Which Blade To Use?

A lot of people have a hard time with sawing out designs from sheet metal. The first step in getting a good cut and not breaking your blade every few minutes is using the correct blade for the gauge of metal you are using.

Here is a handy dandy chart you can download and print out and put on your bench. While this chart gives you the basics you can vary from the suggested blades. For example I like to create very intricate designs in my work and even though I use 22 gauge most of the time, I like to use a 8/0 blade because of how thin they are. Just make sure you choose a blade fine enough to have at least two teeth (but not more than three) within the thickness of the metal. For more on this subject and how to hold your saw correctly check out this great article on ganoksin


Download a simple b/w version here.

Sketching

As a art major, I have had to take a lot of drawing classes and while I have pretty much abandoned drawing for fun, I do keep a sketchbook with me (actually quite a few scattered around the house!) so I can jot down ideas for my jewelry as they pop into my head. I try to plan out some designs and work on a cohesive collection before I put things into fabrication, but sometimes I just go with the flow of how something is working organically. It makes me wonder what the rest of the metalsmiths and jewelry artists out there do?

Are you a sketcher and planner? Or a fly by the seat of your pants kinda person?

Hello!

My name is Courtney and I am a graphic designer, stationer, and metalsmith! I love to create and work with various mediums- paper, ink, silver, paint, whatever! I hope that through my blog I can explore design, trends, fashion and technique with you all! I have some great plans to show tutorials on different metalsmithing techniques, feature designers, and highlight trends in the fashion industry....

Feel free to email me with suggestions on topics or if you want to be a featured designer or have a great tutorial on any jewelry technique!

(above is a shot of my studio- you are lucky... it almost never looks this organized!)

Thanks for stopping by, I look forward 'seeing' you again and reading your comments and suggestions!