I’m making earwires and I ball up the ends of a length of wire
with a torch. I get inconsistent results…Some “balls” are
nicely round and others are pitted looking…Any ideas?
Also, Any ideas on how to display earrings in an attractive way?
The earrings I make are long and have sculptural designs and
can’t be displayed flat.
Thanks…Polly
Polly, Balling the tips of wire seems to be best accomplished by
swiping an oxidising flame across the end of wire that is held
erect. Pitting will result when the molten metal gets too hot.
Ron at Mills Gem, Los Osos, CA.
Hello Polly, Drill a thin hole for each wire in a charcoal block.
Place a wire in each hole leaving each one sticking up the same
amount (4mm?). You can then melt them all at one time very
quickly and they will all be the same size and shape. Have a
good time with your earrings.
Tom Arnold
Hi- Have you considered trying some kind of “tree” or other form
of free sanding display that allows the earings to hang? My
brother made earring “trees” for my mother and I about 5 years
ago in art class. They just used thick wire and bent and sodered
it togethre. Sorry, it’s late and I can’t spell. Then they twined
the wires together to create a “trunk” and mounted the whole
thing on a 1/2" piece of polished wood. I have to admit, I liked
the tree and didn’t hang any earings on it, but my mom did and
the “tree” held them fine and allowed them to hang free and
accented them quite nicely. Most of her earnigs are 1-2" long.
Another display method I’ve seen used is a frame covered in good
old screening material like you use for windows or screen doors.
Then that is covered with a thin or sheer fabric. The earings can
pierce the fabric easily and still hang against the screen. It’s
not as much of a free floating type display as the “tree” but I
have seen it work very well with earings that are cylinders or
beads as well as flat. As for the technical question, I have
absolutely no clue- sorry.
Ricci
Hi Polly, there are a number of ways to display long earrings,
and I’m sure many orchidians will have different suggestions.
Here are some of mine. I have a very attractive gilded picture
frame, inside of which I have mounted regular fly screen which
i have painted black. the frame stands on a small easel similar
to those used by artists. the hooks of the earrings fit into
the holes of the screen and dangle gracefully. For earrings on
posts, I push the post through the screen and put the earnut on
through the back of the screen. Another method I use is to take
a slab of styrofoam, spray paint it a neutral color to blend
with the rest of my, and poke the earwires thru the styrofoam.
The entire piece of styrofoam can be proped up at a slant,
thus elevating the rear of the display. Another method used by a
friend, is a tree like structure made of wire. The “trunk” is
mounted in a mound of potter’s clay which has hardened. This
keeps the “tree” stable, and prevents its toppling over. Her
earrings are suspended from the branches of the “tree.” She
puts the entire structure on a small rotating lazy susan, so
that it can be turned around thus enabling customers to easily
see all of the earrings. Hope these suggestions are of some
help
–cheers Alma in Oregon
Also, Any ideas on how to display earrings in an attractive way? The earrings I make are long and have sculptural designs and can't be displayed flat.
hi polly, consider making some hanging stands, These can be
minature scupltures which are an integral part of the whole
piece. Ie a T shape , with the earrings hanging off the ends of
the horizontal T. A straight piece of wire, tube, can be stg
silver, titanium etc, set into a tube which is soldered into a
base, The T cross bar can be soldered of rivetted to a tube, at
the top of the vertical part of the T. Solder or again rivets
sections of tubes, rings, squares etc that the earring post can
go through. Decorative sections can be added to the horizontal
sections of the T. as well as coloured sections of tubes, jump
rings etc they are fidly to make, but add a lot of class to the
earrings. Hope you can understand the above!
X XX
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0 l 0 earrings posts go through here!
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Best wishes,
Felicity in sunny West Oz
I'm making earwires and I ball up the ends of a length of wire with a torch. I get inconsistent results...
G’day Polly; The reason for the pitting is mostly overheating
with oxidation of copper in the alloy. I heat the ends of
earwires gently, dip them in powdered borax flux, then heat in a
very small hot flame stopping the moment the little balls are the
right size. I cut the wire to the right length, drop it in pickle
then do the next one. I use this method for making rivets too.
Also, Any ideas on how to display earrings in an attractive way?
Were it me, I would make (or you could have made) a nice wooden
glass fronted shallow case that could be stood upright with a
prop at the back. like desk picture frames. I would back the
inside of it with a suitably coloured velvet remnant, and hang
the earrings on thin (3mm) polished brass welding rods which go
from side to side inside the case. The case could have a lock
fitted if required.
