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DesignsToLove Forum
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| Hi, I am new here - just posted three things. How does this work? Do people just contact you if they are interested in something?
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| great, i am really a newbie and am trying to source rings from oz, but nada so it seems america is the go eh? i was thinking of bright aluminum, but noted someone said it was brittle...does that mean it snaps easily? can someone give me a basic list of ring sizes to make necklaces and bracelets etc i am really confused at the moment and don`t want to stuff up an order from the u.s. i have been practicing with jump rings purchased from crafton the net and they turned out nice but wouldn`t mind getting into it for markets etc there isn`t anything in adelaide like it that i have seen.
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i wasn`t sure about that either when positing an item a moment ago...
it`s a bit confusing!
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I post in both depending on what it is. If it is completely metal and involved a number of metalsmithing skills than I post it where people will actually appreciate it  If the metal componenets and skills are secondary to the beadwork, or just equal components, I put it in beading where people will actually appreciate it.
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Hi there,
I have been a mailler for about 3 years now, and I wanted to add that the colours to wear down on annodized metals with time. That being said, i have sold a number of annodized pieces with the caveat that the colour will fade over time and have not had any complaints.
In fact, people buy the annodized aluminum as a "cheap and fun" alternative to the silver and gold pieces I always have with me.
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| I would put the jewelry in the jewelry category. Having work posted there that`s very different from what other people are posting there isn`t a bad thing - it will make you stand out! People interested in/looking for silver jewelry are more likely to look there, and when they go there they will easily find you. That`s definitely a good thing.
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| I`m not sure how rigid the categories are here. I took a peek at your Etsy shop and I guess you could do either. I believe there are jewelry pieces in Metalsmithing here, right?
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I`m confused about whether my work should be in blacksmithing & metal or in beading & jewellery.
Almost all of my work is in sterling silver and is made using metalworking techniques (soldering for starters!). It seems very different to most of what is in the beading & jewelry section ... and yet it is mostly jewelry. So far I`ve only put non-jewelry objects into the blacksmithing & metal section.
Can someone give me some guidance?
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I do a lot of etching in silver. Firstly, you need to be aware that anything that etches metal is going to be a relatively dangerous chemical, although you can go for chemicals that are less dangerous than others.
To etch silver most people use nitric acid which works very well and quickly. However, I work from home and do my etching in my kitchen and I just don`t want to have proper acid here.
So I use ferric nitrate instead. This works well, but it`s much slower than nitric acid. It also has a tendency to badly stain some surfaces - and usually the stains don`t show up until days later - so you need to work very carefully with it, always use gloves (your fingernails will go black otherwise!) and clean up meticulously if there are any splashes.
If you want to etch copper you can use ferric chloride, which is much easier to get as a lot of electronics people use it to etch circuit boards - if you go to an electronics shop chances are they`ll have it. People will tell you that it etches silver ... but unless you have weeks to wait to find out if it works, I wouldn`t even try. The best result I`ve had after hours and hours is a very faint shadow on the metal.
Hope that`s a start!
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| Any advice? I`m a total metal working newbie. Thanks!
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oh gawd - hot pink - I NEED some!!!! (screaming hot pink is my colour! the blue is a close second)
I found with the exhibition my stuff was in - beforehand some people thought it was overpriced, so I put in descriptions of how the chains were made from scratch from wire (the knits) and that the chain maille was from hand wound & hand sawn rings. Apparently they turned out to be the talking point of the exhibition and the bracelet that sold - the buyer had come down for lunch and seen it then driven home for the cash and back (75km each way) - if I`d known I`d have posted it for him!
Also a couple of people wanted to keep the descriptions (only had 1 set to go with 10 pieces total) so I think some small info cards to go with the pieces would help sell them more?
Would love to try some of the niobium, but I`m still waiting for my tumbler that I ordered a month ago so I can finish off some more to see about selling somewhere.
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I took my Niobium creations to a market last Sunday. It was sold in a flash, tourists just love it and have never heard of it before. (cas gives very brief explanation of what it is) lol. I have a helm chain ring on middle finger of right hand with niobium in it, its been tumbled twice, its been on there for 6 weeks, washing up, washing cars, dogs, floors etc, no damage to the colour. I must say Im very impressed. I also have orders for bracelets in the pink, which is hot pink. Now back to work for me, I have next market in 10 days and hardly any stock woo hoo.
