Stone pendant sandblasting: Step-by-step process

Carol Dekle-Foss

Recently, someone wanted to know how I sandblast my stone pendants. I did a tutorial on my personal blog but not on Love My Art Jewelry, so for this post I thought I would share my process. 

First, it took about a year to even start sandblasting. I did tons of research, and then we went to work building or modifying all the equipment. It was very frustrating for me because I had a hard time understanding the mechanics. Thanks to my husband explaining to me hundreds of times, we finally figured it out! I still get confused with how my OWN equipment works! Then, I had to learn how the special film worked. What a pain! I went through tons because it wouldn't expose or develop right. Luckily, the companies I work with give you samples to experiment with. Even today, after five years, I still have issues with the film.

I really do enjoy this creative process though, and over the years have found many ways to use my sandblaster, including creating stamps for porcelain. (My current new obsession)      

Here is the simplified version: You apply a stencil to a product and then sandblast the stencil image with a special abrasive applied at high pressure. The abrasive then erodes the surface in the open areas of the stencil and leaves a permanent carved impression.

Simple right? Umm, ya right. Here are the visual steps.

Step One




I either draw the image I want or I use a royalty-free graphic.  I then upload the image to Photoshop where I darken it and scale it down to the size I like. Now it is ready to be printed on a special type of vellum paper shown below.

 My father is an electrician, so together with my husband, we built this lightbox to expose the film. These are fluorescent black light bulbs.

Step Two
The next step is to expose. I place the special film (I'm currently using Rayzist as my film supplier) on top of the vellum and turn the light on for 30 seconds.

Step Three

After exposing, the next step is to pressure wash with warm water to develop the film. I use Ikonics Triggerjet and it works like a charm. You can buy washout boxes or just use a sink or shower.

Step Four

I then place the stencil in my handy dandy Nesco food dehydrator. The alternative is using a photoresist film dryer or you can also use a blow dryer.

Step Five

After the film is dry, I remove the carrier sheet and apply to the pendant.

I then position the film and remove the protective carrier sheet. I wrap the film around the stone and tape the back so the stone doesn't get damaged in the sandblasting process.

Step Six
The next step is to sandblast the piece. I bought this equipment from a very nice gentleman who hand makes these out of Texas. We modified it to use a foot pedal so there is better control and installed a smaller more fine tuned tip for blasting.

When I sandblast, I use a half mask respirator, eye protection, and cover my hair. I also open the garage door for ample ventilation. 

I use silicon carbide grit which is an extremely fine sand and sandblast at approximately 35 psi. I went through different grit, and different film until I got the exact formula that I use for my process.

Step Seven

The final step is to airbrush, or hand paint the sandblasted piece with the film still on. I use non toxic acrylic paint with metallic colors. I then spray a coating of acrylic top coat to seal in the paint and to give it a shine.

I let the piece sit over night so it's nice and dry and then I remove the film and clean the stone.

There you have it! You can buy sandblasting equipment, but at the time I started it was very costly. Maybe the prices are better today? That's why we decided to build our own setup. I'm glad we did because if a part breaks, we can fix it ourselves. Well, my husband. He fixes it. Ha!

Thank you for reading! 

Ring display-TUTORIAL...and latest porcelain creations

Carol Dekle-Foss

Hello everyone!  Recently, I ran into the problem of not having a way to display new rings for an upcoming festival. I wanted to display them in a simple, unique way that would make each ring stand out. It seems like booth design is an ever evolving challenging process! For me, rings are the most difficult to display.

Here's what I came up with for the festival.

 I just cut a slot into little wooden rounds! They display nicely this way, and I also like being able to move them about. The only problem is the rings keep falling over! So annoying. 

 I decided to give it another try and do a tutorial with what I came up with. 

I have a plethora of little rounds that my husband cut out and these leather swatches. I wanted to use what I had on hand so this is what I made.

I just glued two rounds and a piece of leather together. I cut the edge of the leather as well to make it look a bit worn and frayed. It's deeper now so the ring sits in there much better. I'm still deciding if I like it though. See, always a work in progress! If the customer wants, I can always include the display with the ring as an added bonus!

