Contrariwise ramblings

Eventually, my OCD kicked in; I NEEDED to make them. I COULDN'T GO ON without trying to make them.

I searched through google to learn about how to make flat and concave discs. It didn't seem so hard. Of course I would need to buy some new tools: a dapping block, punches, and a disc cutter. (New toys! Yeah!)

I checked around and found that not only are these items pretty pricey, but shipping is really expensive because, being made from solid metal, they're very heavy. I was itching to try this technique but wasn't sure that I'd use it a lot. So I really didn't want to invest a lot of money.

The absolute cheapest metal dapping block, at $35, was at my local Harbor Freight store. Even though I wouldn't need to pay shipping and handling charges, I still balked. So I visited it often at the store, contemplating buying it.

Then one Saturday while I was loitering at the HF store - walking through the aisles and lusting after the tools - I saw the dapping block on sale for $22.99!

It was D-E-S-T-I-N-Y!

It went home with me. I'll admit, it's not the best quality. I got what I paid for. There are minor scratches in the hollows on the block, and a couple of punches have slightly flattened tips.

BUT DOESN'T IT LOOK COOL ON MY SHELF?! (Can you tell that I'm pretty happy.)

Next step: find a (cheap) disc cutter.

After much searching, I finally went to eBay and found this little baby-->

Whoo hoo!

Now what do I do? Neither the dapping block or the disc cutter came with instructions. The dapping block was pretty intuitive, but the disc cutter wasn't.

Look at the ends of the punches. One is end is flat and the other is slightly rounded. Which end is for what?

I assumed I slide a sheet of metal in the little slot of the side, insert the punch, and then hammer away... or do I? Should the cutter lie on a surface or be supported? I wasn't sure, even with all the instructions I found on the internet!

Yes, I know that sounds stupid, but I didn't want to ruin my new toy with my first blow. Frustrated, I decided to leave this for another day.

Then, a few weeks later, I met a very friendly artist at a street fair in San Francisco It was obvious that he knew what he was doing. I finally got the courage and told him that I made jewelry too. He was very interested and we chatted. I asked him about disc cutters and he gave me some very useful advice. He also suggested start with copper sheets and use a heavy brass hammer instead my regular steel ballpeen.

OK. Need to buy more stuff: brass hammer, sheets of copper, and one (very expensive) sheet of sterling silver.

Now here I was, two months later and a couple of hundred dollars poorer. I had everything I needed and was ready.

You know what's next? Yup, you're right:

To be continued.....
(I promise to show you what I made with my new tools.)
Contrariwise Jewelry is now a proud member


Contrariwise Jewelry is now a proud member of Metal Smiths in Action: http://metalsmithsinaction.webs.com/index.htm

Do you want to subscribe to my blog by email? Click here!.
Would you like to be a Contrariwise follower? Then click on the link in the upper right on my side bar.