{"id":134,"date":"2010-07-07T15:57:49","date_gmt":"2010-07-07T20:57:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hooverandstrong.com\/blog\/archives\/132\/"},"modified":"2012-06-11T13:19:35","modified_gmt":"2012-06-11T17:19:35","slug":"finish-line-creating-cool-finishes-with-inexpensive-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/technical-articles.hooverandstrong.com\/wordpress\/finish-line-creating-cool-finishes-with-inexpensive-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"Finish Line – Creating cool finishes with inexpensive tools"},"content":{"rendered":"

A subtle finish is often a very important part of the design of a jewelry piece. To build the repertoire of finishes that I use in my shop, I study and experiment. I love looking at heirloom pieces and observing the details and textures in them. When I see something that I like-a nice contrast or a subtle detail that seems to complete a piece-I invent a way of creating that finish using retrofitted or inexpensive tools.<\/p>\n

Try these tools and tricks for obtaining the following finishes in your work:<\/strong><\/p>\n

HAMMER FINISH.<\/strong> This is a great multipurpose finish that looks especially nice on curved or domed surfaces. After I’ve completely finished a piece, I use a hammer handpiece fitted in my Gravermax to apply the hammered texture to the surface at a very slow speed. As opposed to traditional hammering, this process is completely controlled and allows me to apply the finish to a very small section of a piece.<\/p>\n

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When I’m done hammering, I take fine grit 3M wet or dry polish paper or 000 steel wool and use it to highlight the top surfaces of the hammer indentations. This bright-polishes the top of the piece and gives definition and depth to the hammer finish.<\/p>\n

SCRATCH FINISH.<\/strong> A file cleaner with a wooden handle, which costs under $10, is a great tool for applying a scratch finish to a piece. When using this finish for a band, I start by masking off the edges of the ring with masking tape to retain their bright polish. This offers a nice contrast to the scratch finish in the central portion of the band. The art of the scratch finish is to do it quickly and evenly; you don’t want to scratch it too much. Using your file cleaner, apply the scratches in a round motion while slowly advancing the ring around the ring holder until finished.<\/p>\n

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Because the file cleaner has uniform edges, you get a nice consistent finish.<\/p>\n

I tell all of my clients who elect this finish that it will last for about two years on a white gold pi ece, and I’d be happy to reapply the finish in a few years for a $20 fee.<\/p>\n

STIPPLE FINISH. <\/strong>Using a heat- treated steel point with a slightly blunted tip in my Gravermax, I apply a stipple finish. I run the Gravermax at medium speed forthis operation. Like the scratch finish, the stipple looks best in a confined space with bright outer edges. The motion when applying it is almost like painting; I move the steel point in a circular pattern as I try to create a uniform texture. This finish is fairly durable and doesn’t show scratches, making it suitable for rings intended to be worn daily.<\/p>\n

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BARK TEXTURE.<\/strong> Some textural finishes are easier to apply directly in the wax model prior to casting. To create a texture that resembles tree bark, I begin by heating a ball bur and bending the end just a bit to create a slight curve. When the bur is spinning in my flexshaft handpiece, I create curvy grooves in the wax. The tool’s shape gives the lines a roughness and irregularity that convey a texture of tree bark. This finish looks great sandblasted after casting with a light polish on the top surfaces, and it’s very durable.<\/p>\n

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Article from MJSA Journal, May 2010<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A subtle finish is often a very important part of the design of a jewelry piece. To build the repertoire of finishes that I use in my shop, I study and experiment. I love looking at heirloom pieces and observing the details and textures in them. When I see something that I like-a nice contrast…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8,14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/technical-articles.hooverandstrong.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/technical-articles.hooverandstrong.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/technical-articles.hooverandstrong.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/technical-articles.hooverandstrong.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/technical-articles.hooverandstrong.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/technical-articles.hooverandstrong.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":142,"href":"http:\/\/technical-articles.hooverandstrong.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134\/revisions\/142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/technical-articles.hooverandstrong.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/technical-articles.hooverandstrong.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/technical-articles.hooverandstrong.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}