Hi,
Bonny Doon has alot of different shot plates…i thought i would share…
julie
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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