petrified wood and felt that it was perfect. The smooth and shiny is a good counter to the rust and it’s irregular shaped and strong enough for the total design.
To construct the pendant, bend the steel over a round mandrel with some heavy duty pliers and a few taps with a hammer and slide the stone in to fit it.
I have pliers with teeth on my work bench for this type of work. The hardware store has some great ones.
Mark the stone and steel with a marker then drill the stone using a diamond drill and a hockey puck in water.
The hockey puck is very inexpensive and a nice hard surface to drill on. A drill bit can drill into the puck with no harm. The water needs to cover the stone to keep it cool during the drilling process. This is a slow process so be patient.
After drilling the stone, make a corresponding hole in the steel with a regular metal drill bit. These holes are 1/16th inch or size 52 so they will be a perfect fit for a micro screws to hold it all together.
I wanted to make this piece look “old west” so I put a piece of brass filigree in the rivet stack. Before using the filigree, heat it with a torch to age it. Next, line up the stone inside the steel strip and put the screw through the center of the filigree piece and then through the whole stack (filigree, steel, stone, steel ).
Once the nut is tight, snip off the excess ‘two rings” up and tap out the raw tip with the ball peen hammer to spread it and keep it locked. When you are doing this, the front of the screw needs to be set on a bench block or anvil to be able to hammer from the back effectively and get the desired result.
This is basically a very simple rivet and you could actually do a wire rivet here also. I recommend doing two rivets as it will keep your stone from moving….thought of that one when it was too late! I would do one under the filigree and one through the filigree to keep the finished piece balanced.
Thread the pendant onto two stands of 4mm vintage look leather cording (three feet should work unless you want it to hang long). Don’t cut yet as one should be longer than the other. I decided to place some metal on the leather cord to make it stronger looking and add interesting detail. I also wanted the cords to lay apart to make them bolder to go with a large pendant and did them in twisted wire to look like rope.
Make twisted bronze wire by folding about 6 feet or more of wire in half. I used 16 gauge here. Put the loop in a tight vise and then the raw ends into a hardware drill. Slowly start the drill and twist the wire until you like the finished look. Cut about 2 inches and anneal to soften then make two facing loops then put in a vise and hammer to flatten the top of the wire.
Cut about 2 inches and anneal to soften then make two facing loops.
Put in a vise and hammer to flatten the top of the wire. I didn't get a photo of this step but in the photo below you can see the result.
Whenever you use rusty grungy metal it needs to have some sparkle and shine somewhere to keep it from looking like it came from the tool shed. I used E600 to glue on the single turquoise sparkle stone.
I like these because they are already set in brass and it makes them bolder looking than just a plain crystal. I also torched them carefully to darken the brass a bit. I then tapped a bit of Patina colored Gilder's Paste on the leather to pull it all together and wear it down to look older like it “biffed” something and transferred the color. Sandpaper makes it easy to remove too much color. Once this is dry it won’t transfer to your clothing as it’s a wax. I also added the turquoise sparkle to the leather holders to spark it up a bit.
Originally I was going to put a resin piece on the rusty part (I had been asked to do a resin piece for a magazine) but later decided it was too much and cut it off. Design happens as you go because you have to see it together to know if it balances right. As you can see the change of direction is a good choice!
The ends are custom made to blend with the pendant and because they had to work with two cords. I made a loop and flattened it. Think about "inventing" the right pieces to pull it all together. I saw something similar on a piece by Keith LoBue--someone who's work is well worth staring at!
After the loop, make two rolls of loops below them to fit the leather cord. Cut the length of the leather cords to meet in back--the outside cord will be longer. Adjust the wire loops on the cord working around the circle, tightening the wire slightly as you go.
Dig the raw end of the wire into the leather to make it secure. Use a brown marker to color the fresh cut ends so they blend in.
The hook is shaped from the same gauge bronze wire so it matches perfectly. Cut 2.5” of wire and flatten the first ¼” of one end on a bench block with a chasing hammer. Roll that end tightly with a pair of small round nose pliers.
Lay the wire over a smooth pen and with the loop outward roll it over the pen. This will shape your loop and you can adjust with a chain nose pliers if you want. Take the round nose pliers and at the larger point make a loop on the raw end and cut with flush cutters to fit.
You can modify this hook in many ways. After you make a bunch of them they are super fast and easy and very handy as they can be adjusted to fit your project perfectly!
Buff up the metal and coat with Renaissance Wax to keep the patina stable. Put on your cowboy boots and wear!
Share this blog link with a freind who would like it and cc me at [email protected]. I'll put your name in a drawing for some of The Overflowing Stash AND a piece of rusty steel!
Next week I'll be blogging from the BeadFest show in Santa Fe
