The Story of Piaf's Bead - part 3

At the end of the last post, I was ready to start forming the piece into the body to carry the bead. It’s a case of taking off my jeweller’s hat, and putting on my silversmith’s cap.

Forming complete and the bar for the bead in place.

I’ve done no filing or emery work at all, only a light rub down with some Scotchbright.

So, just some work to tidy up the decorative holes in the top (they are still as pierced out – not as bad as the photos make them look) and to level off the bottom of the piece.

These final two shots from the side and end show the final shape. I had to get the top flat to be able to get the spindle for the bead lined up which has spoiled the curves a bit, but I’m still happy with it.

 I did the forming with a hide mallet over a selection of spoon stakes and a sinusoidal stake for some of the tighter curves.

I have soldered on the bar that the bead will sit on. It is actually two short pieces of tube with a longer, thinner piece running through them. When I finally come to mount the bead, I will flare the ends of the inner tube to lock it in place.

Here’s a close up shot.  Note the effect of using a hide mallet to do the forming. Can you see it?

Precisely – no marks on the silver to clean up.

Close-up of the decoration detail.

BUT….. (the cliff-hanger at the end of the episode – queue drum beats……) the idea of setting the bead on a spindle was partly to enable it to rotate so you could choose which way round to wear it. However, as I feared all along, really, the bead is not symmetrical enough to be able to let it turn in its setting.

Worse, in messing around trying to open up the setting to let it turn, I have made I have made the hole in the top a bit larger than it should be. Doesn’t look good.

Gonna have to come up with something to tidy things up.

But what……..?