Impressions in Aluminum

This simple yet elegant design is asurprisingly easy process.

You'll need a 1 inch 14 Gauge

Bracelet Blank

Brass Wire and Jewelry Tool

- a round nose for curves and a flat nose for sharp bends.

Use your tools to bend some original designs. These need to be flat, not 3 dimensional.

Pictured below is an arbor press. Mine is a Mittler Brothers 3 ton manual press.

I love this tool. I can smash anything with more pressure than I could ever do on my own.

If you don't have a press. You can use a metal block and a hammer.

Place a metal block on your press...

then your bracelet blank....

Then place your wire pattern on the bracelet blank.

Add another metal block on top. Now pull on the lever to press the wire into the aluminum cuff. Put your weight into this pull to get a deep impression.

Lift the lever and remove the top block. You'll be amazed at what you find.

A very nice impression of the design you just created in wire.

REPEAT this process until you get the design and pattern you like.

Now that you have a variety of impressions in your cuff,

you'll want to create a contrast to help these designs POP out!!!

There are a variety of product you can use to create this contrast. Check earlier blog posts where I discuss using an Industrial Sharpie Marker with Alcohol Wipes.

You must bake your piece in an oven at 260 degrees for one hour to set the marker. But then it will be permanent and can even be tumbled without losing the contrast

You can also use Oil Paint.

This would be the kind used to paint pictures.

Squeeze a little ink onto a paper towel.