Merry Christmas Blog 1 of 3.

I was very busy with Christmas orders this year. One custom piece that I spent a great deal of time working on was this sterling silver locket that I finished just yesterday, barely in time for the big day today. It's a gift for talented local musician Steve Rio, check out his music if you can, I personally am a big fan.
I started out with a block of wax and after sawing out the rough shape of a heart I started to shape it with files before cutting it in two and beginning to hollow out the center....

Merry and the Ho and Ho!

...After carving the inner details with small dental tools I used an electric wax pen to clean it up and add the teeth to the gears and sprockets. It was cast into sterling silver and then the process of slimming it down and losing some of it's bulk began. I used files at first, but soon moved on to my grinder and belt sander. I smoothed it out again with some abrasive buff wheels......

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!!

...The process of lining up the center locking mechanism was a tricky one, involving soldering and re-soldering. Followed by a great deal of grinding and fitting until everything was just right. Extra sprockets were riveted in place so that they can actually spin. The center locking pin is hollow so that it can be used for the storage of precious notes or scrolls. The locket was treated with a patina while wrapped in wire to give it an antique ancient feel. When the chain is in place everything is locked up tight and can not be opened. It was a pleasure to build. A real one of a kind piece.

Happy Holidays!!

The holiday season is upon us and business has been booming. I haven't had much extra time on my hands, so I've been un-able to update my blog. Seeing as how most of the projects I'm working on are surprises for various people for Christmas, I won't be able to show any works in progress until the new year, at which time they will be completed anyways. So I thought I'd spend a moment to show everyone my gorgeous Christmas Cactus. I picked this little beauty up for free off of Craigslist last spring, the lady who gave it to me told me that it was unhealthy and it had never bloomed. I did a little reading in my amazing home plant book that my Mom gave me for Christmas a few years back, and found out a few tricks for helping it bloom. First and foremost, if you want your Christmas Cactus to bloom in December you must start thinking about making that happen sometime in July. They need to spend a month or two outside during the summer, and then be brought inside before it gets cold. Seems to do the trick. I hope everyone has a very happy holiday season. I need to get back to the bench......