I want to finish my silver necklaces (woven 24g) and bracelets (20g
loop-in-loop) with silver tubing. So far, the only commercially
available tubing I’ve found will fit the necklaces, maybe. The
bracelets will need 3/8" or more inner diameter. Can anyone suggest
a supplier with a good inventory? Preferably one where I DON’T have
to register on the website just to look!
I have read the articles on the Orchid website about making tubing,
but I don’t feel I’m ready to jump in yet. Does anyone have
experience with this? For tubing from 3/8" to 5/8" that is for
finishing, or decoration (ie, not hinges or other structural
device), what gauge material would you recommend? Is it as hard/easy
to make 2 inches of tubing as to make 10 inches? What pitfalls to
watch out for? Where can I get (or how do I make) drawplates for this
size? My soldering skills are modest, and I still wind up with more
"casting material" than I like to admit!
Making chenier is easy, but you will probably need a draw-bench for
3/8 ID; you need to be strong to pull it by hand. If you don’t need
a real precision tube you can make a serviceable drawplate from
hard-wood, in which case you could probably do without the
draw-bench too. Its worth a try.
hooverandstrong.com You don’t have to register to look at their
catalogue on line, but you do have to when you purchase.
Click on Mill Products, enlarge the page and click on Seamless
Tubing. Many choices. They aren’t as zippy getting the product out as
Rio Grande, but they have a somewhat different variety.
Rosenthal supply,Miami has a great assortment of all types of draw
plates cheap to pricey. tubing though is easier than it sounds…
lube a common gauge plate and you can pull sheet that is annealed
through it to make tubing, or swage it on a block or a routed piece
of hardwood to start it, then flow solder on the seam. polish and you
are there!. have no fear!just try it. anneal some 22-24 g sheet
silver, and if you want a quick experiment, take a piece of 1"x4" and
drill a hole, if you have silver and demming bits drill a tapered
hole, then lube it well with a stick of cocoa butter, beeswax, or med
weight oil. (not light as it will be absorbed by the wood), then roll
the annealed sheet around a broach or any mandrel that is about a
size or two larger than the hole you have drilled,if you have draw
tongs-great- if not cover your favorite gripping parallel type with
some tape or stick on felt strips ond pull it through the "plate"
until you have a solderable tube of a length and i. d. /o. diameter
it is far easier than you may think, Most suppliers sell tubing in a
variety of colours,karats, wall thicknesses so double check with the
sales person that it is not misprinted. at present I think D. H. Fell
has the thickest seamless available- could be wrong, but of the
stacks of catalogues i have that comes to mind after trying to have
some sent from Hoover and strong- which is only standard in wall
thickness. there sre some tube settings though that come in fairly
thick, though nowhere near what you can make yourself. and there has
been a recent noose, uh, thread, about good tools vs. bad tools.
drawplates were cited- if you are begining you don’t need the
sapphire lined precision tapered 600 dollar drawplate. the 25 dollar
model works equally well if you anneal and lube conscientiously! R.
E. Rourke
after trying to have some sent from Hoover and strong- which is
only standard in wall thickness.
Sorry, that is not accurate. Although Hoover’s on-hand stock is
standard, you can request thicker or thinner walls. Hoover does
require you to be quite size and thickness specific though. Just
saying “thicker” won’t get you too far. I order thicker walled tubes
from Hoover for setting all of the time. Gives me more leeway in the
stone sizes that I tube set. David Fell has thicker stock on hand.
Hoover is a bit faster with the fabrication and shipping, but unless
its an emergency, that shouldn’t be a problem. Both companies are
very reliable and helpful.
Lisa (What…?No Happy Birthday from anyone? Sheesh…where’s my
present Hans? Santa is writing things down. Went to the Autry Powwow
yesterday. I might go today too!)
I made my own tubing (once) - not too hard, and kind of fun - and
have been using it for a while - fine silver for bezels. I would say
the major mistake I made was not using hard solder to do the seam. I
am finding that when I go to solder anything around the tubing, I can
get melting of the solder in the seam.