Monstera Leaf Patterned Pendant

Create a beautiful leaf patterned pendant for an ideal Christmas stocking filler. Step One DRAW AND TRACE YOUR LEAF Draw out your leaf shape on paper, cut it out and then trace it onto a piece of 1mm Sterling Silver sheet. Step Two Cut out your shape. Place your Sterling Silver on your bench peg to cut out your shape. Move your saw up and down, letting the saw do the work. Move the metal rather than the saw to cut the shape. Use your needle files to file any rough edges and emery paper/sticks to smooth the edges. Step Three HEAT AND QUENCH YOUR LEAF Anneal your Sterling Silver sheet using a blowtorch by placing it on a heat proof brick and evenly heating it until it glows. Quench the leaf in water and clean it in acid pickle. Use your tweezers to pick up and move the hot metal. To avoid fire stain, coat your Silver in Borax before heating. Do not put metal tweezers in the safety pickle as this can contaminate it. Use plastic tweezers to remove any items from the pickle. To keep your pickle warm, use a slow cooker or pickling unit. Remember: safety pickle is a hazardous chemical and appropriate precautions should be taken. Step Four ADJUST THE WIDTH OF YOUR ROLLING MILL You will need to work out how wide to set your rolling mill to leave an impression in the Silver, without the handle being too difficult to turn. For rolling mills without gauges, this can be trial and error so test your setting using a similar thickness of copper until you are happy. Step Five ROLL AND TEXTURE YOUR LEAF Place your leaf on top of your texture plate and roll through your rolling mill. Step Six ADD YOUR DETAILS AND SMOOTH EDGES Draw any cut out details on your leaf shape using a pen and using your piercing saw, cut these out. File and sand any rough edges until smooth. Step Seven PREPARE YOUR WIRE Using approximately 25mm of 1.2mm round wire, hammer each end flat against a hard surface, filing the ends round and smooth if needed. Using pliers, curve one end of the wire round and bend the other end back flat. Ensure the hammered ends sit flush on a flat surface when placed down. Step Eight SOLDER AND QUENCH YOUR SILVER WIRE AND LEAF Place the textured leaf face down on a heat proof brick. Apply hard solder paste to each flat wire end and hold using reverse action tweezers. Heat the leaf and place the Silver wire onto the back, heating both pieces evenly until the solder flows. Quench the leaf in water and clean in acid pickle Step Nine SMOOTH AND BUFF YOUR FINISHED PENDANT When the pendant is clean, rinse, dry and remove any surplus solder with emery paper or a silicone wheel on a pendant motor. Use a burnisher to go around the edges of the pendant and add a smooth shiny edge. To finish, gently buff the pendant with an abrasive sponge or wire wool. If you have enough time, you can use the materials to make some matching earrings. Share your creation with us on Facebook.

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