Patinated Copper Hoops with Garnet twinkles - ETSY Teaser - A sweet tutorial for you ....Part I


Here is a sweet tutorial for those of you beginners who want an easy basic beginning metal work project with a fabulous result. This will be posted in two parts.  My patinated copper hoops with garnet twinkles.  Enjoy! ~

Cut two 8 inch pieces of copper wire, I used 18 gauge but anything from 20 down to 14 would work.



Wrap the wire around a mandrel or other round object such as a dowel, that is the size of the hoop you want to make, and make two that are the same size.

flush cutter



Mark your hoops with a sharpie or other
permanant marker and cut with a flush cutter.  This tool cuts two flat edges and allows the parts to be soldered to line up nicely.

 

 

 

Apply flux to the joint, I am using paste flux here



Add a small amount of Easy Solder on top of the flux



 





Use a medium torch and heat until the solder flows and then quench in a bowl of water.






Soak hoops in a pickle pot with sparex solution to remove firescale and then brush with a brass brush and mild soap such as dish washing liquid



True your hoops on your mandrel or dowel so that they are round.
 





Forge with a hammer for a textured edge.

Here I am using a solution of water and liver of sulfer gel to give a patina to the newly cleaned copper.  In part 2 I will show how to add the beads, jump rings and earwires for the completed project.

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