The hydraulic press is an excellent tool for creating volume in your jewelry. Here’s a quick overview of using Bonnie Doon’s silhouette die plate, container, and urethane kit.
Since this is a rather small piece, I am using 22g silver. I am using fine silver because later I will enamel it.
First, I insert the die plate into the container and tighten the screw. You can see the hole where the metal will be pressed into.
I place my piece of annealed silver over the hole, making sure that it is centered.
I carefully place the black urethane over the silver so that I don’t move the silver.
I carefully place the silver pusher on top of the urethane and I am ready to put the assembly into the press.
I pump up the press to raise the platen to a level that allows me to place the assembly. I put the piece onto the lower platen, making sure to center the assembly directly over the bottle below.
I continue pumping the platen upwards until I feel some pressure. I give it another pump to increase the pressure, then lower the platen a bit to slide out the assembly.
Voila! Here is my perfectly smooth pillow formed in silver.
After a little more work (well, maybe a lot more work), here is my silver pillow that has been pierced, enameled, and set in sterling silver.
For more information about this work or similar work, visit http://www.weareverjewelry.com
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