[Jewelry making - Article 00021] - Re: [Orchid] Keum boo techniques

[Mona Clee]

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    Grace, Charles Lewton-Brain has a good article on keum-boo in the
    Orchid archivesand there's a good article in the book Metals Technic
    by Komelia Okim.  Also, the August '03 Lapidary Journal has an
    article on keum-boo with precious metal clay (no need to depletion
    gild there because it's already close to 100% silver; if you are
    working with sterling silver you definitely have to depletion gild to
    get a thin skim of finesilver on the metal. Otherwise the foil won't
    attach properly). 

    I try to finish all my fabrication and soldering and make applying
    the foil the very last step, if at all possible (except for oxidizing
    the silver with liver of sulfur).  If you can do that it's definitely
    preferable.  I have had good luck with soldering afterward, but it is
    amazing how soldering can make foil that seemed to be perfectly
    attached suddenly bubble up.  If you don't re-burnish it you're in
    trouble.  As far as buffing goes, so far I feel that keum-boo looks
    best on a piece of metal that's textured, so I don't apply it to
    highly polished metal.  You might give it a try -- experiment with
    buffing before and after.  A little careful buffing shouldn't remove
    the foil. 

    Your idea about using a drilled piece of brass is good.  A few weeks
    ago I spent a couple of hours poking through Urban Ore in Berkeley to
    find a piece of iron or brass with a hole already drilled into it to
    put on top of the iron griddle I put on top of my hot plate, so I
    could apply the foil to earrings that already had the posts soldered
    on.  (It works for flat earrings.  But I really need to find a domed
    piece of metal that I can drill into, for domed earrings.  Domed
    stakes and punches are too hard to be drilled into, I think, so if
    anyone has any suggestions I would grateful). 


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