Here are the easy steps:

After I glued all the pieces together and let dry, I marked the thickness of the band with a sharp edge.

I then used a diamond cutoff wheel and flex shaft to cut the edges. A tiny saw blade might be better for this step, but they freak me out! Yep, I'm scared to death of saws, even tiny ones!

I improvised here and used a little screwdriver as a chisel. I hammered the top of the screwdriver lightly to cut out the ring slots. It's so simple and fun to make! 

I think I like the idea of cutting out larger rounds that can hold 5 or 6 rings, and then have 3 or 4 scattered around the booth. That way I can organize them by style. We'll see!

Also, last week my husband and I were able to play with clay. 

I never get over how different they look when they come out of the kiln!

Here are some of our favorites.

Oval Deep Roots pendants.

These mandala pendants are so yummy!!

Sacred spiral pendants. Oh my, I love the swirling glaze pooling in the crevices.

Such a sweet detail. Leaf swirl pendants.

Dreamy cherry blossom pendants! I have a few listed in the shop.

And lastly, these adorable teensy weensy beads. They are so cute!

So how do you overcome the challenge of displaying your jewelry? I would love to hear from you!

DIY clay cutter tutorial-REVAMPED

Carol Dekle-Foss

Last year I did a tutorial on how to make your own clay cutters here. After working with them for awhile, I realized I needed to make a few changes. I thought I would share how I made a better clay cutter that will not come unglued, doesn't lose its shape and has a cool handle!

(greenware porcelain pendants)

What you will need:

24 gauge sheet metal (Stronger than 28 gauge. Also, I used brass instead of copper)

File 

Thread

Metal scoring tool (I used a divider)

Sharpie

Ruler

Metal shears

Cratex knife edge wheel

400 grit sandpaper
Split mandrel

Pliers

Shape pattern
Torch
Solder
Handy flux
soldering pick
Mandrels

The first few steps are the same as the original tutorial, but with a few updates.

STEP ONE

Measure the length of your stamp with a string. Cut the string about 1/4" to 1/2" longer to allow overlap of the metal.

STEP TWO

Mark the length with a sharpie. I made my cutter deeper this time, about 3/8".

If you have a straight edge on your metal, you can use a divider to run along the edge to score your metal. 

If not, you will have to measure and mark the depth and use a ruler as a guide for scoring your metal.

STEP THREE

Cut your metal with metal shears, or a throatless sheer, and then hammer to flatten. I would anneal your metal after hammering if you have an intricate cutter design.

             

                                                                                                                                      STEP FOUR

This step requires a bit of finesse to get the shape just right. 

Using different mandrels and pliers, shape your design.

I used flat-round nose pliers. My new favorite tool!

Keep forming until you have the right shape.

Flat nose pliers work great for sharp corners.

STEP FIVE
 The previous cutters came undone a few times, and I had to reglue. Forget that, let's solder this one instead! I used my go to medium solder, but you can use easy or hard if you like.

Oops, fail. Don't be like me and cut your metal shorter so there is not much to solder, about 1/4". I just resoldered and closed the gap. 

I then formed a piece of metal and soldered on a little handle! This will make it soo much easier to lift after stamping.

Perfect! Now time to clean up all sharp edges.

STEP SIX

The next step is important. File the inside edge where the metal comes together so there is no line when stamping the clay.

 If you like, you can use an abrasive wheel to remove firescale and soften the edges of the handle. I used a knife edge cratex wheel. Also, if your clay cutter doesn't sit flush, run it in a figure eight motion over sandpaper, turning every once in awhile so it sands evenly.

With a split mandrel and 400 grit sandpaper, I cleaned up file marks and created a satin finish over the whole cutter.

 This cutter is much more sturdy and can withstand my abuse! Most importantly, every piece I stamp will have a uniform shape.

I use olive oil as a release agent. It works okay, but if you use something better and would like to share, please let me know in the comments!

Thank you for reading,
Carol Dekle-Foss
Terra Rustica Design