By the way would you be interested in having a jig for making
safety earwires? You’d have to make it, but any jeweller could
easily do it. After you have made one, It takes just fifteen
seconds to bend up a perfect earwire - the kind that hooks into
the hole in the ear lobe. It is almost impossible to describe,
but I could scan it and send it as an attachment. Or I could
upload it into the Ganoksins Orchid ftp site. Email me direct.
Cheers, – John Burgess Johnb@ts.co.nz
Also, Any ideas on how to display earrings in an attractive way? The earrings I make are long and have sculptural designs and can't be displayed flat.
Polly, An inexpensive, attractive, and easy display is to get
large embroidery hoops and use them to hold a loosely woven
fabric. The ear wires easily pierce the fabric and the hoop
frame can be suspended or propped on a stand, allowing the
lovely things to dangle. If the finding is a french hook, put
those inexpensive rubber earnuts or “stoppers” on the back to
keep the earrings in place during transport (Rio has them for
cheap). If the earrings are all priced the same, pin a small
sign to the fabric with appropriate This system
makes inventory, set-up, and take down EASY. Good luck and
happy holidays. Judymw
Polly - another idea would be to fit a loosely woven fabric or
screening into a fancy frame. You could use a heavily ornate
gilt type frame, or a more simple/sleek appearance, depending on
what you are trying to communicate with your customer about your
earrings. The frames could be either hung on a wall, placed on
an easel, or fitted with an attached easel… Andrea Guyot Guyot
Bros.
Have you tried Styrofoam ??
You can paste a image of a woman with a Ear showing or a plane
sheet of coloured Board to contrast with the earring design. (
can keep many designs on a single board )
Now Just press the Earring to the ear of the Woman and she will
be wearing an earring , (Your Earring.) , If the Earring is bulky
try adjusting the angle you keep the styrofoam or cut the from
the outline to make it look real.
Ahmed Shareek e-mail Shareek@ahmeds.com
Crescent Gems http://www.ahmeds.com/shop
10% OFF ON ALL PRODUCTS FOR ORCHID MEMBERS AT
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I'm making earwires and I ball up the ends of a length of wire with a torch. I get inconsistent results..Some "balls" are nicely round and others are pitted looking..Any ideas? Also, Any ideas on how to display earrings in an attractive way? The earrings I make are long and have sculptural designs and can't be displayed flat.
Hi Polly,
In a class last summer I made some silver bell earring and the
tiny clappers had a ball end. Just torching the end made ball-ish
ends but they were not consistent. It’s more work, but if you
make a tiny hollow in your charcoal block with the round end of a
tool, make your ball in the hole and solder it on your wire, it
will be perfect every time.If you want the balls to match, you
can compare the size before you put them on the wire. Good luck!
Blanche Gregory, Houston
Dan,
This is a little gadget that I use for displaying long earrings
in my store. It’s very simple to make.
Buy a picture frame that’s rather ornate - something
rococo-looking. Gold or gold-leaf is a nice color, or silver
leaf. Buy fine screening in sheet form (Home Depot and these
types of stores carry this) to fit into the frame. I attach the
screening with sharp 1/4" nails and hammer them into the
recesses of the frame from the back about every 1/4" or so. You
may also use a heavy-duty stapler and some epoxy resin instead
of the nails. The whole construction takes about 10 minutes and
looks very nice.
Now what you have is a picture frame with screening in it
instead of a picture. Loop earrings may now be inserted into
the holes of the screening and hang very nicely. I hang them
somewhat assymetrically for a decorative look. You may even
attach earrings with posts - you just have to secure them from
the back of the screen. If you’re only hanging earrings with
earwires, you can even back the screening with a length of
velvet which looks really nice against the silver screening.
This is a fun project and if you do decide to do this I hope
you’ll let me know if you were happy with it! – Madeline, Arts Umbrella Studios
Madeline, Thank you. I think that I will use this design for my
next show. I will add the velvet to the back attaching it at the
top and leaving it free at the bottom until all earrings are in
place then using a tack that is easy to remove at the bottom.
Will give a great backing to set off the earrings and yet hide the
display holding the frame. Thank you, Karran @karran_uhr
I recently caught one of those home craft shows on TV, and they
did an earring rack with a picture frame with screen stapled
onto the back of the frame. The frames can be embellished to
suit your style. An easel or dowels were used to hold up the
frame. The project looks easy and is very attractive.
Good luck,
Mary Anne
an earring rack with a picture frame with screen stapled onto the back of the frame.
another option, is using the plastic picture holders ( in which
one simply inserts the picture between the plastic), and covering
it with a fabric sleeve. it’s light, portable, and can arranged
anywhere! erhard.
I use acrylic box frames, hinged to a fabric covered piece of
plywood, as table displays for necklaces and such.