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! 

How it is Made

by Staci L. Smith

My dear friend over at Handstampin Metal Mama posted this GREAT little insight into recycling scrap and making a pendant.  I just had to share it with you.

I just love seeing how things are made, with process shots.  

First of all, she uses Argentium Silver, and highly recommends it.

To recycle her scraps, she finds ways to melt and use them.  

And she turned these into a sweet little pendant!

Isn't that just GREAT?  And because it is so pure, you don't need solder, you can just fuse it together!  Virtually no fire-scale or anything.

You can find her work here on facebook

Handstampin Metal Mama
https://www.facebook.com/groups/metalmamashandstampin/photos/

Here are some of the wonderful things she does with her metal!

Thank you Metal Mama for sharing your process with us!

Wire-wrapped double bail for pendants

Carol Dekle-Foss

Last week, I was able to finish my pendants and I wanted to share how I wire-wrap them with a double bail. I like using double bails because they help prevent larger pendants from turning around when worn. For the life of me, I cannot remember where I learned this. Probably a found video somewhere, most likely YouTube.

This is a simple technique that takes just a little bit of practice. I hope you find it helpful in your jewelry creations!

The below video shows how I do this with a side-drilled pendant but this process also works with a front-drilled pendant as well. It's a bit blurry in a few places. Duh, the camera cannot focus when things are so close up.















What you will need:

Pendant: The ones pictured are 30x40mm and the small one is 20x30mm

Wire: I use about 28" of 22 gauge soft wire. It's a bit easier to wrap the pendants with than 20 gauge and to me, it doesn't look as bulky. Although the smaller tree of life necklace in the right hand corner is 24 gauge. Also, I give my wire a bath of liver of sulfur first, and then clean off with a Pro Polish pad before starting the wire wrap process.

Tools: Wire-cutters, chain nose and round nose pliers.

First, put wire through hole about 2 1/2" out the other side. Then fold both wires over the top of the pendant, crossing each other, and twist together. Bend both wires perpendicular to the pendant and wrap them around the round nose pliers to make the loop. Then wrap both wires around the bottom of the loop a few times. Snip off the smaller wire with wire cutters, and then using chain nose pliers, squeeze wire in the back of pendant to hide. Continue to wrap longer wire around pendant holding tight as you go so it it nice and snug to the pendant. Wrap as far down as you would like and then start wrapping back up the pendant. Continue until you reach the top of the pendant and then cut the wire, hiding the end in the back. I then use the round nose pliers to position where I want the bail and separate loops with the chain nose pliers. To finish, I touch up with a Pro Polish pad. Whew! I think the video will help to show the process better.

Once you get the hang of it, it's a fairly easy and fun to do, plus it will give your pendants a simple, rustic feel.

Try it for yourself and if you have any questions please feel free to contact me!