Creating a cone

Jewelry Discussion
21

Hi Debbie,

I used to make cones in school to a point of obsession, so here are
my tips.

  1. Determine the size of cone you want first on paper. This can be
    done easily by just drawing a simple circle, cutting it out and
    snipping a section of the cone. The most important part of this
    entire procedure is determining EXACTLY the center point of your
    circle. The way I was taught was to take a compass, and strike two
    arcs of two circles until they criss cross each other. Or you can use
    a circle template and draw two 180 degree lines. When they intersect
    you have your circle and your mid point.

  2. Cut out the circle

  3. Cut out a chunk of your circle to the mid point and make a cone
    to exactly the size you want. Tape it. Then make that cut and trim
    the excess.

  4. Use this as your template. At the center point, strike a center
    punch and drill a tiny little hole. Cut your template to that hole.

  5. Anneal your metal and begin bending your cone. When you are at
    the top of the cone, or the tip, file one side and create a bevel.
    When you fold the cone completely around, solder a holding spot as
    soon as you can. I do this at the tip and the edge of the cone.

  6. Bring the sides up equally, top and bottom. This is crucial. Then
    begin shaping the rest of the metal around the cone and solder it
    completely when the two halves are perfectly joined. I use the horn
    of an anvil.

Hope this helps!

-k

22 
Could you explain this further for me. Seems to me that the length
of the cone is the same as the height. I'm mathematically
challenged :-).

The length of the side is the measurement along the side, from the
apex to the edge; the height is the measurement from the apex to the
center of the circle described by the edge (from the tip straight
through to the floor, after you’ve dropped your ice cream, so to
speak). So the wider the cone, the greater the difference will be
between the height of the cone and the length of the side.

Try it with a piece of paper. :slight_smile: