Hello Orchidians, I have another question that I am sure some of you
know the answer. I need to know how to execute these two tasks that I
am having a hard time with.
I am making a bracelet consisting of a series of rectangular
boxes. It is 22x17x3mm so it’s pretty small. I am trying to figure
out how to make a concealed catch. I want a catch that you can push
to open, and push to close again. I cannot find anything around my
house that is fabricated in that way, but it must be here because it
is on the tip of my tongue. I am so conditioned to use whatever this
sort of catch is (In my car maybe??) that I can feel it closing as I
push it.
I was also working on another piece a while ago, and I couldn’t
figure out how to make this finding, so I gave up and set it aside.
I would like to connect a bail to a prong-set stone with a ball and
socket hinge. My husband suggested this course of action: Make a
complete hemisphere, cut a third off for the hinge segment, then cut
the remaining piece in half, put the ball inside solder it up, and
voila! I really don’t think that is going to work, because
regardless of how proficient I am with that little torch, the solder
is going to run inside the joint, right?
Thank you thank you,
Tara Hutchinson
Owner/Designer
Styled by Tara
I want a catch that you can push to open, and push to close again.
I cannot find anything around my house that is fabricated in that
way, but it must be here because it is on the tip of my tongue
The reason you cannot find clasp “push to open/push to close” is
that because jewellery clasps are designed to be operated by one
hand. If clasp needs to be pushed to close, it would require second
hand to hold the clasp, while the other hand does the pushing. It is
possible for the necklace, but even there it creates a set of
problems. For bracelet, it would require a second person to assist,
and that is not always possible.
My husband suggested this course of action: Make a complete
hemisphere, cut a third off for the hinge segment, then cut the
remaining piece in half, put the ball inside solder it up, and
voila! I really dont think that is going to work, because
regardless of how proficient I am with that little torch, the
solder is going to run inside the joint, right?
I dont really understand the description of your ball and socket
hinge (a picture or diagram would help a lot), but there are several
techniques you can use to minimise the risk of remelting existing
soldered joints.
Use hard and easy solder.
Once solder has flowed and frozen, it gets a higher melting
temperature than it originally had. In other words, and with care,
you can solder a new joint right next to an existing joint without
melting it.
Use a resist such as Sno-Pake (typists correction fluid) or the
old fashioned jewellers rouge to prevent the solder flowing into
unwanted places.
Tim Mc Creights" Complete Metalsmith "has just what you want in the
illustration on pg, Charles Lewton-Brains “* Hinges and Hinge-based
Catches and Clasps for Jewelers and Goldsmiths”* (or at least I think
thats the title)… has some interesting solutions and illustrations
too- between them, if you process easier if its visual
rather than reading directions the McCreights is the one to get,
however both are great addiitions to any metalsmiths library.There
are slick newer editions since his first publication, but the 1st
edition with the hand lettered text is quite endearing and in a sense
i like it more so than the newer (the pro edition) with dvds etc and
for illustration its packed with visual info…rer
I want a catch that you can push to open, and push to close again.
I cannot find anything around my house that is fabricated in that
way, but it must be here because it is on the tip of my tongue
Try your stereo cabinet or possibly your kitchen cabinets. I’ve
looked for but haven’t found the same mechanism
You will need to modify the clasp so that it can be done one handed,
in a pinching motion or in 'tward the body/wrist (but then it might
open if bumped…).
