Rings, Buckles & Bling: Steel Finery

Description

Rings, Buckles & Bling: Steel Finery
Sept 30 & Oct 1  10am – 2pm  
 
 
Fabricate eye-catching one of a kind steel jewelry. Twist red hot metal to form steel elements for your piece. Forge traditional blacksmith textures. Sparkly for you? Swarofsky crystal gems available to set into your finery, polishing the steel brings out a lovely, shiny silver finish. Bracelets, rings, cufflinks, earrings (with stainless ear hooks)and necklaces can be polished to a lovely shiny silver. Alphabet & number stamps available. Prerequisite: Beginning Welding. Class will start with a short Welding Refresher demonstration. Expect to complete 2 – 3 pieces. You may bring steel or stainless steel objects to weld. Hint: steel sticks to a magnet. Bring inspiration, pictures(google images & Pinterest)or a favorite piece of jewelry. 

Steel ornamentation will require a small bit of upkeep, similar to silver or copper jewelry. If you get it wet, wipe it dry just like you dry your hands. Raw steel can be worn against the skin without any polish. For example, after a couple of days a ring will pick up your natural body oils and won’t oxidize any more, even through showers & hand washing. The more you wear it the better it is protected. Pieces can be sprayed with lacquer for less upkeep.

If you immerse it in salt water rinse & dry after. If you are sick it may leave a mark on your skin due to the changed acidity of your skin. Once you are better, so is your jewelry.

If you don’t wear the piece for a long time (and it does not have a lacquer finish) you may notice some rust; this rusting takes less time in humid environments. In this case you need to rub the jewelry gently with a plastic kitchen scourer, wipe it down with soapy water and a sponge, rinse, then dry.