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

Reticulation Silver Experimentation

Carol Dekle-Foss

Rain has finally come to California. Hallelujah! The weather has been BEAUTIFUL. The rain has been coming down is soft sheets, and it's comforting knowing it's filling the empty lakes and reservoirs. I made a visual for you guys, so you can see just how bad the drought was. Look for the arrows showing a rock as a landmark. This is a park near my house that has a walking path along the South Fork American River. This river is one of the major rivers in California and flows from Lake Tahoe.

We are on the right path to putting a big dent in this drought. Thank god! It was heartbreaking watching its effects on the landscape and animals.

Okay, on to jewelry making! I wanted to give reticulation silver a try because I just LOVE the look. 

The texture reminds me of ridges and valleys of the earth's landscape. So beautiful! 

 I bought this 3" x 1.5" piece from Rio. It cost me about $3.80 per square inch. Not too bad considering sterling silver sheet in the same gauge is about $3.50 per square inch right now. They have another type called Crinkle silver. The texture is smaller, and it looks amazing, but it's so expensive! I guess it all depends on what you are making and how much you are willing to charge.

It's simple and fun to do. Here are some instructions from Rio on how it's done and what you will need. 

I only used half of the piece I purchased. It didn't shrink all that much like I thought it would, so you still get almost the same size metal to work with after its reticulated.

Here's a close up video of me doing the reticulation. I sped it up so it's less than a minute and plays one of my all time favorite songs by Katie Melua. Pretty cool watching the silver follow the torch flame! 

So yesterday, while I was getting ready to try reticulation for the first time, a video came through on my Youtube feed from Nancy T Hamilton. The title was "Fusing Silver and Reticulation on Copper". I thought, what perfect timing! I tried the reticulation on copper part so I could show you guys the results and do a mini comparison! 

I cut a piece of 20 gauge copper about 1.5" square and added little scraps of sterling silver. I also had to use a larger tip on my torch to get the silver to melt. Below is a short, less than a minute video of the melting process!

Here's how it turned out.

VERY cool texture. Its more wavy , sorta looks like tree branches to me. Here's a side by side comparison.

You can really see the difference in color. Also the one with the copper backplate has a bunch of teeny pitted holes. I think next time I will flux the backplate to see if that will help. Still, not a bad texture for metal that's already lying around the studio!

I've yet to create jewelry with these beauties because I've been busy opening a brand new Etsy shop for our ceramic pieces! 

I'm offering a 25% off discount through the end of January. Just use coupon code winter25. Etsy has a 'bug' right now, so my shop isn't offering Paypal as a payment option as of yet. If you would like to pay that way, all products are on my website, and the same discount code will apply.

Thank you for reading!