Cas xxx
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Well, I`ve been wearing my stainless & bronze vertebrae weave bracelet constantly to observe the bronze. I really like it alot. So far I`ve only used it for accent pieces.......nothng made entirely bronze yet. Have you? I thought about earrings & adding some crystals. Did they have those in the bronze age? lol 
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Hey Denise,
I actually got the bronze kit from the Ring Lord months ago and love using it. I chose bronze over brass because.... um.... I thought it would wear better and I liked the ancientness of bronze, like the bronze age hehehe.... It has a really lovely colour to it.
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Exactly! In fact I only use enameled copper on earrings only. Once scratched....there`s not stopping the color from coming off.  Not to mention it`s very soft. I used it with stainless steel pieces, but now just for earrings. I have another metal I`m using to add a bit of color. Bronze!! Love, love , love this stuff. It has a warm glow which softens the "hardness" of the stainless. When it tarnishes I simply soak in white vinegar & rinse. Talk about shine....the stainless, too! It`s 97% copper, but it`s strength comes from tin. Try it!! Let me know!
denise
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I love niobium. I find a small $10US (not counting postage) from the ring lord lasts me a few projects....
That bracelet is gorgeous!
Gemdrops - I made an enammelled copper bracelet for my daughter but in no time at all the enamel wore off leaving the hot pink bracelet a silver colour! I would assume it is better suited to earrings or even necklaces where it doesn`t get the wear and tear. ?
Donni
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Hi Cas
You`ve got 2 of my favourite colours there! I`ll have to put off buying any rings for a while though at that price. The blue and silver look great together.
cas
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Hi cass,
I used the niobium and Im totally hooked. It doesnt scratch and I asked around and found that you can tumble it for about 30 mins without any damage, which I did with great results. (see pic attached). Its not cheap though $50AUD for one troy ounce which equates to about 350 rings x 3mm ID.
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| I am just getting started with Chain maille and I find it a challenge to say the least
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Hi everyone. I started chainmaille about two years ago. I use stainless steel, sterling silver, goldfill & enameled copper. I buy all my rings except the sterling, which I cut myself. The enameled copper is very soft but comes in beautiful colors. If scratched the color will come off. I`ve read that all colored metal will, over time, fade. I have no personal experience in that arena. The next metal I will be trying is bronze, which will tarnish.
There are so many very talented people here. I`m having a great time admiring!! If I ever learn to use a digital camera & learn to upload I`ll post some pics. In the meantime I`m happy to help out if I can.
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| It`s the aluminium that is brittle, I haven`t had any probs with niobium as rings or as wire for wrapping, and titanium as rings. The colours are divine. One of them gets a bit muted over time, but a clean with soapy waterdoes wonders. Titanium seems harder to use, not as malleable.
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Hi Cas!
I`d be interested to hear how you go with the anodised rings for chain work. From what I`ve read, the colours are from heating the metal to different temperatures, so I wouldn`t expect it to rub off.
(the other) cas
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| hello! I just tried my first chain maille piece yesterday! I`m pretty happy with how it turned out. Maybe I`ll post a picture.
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The vibrant colours are what got me interested too. Ive taken on board what you said about being brittle. I will coil it carefully and I think I will wear a bracelet for a while before marketing this stuff, just to see how it wears. I wonder if it was sprayed with wax, whether it would last better ? Not that I want to have to go doing that. I have no idea what the niobium actually is though. I thought it was a metal that had been electrically charged so as to change the structure therefore the colour of the metal ? Do you know more than me on that one ? The only thing I dont want happening is to sell something with this metal in it and have it come back to me as inferior.
Cas xxx
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Hi Cas,
I LOVE this site.... really grabs me, so easy to navigate and get around....
I use titanium and niobium successfully with no probs but copper enamel wears off fairly quickly swimming in chlorine, so prolly same with shower... I love chain maille too but stick to simple 2in2 type stuff with attempts at Byzantine and Euro 4 in one, and daisy chain....
I bought some anodised aluminium and it is so brittle, no good for wirewrapping yet I see intricate wig jig designs with it, so if its capable of that you`d think it would be fine for wirewrapping. I loved the vibrant colours~
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