Hi,
Bonny Doon has alot of different shot plates…i thought i would share…
julie
2 Likes
That’s pretty cool! I’ll admit, I was confused about what to do with these until I watched the video. The video was very informative.
Thanks for sharing Julie!!
Jeff
1 Like
There are lots of people out there making shot plates. I especially like Chris Pruitt’s work. I have made a couple of my own to make some small embellishments. While they offer a lot of design element possibilities, they do tie up a lot of metal. I have always tried to be mindful of this and not use metal where it isn’t necessary, but still make the type of jewelry that I make. Just some thoughts…Rob
3 Likes
I’m curious Rob, what do you do with these shot plate solid metal forms? How do you incorporate them into your work? Do you sweat solder them onto things? You must.
I looked at Chris Pruitt’s website, but I didn’t see much that looked like he was using shot plates.
It’s so cool to learn about something new!
Thanks to you and Julie for bringing this up.
Jeff
Mainly very small leaf shaped embellishments. I stopped doing them and instead use engraved or raised areas. I have experimented with cutting round shaped divots in a block of soft steel and then adding engraved lines and other decorations. I then just mash balled pieces of scrap into the divot with my hydraulic press. You have to also experiment with the size scrap ball that you melt up until you get the right amount of material. Too little and the shot is incomplete. Too much and you have a lot of flashing to remove. I have found that, for me, the best way to do this is with smaller jump rings keeping track of how many it takes to just get the right amount of material. I will look at Chris’s site. It is sometimes difficult to find his tools. He has a FB group and he also sells on ETSY. I especially like his bump out stamps. They allow you to get a 3D look without using a lot of metal. In the end, to me, these embellishments go on a particular style of jewelry, especially Native American styles. There is nothing absolute about what I say, it is just my opinion…Rob
1 Like
Here is a complete url for Chris’s tools at ETSY. You should also do a search on his jewelry and you can see how he uses his tools…Rob
1 Like
Hi,
…another similar concept is impression dies…where you use a pusher like urethane to push a flat piece of sheet metal into the die, with a hydraulic press, to create a hollow form of the die…thereby using less metal than a shot plate…i guess it depends on what you want the end product to be…
i was wondering if shot plates could be used as such…with a a urethane pusher and hydraulic press…
i do like the relatively simple idea of using a lump of metal, a shot plate, shot plate punch, brass mallet, and anvil to create these 3D forms…without needing a hydraulic press…(which is still on my wish list!)
julie
1 Like
I use urethane and a press to push metal into a lot of places, I don’t think that you would gain anything using it with a shot plate. If you don’t have a press, just use a heavy punch and a hammer. You can find videos on Chris Pruitt’s website of him doing this. You need a heavy bench block that is positioned on a heavy bench so that nothing moves. I would much rather use a press than a hammer and a punch…Rob
1 Like
I wish they werent so costly. Id love some of them, but $95 for so much metal use. Id love to make my own, but dont know where to start w that.
Man i like his and far less expensive. I love how you can use them to taper silver with them for stone setting.
These are the ones i want.
1 Like
Bezel blocks or collet blocks, as they’re also called, are some of my favorite tools!
Jeff
Hi Kimberly,
Peter Keep’s site, has videos on how to use the various shaped bezel blocks, including how to use the block to make sizes other than just the sizes of the holes in the blocks…if that makes sense…
https://www.jewellerytrainingsolutions.com.au/
julie
Hello! Peter here, maker of Bonny Doon shot plates. We work hard to keep the price as low as possible, but we source american made tool steel, and do all work here in Taos, NM. One of the small things that we do to help make these awesome, is make these in a way where the volume is as consistent as possible. This means that one can take a set length of 18 gauge wire, or calculate a weight of 18k gold (just for example), and press or hammer it into the form, getting a near perfect amount of material. Enough material to fully fill out all the precise details, with a limited flange that is easy to trim away. If you are working with gold and want to create a hollow form, i will roll out some sheet in the 24-26 gauge range, dap it slightly to fit down into the die, and then add a small copper shot behind it. Press as normal, and then you can remove the copper and you have a nice hollow form. Urethane is great for certain dies, but for super detailed dies it doesn’t have enough strength to fill in all the details. Copper will force the gold properly into the details. All of our instructions and videos on these tools can be found at bonnydoontools.com
1 Like
Oh, and one other thing, instead of sending clean gold scrap back to get refined, I melt it into shot (instructions on how to calculate weight for different alloys is on our instructions page) and press to make stud earrings and charms. These have been consistently good sellers for me, and instead of losing 5% to refining, i can now earn 4-6 times back the amount of gold cost with limited labor. I really do believe the ROI on these plates is insane, one pair of gold stud earrings might be retail $350-400+. Add diamonds and other embellishments and its even higher. Our dies are made to a 5000 piece spec, meaning a shot plate with 6 designs can feasibly make 30,000 pieces. Of course i will never make that many stud earrings but you know that these dies will last a lifetime and make lots of money. Also, Chris Pruitt is awesome and I buy stuff from him, and so should you.
1 Like