Jewellery World Magazine - August 2021
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7<br />
Cut the hinges down to<br />
approximately 3mm and file them<br />
into a rounded profile. The catch<br />
end can be filed down to approximately<br />
4mm.<br />
Remove any solder evidence and emery<br />
clean them ready for polishing.<br />
8<br />
To make the correct ear wire<br />
profile, hammer the wires on your<br />
bench block. The ball will become<br />
a disk and the wire should be flattened<br />
to around 0.7mm thick.<br />
9<br />
Now prepare a small piece of<br />
0.9mm round wire and find a drill<br />
the same size. Drill into the centre<br />
of the disks on the ear wires and the<br />
through the centre of the hinges making<br />
sure your drilling is perfectly straight.<br />
Also drill the catches in the centre at the<br />
point where the catch meets the hoop.<br />
10<br />
Open the catch hole out with<br />
a 1.1mm ball bur. Insert a 4/0<br />
saw blade and cut out to the<br />
top. Open the cut out a little<br />
and curve the inner cuts at the top. Use a<br />
knife edge escapement file tidy up the inner<br />
opening.<br />
Test the ear wire to make sure it catches.<br />
11pin. Cut the ear wire down and<br />
Now you can fit the curved<br />
ear wire and insert the hinge<br />
taper the end. There should<br />
just be enough protruding to be able to<br />
operate it.<br />
You will probably need to make some<br />
adjustments. Take your time and make<br />
sure that the parts are not wobbly when<br />
fitted.<br />
12<br />
Once you are satisfied that<br />
the mechanism is functioning<br />
properly you can cut and<br />
file the hinge pins down so<br />
that 0.5mm is exposed on both sides.<br />
Hammer the pin ends carefully and keep<br />
turning them over to ensure that the<br />
flared ends are even.<br />
Now test and tweak as necessary until<br />
your earrings are ready for a final polish.<br />
Peter Keep is a<br />
master jeweller<br />
and teacher. He<br />
offers structured<br />
online courses<br />
that have helped<br />
thousands of<br />
students around<br />
the world improve<br />
their skills.<br />
<strong>Jewellery</strong> Training Solutions offers a comprehensive online training service<br />
including the industry recognised Ten Stage Apprenticeship Course.<br />
The video tutorial for this lesson can be found in the Advanced Level<br />
https://jewellery-training-solutions.thinkific.com/courses/creole-earrings<br />
Check out the other courses and options at<br />
www.jewellerytrainingsolutions.com.au<br />
<strong>August</strong> <strong>2021</strong> 43
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