Chain Number One is Done!

Okay.  My tumbler arrived and I used an abrasive plastic pyramid media (medium grit) to finish the chain.  I tumbled it for at least six hours.  I took it out a couple of times and removed a bit of the blackener by hand with an abrasive polishing paper, as the patina was darker on some links for some reason (I think this is because I was a little inconsistent with the file and roughened some surfaces more than others.)  The result is a satiny matte finish and the necklace looks and feels very soft.  I like it much better now that I've darkened and tumbled it.  Now that I see it like this, I may eventually want to make more of these necklaces, or something close to it.  And it feels nice to wear.

Here you can see the back of the necklace and the looped tabs which connect the links.  I have found that I occasionally need to squeeze the loops with my pliers again, but it generally has held up with a fair amount to movement (and tugging by my enthusiastic toddler).  I think, if I make this chain again, I will solder the loops in place.  But first I need to do some experimenting with soldering aluminum...  So I say chain one is done.

Chain Number One

I pretty much completed my first chain.  This isn't a very good photo, but here I am wearing it after I finished the clasp.  Since then I've blackened it (with Jax aluminum blackener) and used an abrasive polishing paper to brighten and remove some of the patina on couple of the links.  I'm waiting for my new tumbler to arrive and I'll be tossing the chain in there to see what kind of finish I might get.

While making these chains and learning about aluminum, I'm looking for efficient ways to saw, file and finish the metal, in which I am exerting the least amount of effort and creating as little dust as possible.  I would really like to avoid sanding because this creates really miniscule dust which I'd rather not breathe in, have all over my skin and clothes, nor wash down the drain.  I don't have a dust collector (nor do I have room nor $ for one at the moment).  So, since I'm not sanding much, I'm trying to be conscious of my file marks.  Perhaps I can live with them.  We'll see what kind of results I get with the tumbler.

Eventually, I will be using my small hydraulic press to stamp out jewelry components, such as these links, which will eliminate the dust created from sawing.  But I will still need to finish the edges.  I've jumped ahead...  But in the back of my mind, as I create these links, I imagine shapes being stamped out instead of sawed by hand.  My awareness of my hydraulic press is influencing my designs, for sure.

This first chain lays pretty nicely on the body, but when I wore it around, I found I didn't like the way a section of it would flip over.  I removed a couple of links and it now it doesn't flip so much.  But in my next chains, I'd like to accommodate for some flipping, design it so it looks good if it flips around on an active person.  I feel like this one would wear well on a composed person in a black dress, going somewhere fancy, not running around with a one-year old on a playground (which is how I wore it).  This is a pretty flat necklace and I'd like to make something with a bit more dimension.  Also, the shape and function of these links make for a more static necklace.  But as I was designing these links, I was really interested in how the links would line up and move.  I wanted to allow some movement, but limit it so they would fall in line and all be oriented in the same direction.  I was playing with the shape of the hole, and the shape of the connecting tab.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with this first chain and what I learned from it.  I don't know if I'll ever make these components again, but I'm sure I'll the make use of the information I gleaned from the process.

My Ten Chain Callenge

I'm working on making chains. Ten of them.  I was inspired to this challenge after taking Amy Tavern's workshop called "Innovating the Chain." I learned a lot. Mostly I was reminded in my interest in process, my love of multiples, and the process of learning through repetition.  She suggested when we try something new, we try it more than once, perhaps ten times and we may discover something.  Maybe something we like, maybe what is not to like.  I really took this to heart, and I realized that making ten chains would be a great project for me.  It gives me a goal, and a boundary in which to play and explore ideas. 

My criteria:

• Make ten chains
• out of aluminum sheet metal
• without planning them all in advance
• and instead, let one lead to the next
• but, sketch ideas in my notebook along the way.
• Don't think about selling them.
• They are sketches.