I’ve put up a few pictures of pieces that I bead blast with 50-80
sieve glass beads using a pressure pot blaster at either 60lb. or 120
lb. pressure, depending on the desired effect. I polish the piece to my
best ability before masking and blasting. I usually use a silicone
type goop from squeeze tubes for the mask. It resists the blasting
completely and it peels off easily when I’m done. Please forgive the
quality of the pictures. Most of these were done shortly after I
bought my digital camera and some of them are very large files that I
haven’t yet reduced for the web. They’re just parked there for now.
This shot shows my nautilus earrings which I mask in a tool steel
sandwich setup. I can provide pictures if any one is interested.
http://www.kahiko.com/images/ssn.jpg
This is a large file of a silver pendant done with the silicone.
http://www.kahiko.com/images/SWTP.jpg
This is a very large file of my lily earrings with frosted interior
and polished exterior. kahiko.com
The lilies are 28 ga. sterling. One aspect of bead blasting on thin
metal is that the beads act as tiny hammers on the surface they
strike. This stretches that surface without affecting the opposite
surface. The result is a doming or curving effect. This can be seen on
before and after shots. The curve can be controled with a little
practice.
before blasting: kahiko.com
after blasting: kahiko.com
After blasting I usually tumble the pieces in a vibratory tumbler
with corn cob and chromium dioxide (?) for up to four days. I love this
finish. The pictures hardly do it justice.
John Flynn
http://www.kahiko.com
PS
Could any English majors out there tell me if I used effect and affect
correctly?