Working with Copper

I think copper is a lovely material to work with. It is malleable and easily worked, can be oxidized, and is relatively cheap! When it comes to ease of working and hardening, sterling silver is my first choice, but when it comes to price and workability combined, copper can't be beat.

Here is a somewhat amateurish photo of a pair of earrings I made from copper wire, copper sheet, and a glass bead. I cut copper into squares, embossed them with a stamp, domed them on a doming block, and pierced them with a drill.

The dangles were made from 18 ga copper wire. I balled the ends with a torch, and hammered them flat. The ear wires were handmade from 20 gauge copper wire.

The picture to the right is what I really wanted to show you. This is a closeup of one of the hammered and embossed squares of copper sheeting. Look at that patina! I acheived this using a liver of sulphur bath, sanding down the edges of the sheet to round then and expose the shiny red of the copper underneath, and then I tumbled them in a cheapie rock tumbler made for kids, with stainless steel shot and and a little water and dish soap for 2 hours or so.

How cool is that!

Check back again for more about how to use a tumbler and why you would want to.

Cheers, Christine

Sterling silver oxidizing tip

Jewelry makers often use liver of sulphur to oxidize their silver jewelry. This tarnishes the silver which can then be polished. The tarnish stays in the recesses and the polished raised parts become more distinctive. Here's an example of what I mean:

See how the silver is shiny in the outer parts of the wirewrapping? The dark inner parts contrasting with the polished lighter parts give the piece more definition and add an antique-y quality to your jewelry.



Here's how you do it:
Ok, so here's what you do if you want to try this technique without trying to hunt down the liver of sulphur and shelling out.

You can oxidize sterling silver with a boiled egg. Chop up a boiled egg and place it in a baggie with your silver for a few hours or until the silver has darkened to your liking. It will turn yellow yellow then pinkish purplish bluish, then greyish blackish. Wash off the silver with soapy water and you are ready to go. The sulphur in the egg yolk causes the reaction. Don't freak out because your jewellery or wire has turned black if you do this! This is a good thing. Just shine it up with some steel wool and/ or a polishing cloth. This technique is not very cost-effective in quantity but is great in a pinch.

Coming soon: how to oxidize silver using liver of sulphur

Wire gauges 101

When I first started using wire in my jewelry I found the whole gauge thing so confusing. I searched books, the internet, and magazines for info to try to piece together what to use for what purpose.

Here's my wire cheat sheet:

What do the terms mean?

Gauge: The gauge is the thickness of the wire.

14 gauge: 1.65 mm in diameter -

• for clasps, thick jump rings, chain maille jewellery, neck rings, bangle bracelets, substantial formed links, eye pins for beads with very large holes

16 gauge: 1.3 mm in diam. -

• for clasps, thick jump rings, chain maille jewellery, neck rings, bangle bracelets, substantial formed links, eye pins for beads with large holes

18 gauge: 1.0 mm in diam. -

• for more delicate clasps, jump rings, formed links, eye pins, head pins, wire-wrapping, fits through most bead holes, also good for making ear-wires, though 20 gauge is more common. I like 18 gauge myself, but I also use 20 gauge for making earwires.

20 gauge: 0.8 mm in diam. -

• for jump rings, delicate formed links, eye pins, head pins, wire-wrapped links, split-rings, fits through most bead holes. Also good for making earwires. For more about earwires, see Lara's comment below. Thanks Lara!

22 gauge: 0.65 mm in diam. -

• for wire-wrapping, wire-wrapped head-pins, eye-pins, fits through almost all bead holes

24 gauge: 0.5 mm in diam. -

• standard size for wire-wrapped bead links and head pins, wire-wrapping, fits through all but the smallest bead holes. Semi-precious gemstone beads and pearls often have smaller holes than other beads. This gauge fits through almost all of these.

26 gauge: 0.4 mm

• for wire crochet, wire-wrapped bead links and head pins, wire-wrapping, fits through all but the smallest bead holes. Semi-precious gemstone beads and pearls often have smaller holes than other beads. This gauge should fit through all of these.

28 gauge: 0.32 mm

• for wire crochet, wire-wrapping, wire-weaving.

Temper: The hardness (or softness) of the wire

Dead-soft:

• refers to wire that has been annealed (made softer by heat) and is very easy to bend with your hands or with tools. I prefer this temper to half-hard because I find it much easier to work with. This temper can be hardened (called work-hardening) by tapping it with a nylon or rawhide hammer, or squeezing it between nylon jaw pliers. It can also be work-hardened by hitting it on a steel block or anvil with a chasing hammer or a regular hammer. This will flatten the wire though (this is called forging - it give clasps, links, and jump rings a really nice, finished look).

Half-hard:

• refers to wire that is harder and more rigid than dead-soft. It can still be worked, but takes more effort and skill. It is more rigid and snaps more easily. Some prefer half-hard to dead-soft because it makes for a stronger link. This temper is too hard for wire-wrapping (except for maybe the 26 or 28 gauge).

Full-hard:

• this wire is quite hard and rigid and does not bend easily. This temper is too hard for jewellery-making.

Wire Shape: refers to the shape of the diameter of the wire

Round: regular wire (end looks like a circle)

Half-round: flat on one side of the wire (end looks like a like a half-moon)

Square: 4 equal flat sides (end looks like a square)

Triangular: 3 equal flat sides (end looks like a triangle)