Intro to Jewelry: Lesson 1: Piercing and Filing

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Lesson 1: Piercing/ Filing

Hint: If you find the teeth hard to see, hold the blade over a white sheet of paper. This increases the contrast.

The top of your blade should be barely hitting the top slot.
Place your saw frame against the edge of your desk and push against it. You will feel the frame flex a little. Now the top of your blade should be in the top slot.
Tighten the top screw then release pressure on the frame.
Pluck the saw blade with your nail. You should hear a high pitched twang. If your saw is soprano, you have the proper tension on the blade. If the twang is low pitched, the saw blade is too loose- open the top screw and put more pressure on the frame before tightening the top screw again.

Hint: Use your hipbone to press against the frame. You can get great flexing this way and will wind up with a consistently taut blade.

The saw cuts on the downward stroke
Start by notching the metal where you want to start your cut. Take a couple of downward strokes holding the saw at a 45 degree angle.
Once you have your notch, begin sawing.
Hold the saw perpendicular to the metal- at a 90 degree angle. This may feel odd to begin with.
Don’t push the blade; let the saw do the work.
All the motion should be from your elbow.
Keep the back end of the frame aligned with the direction you are sawing. Think of it as the rudder on a ship- where it points is where you’re heading! If you aren’t following your line, check to see where your saw is pointed.
Don’t twist the saw frame while sawing. This is the fastest way to break a blade!

To turn a corner:

Saw right up to the turn.
Move your saw up and down in place- not going forward- and slowly rotate the metal.
When the metal has been turned so that your saw is now lined up with the new direction. Begin sawing forward again.

Saw blade reminders:

Copper is “gummy” when you saw it since it is such a soft metal. Use a blade a size smaller than recommended to reduce resistance.
If you feel that the blade is getting stuck or is hard to get through the metal, put some
Bur-life on the blade. Bur-life is a waxy substance that helps to slide the blade along.

Filing tips:

The file will cut best moving forward. You can go back and forth to economize movement. Put most of your pressure into the forward stroke.
Use the entire file with each stroke.
Make sure to file large areas- this will help to smooth out the saw lines. If you file small areas, the piece looks uneven and has a faceted look.
Make sure you are using the correct shape file! Rounded sides are for concave curves. Flat sides are for convex cures and flat areas. Choose the file that fits closest to the area you will be filing.
Use your needle files for small areas.
If you have sawed over your initial line marked on the metal, use your scribe to mark another line before filing. This way you have a goal to file to. It helps to prevent overfiling and maintains the proper shape of the piece.
Files have different cuts. 0= coarsest 5= finest. The cut number can be found on the tang of hand files and on the handle of needle files.

Marking your Metal:

There are several different ways to get your design onto your metal.
The most direct way is to sketch on the metal with either your scribe or a sharpie. The scribe scratches the design into the surface of the metal, so be careful!
You can attach your design on paper to the metal using either Spray-Mount (outside only!) or rubber cement.
You can also use computer peel off labels. You can draw directly on the label or print them out. Full sheet labels can be put through the Xerox machines. (2^nd floor)
One of my favorite ways is to draw with my sharpie and once I have the drawing just right go over the sharpie with the scribe. This lets me tweak the design on the metal itself, and give me a permanent line to saw to.

Intro to Jewelry