As I bask in my accomplishment....

[lillian13]

cufflinks final 2
Originally uploaded by LillianB

They're DONE!

I spent almost 4 hours grinding and polishing and swearing at these, and they're finally done! I think they turned out spiffy. There are a couple more pictures on flickr. I'm definitely adding these into the portfolio.

To recap:

1) I flattened an ingot to make the 16 ga silver for the bases.
2) I soldered, using a very hard (high-temp) solder, without destroying anything, including the initials and bezels.
3) Laid a pattern on the background, domed the main pieces (with the bezel and initials on already).
4) Assembled, with more soldering.
5) Three layers of enamel, with four firings in the kiln (which has no window, so I was guessing on the time).
6) Grinding and polishing.
7) Careful bending of the stem.

DONE.

Comments

[alycorn.livejournal.com]

I love cufflinks, and I love green, so this is twice over lovely :D That list of steps...yeesh! They came out GREAT after all that work you put into them!

Please continue making awesome wearable art and posting the pictures, I love seeing 'em.

(btw, you are selling for Mr. Pegasus at Animix in Killeen, yes? I will be there doing my parapara dancing...will definitely stop by, and if you need to step away from the table for a mo, I can cover you ^_~)

[lillian13.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Yep, I'll be there. And I know table breaks will be greatly appreciated. :-)

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

That sounds like an intense labor. They look really lovely.

[lillian13.livejournal.com]

It does, doesn't it? But they were so small it wasn't too horrible. Thanks!

[dremiel.livejournal.com]

Lovely! These came out really great. Is the new space working out?

[lillian13.livejournal.com]

I'll move the table from David over on Saturday, and I'll bring in O2 and propane in a couple of weeks and set up the torch. I think it's going to work out great.

[tehomet.livejournal.com]

They look lovely. So much work, though! :)