Jennifer Wolcott 

   Silversmithing

SILVERSMITHING CLASS

Instructor: Jennifer Wolcott  jennifer@wolcottart.com

DESCRIPTION: This is a nine hour class divided into three, three hour sessions. The sessions could be one per week for three weeks or three consecutive days such as Friday, Saturday, Sunday for a long weekend.

   The class is intended to give the student basic skills in working with silver. The emphasis is on the basic techniques. Each student gets a handout on safety and background information on silver work with room for taking notes. The handout is covered on the first day with emphasis on the safety information.

   Each student chooses their own project. Most projects are based on setting an object as part of a pin or pendent or button (bezeling a cabochon) but that is not a requirement. Fused glass, stones, gems, buttons and shells are some of the suitable objects. Most anything that has a flat back can be set.

   I will discuss the project with each student so they are aware of the difficulty and then help them accomplish whatever they want to try.

   In the third class complex jewelry can be analyzed and broken down so the student can see that they know the steps.

The class covers the following techniques:

1)      Silver

a)      Fine vs Sterling

b)      Sheet gage

c)      Bezel wire

d)     Wire shapes and tubing    

2)      Torches

a)      Acetylene/ Air

b)      Torch heads

3)      Flux and solder

a)      Easy, Medium, Hard

b)      What flux does

c)      Platforms and bricks and clamps

4)      Pickling

5)      Annealing and hardening

6)      Cutting with the saw

a)      filigree

b)      scissors

7)      Forming hooks, shanks, bails and ear wires

8)      Drilling

9)      Stamping

10)  Bezeling/ rocking in

11)  Chemical treatments

12)  Silver balls

 COSTS:

Teacher’s fee:  $75.00 per student. Minimum class size = four,   maximum = eight.  The Teachers fee does not include any fees the sponser wants to charge.

Tools:  Tools are provided for use during class. Students may want to purchase some files or emery cloth to work on their project between class times.

Materials:   The Instructor will bring a supply of materials for purchase. Each Student purchases the materials they need for their project. Expect to spend about  $30.00