Copper is an affordable, universally loved metal. It can be used in fashion and design, as a supplement to other materials, and it enhances the beauty of almost everything. Due to its popularity, there are many ways to mix copper into your jewelry design.
Making copper jewelry is a fun way to do some quick work. It is also a great way to learn how to value your material and work with another person. Once you learn how to make your pieces, you can start selling them!
There are several methods for making copper jewelry. Some use soldering techniques, others use carbon nanotube technologies (CNT), and still others use fused silicate technology (FSX). Which one you choose depends on what you want out of the piece and who you are making it for.
This article will talk about ways to make low-to-moderate priced copper jewelry.
Contents:
Buy your materials
When looking for copper jewelry, there are a few things that you should be aware of. First, there is the size of the copper. Most copper is Category A, which is round and smooth. A category A copper piece may be four inches in length and it has no sharp edges or features.
B-C-D-E pieces can have flat or convex surfaces, oxides are present, or ones have texture. Due to these differences in color and shape, it must be noted which ones are copper and which ones are not.
Last, when buying your insulator, there are some rules for how many layers you must have. This includes making your insulator thick enough to hold your piece in place, preventing warped pieces when cutting, and ensuring that it is smooth enough to match the shape of your copper.
Prepare your materials
When preparing your copper jewelry, it is important to be prepared. You will need a copper wire, a soldering kit, a pillar, and some solder. You can also use the tin or powder, but then you would have to buy a new one for each modification.
The Soldering Gun
The soldering gun is one of the most important tools in making copper jewelry. Most people do not use their gun properly until they have learned how to use the solder.
To make life easier, get yourself a practice gun. Uploading your new gun to soldering requires getting used to the handle and placement of the other tips on the gun. Once you get that down, start attempting harder projects!
The Solder Kit
The second important tool in making copper jewelry is the solder kit. Many people do not have enough pieces for all of their modifications, so it is good to have some extra ones just in case.
Get yourself some common tin or powder metal compounds such as solder and flux and you are golden.
Create your piece
Once you have your copper wire, you can start creating your piece! There are many ways to make copper jewelry, so we will not go into much detail about how to create the traditional styles. Instead, check out some of our other articles on how to make gold and silver jewelry.
Solder the piece together
Now is the time to put your plan into action. Begin by placing a small piece of copper on one end of the piece you are making and then connecting the two ends together.
Then, place another piece of copper on the opposite end and connect the two ends together. Finally, solder the pieces together to create your copper jewelry.
Finish the piece
When all of the copper is in place, it is time to finish the piece. You can do this by adding washers and/or a ringleader piece of copper-plated chain.
To achieve a tight fit on the ringleader, we recommend using a round-nosed plier or cutting tool to slightly decrease the thickness of the copper. To add more copper, use a pair of needle-nose pliers or cutting tool.
To add more width, use a straight-edged sharp knife or cutting tool. If you need to increase thickness, do it slowly and/or with a pair of needle-nose pliers or cutting tools.
Patina the metal
When wearing copper jewelry, you can do two things to give it a more beautiful patina. The first is to clean it. If you have copper wire or a copper link, then you can simply wash them in warm water and drying off with a soft cloth will return it to its former luster.
The second thing to do is add some powder metalizing. This process creates a new layer of protective material over the metal inside your jewelry and adds some nice details. You can purchase this product at hardware stores, grocery stores, and online retailers.
To use it, put a small amount on your finger and gently brush over the inside of your jewelry piece. Then, pull out your jewelry piece and push the new layer into place.
Choose your base metal and pattern
When looking at copper jewelry sites, you need to determine what kind of metal they are made of and what shape or pattern they are designed with.
Mostly all-copper jewelry is made of aluminum or zinc components, so there is no limit to the design or pattern you can have on your jewelry. These metals are naturally attractive and soft to the touch.
Aluminum does not tarnish easily and can be recycled, making it a popular metal for fashion accessories. The density of zinc makes it easy to work with, making it an excellent base metal for designer-looking copper jewelry.
When looking at copper jewelry sites, these factors should be considered: size, cost, quality. How much money you want to save versus how much copper you want!
It is good to look at sites in case they have been difficult or hard to use because of poor quality copper or difficulty in working with it.
Purchase base metal and pattern supplies
When looking for new copper jewelry materials, you will need to consider what base metal they are made of and what patterns they use.
For example, niobium is a hard metal that is used to make niobium jewelry. It can be purchased as niobium oxide, which is just plain old metal. Or you can buy rings made out of niobium alloying.
Pottery-grade copper is usually 24-28oun/0.71-0.77mm in diameter and costs about $1 per piece. Most markets have a seller that sells cheap copper for crafty types like you!
Potter-quality copper can be found at around $10 per kilo, making expensive but impressive looking pieces.