Oval link tutorial

Fine silver oval links

There are lots of places to find out how to make these gorgeous fine silver links, but I thought I'd show how I did it as a beginner and how simple it can be. Wear goggles and take all the necessary safety precautions listed in the link at the foot of this entry.

I wound 1.5mm fine silver wire on a round mandrel. I used the handle of a wooden spoon.  Cut the coil with a jeweller's saw or  use your wire snips, but remember to cut twice to get two flat ends. File if necessary to make a really snug join.

This is my wire fusing workspace! I put a board up at the side of the kitchen hob to cut out the sunlight, and a baking tray to keep things fireproof. I switched on the extractor fan, to take away any fumes.

 










That's a butane kitchen torch (creme brulee torch) and a soldering sheet on top of a terracotta garden saucer.

• Heat the ring evenly until it starts to glow orange or dull red  - concentrate the heat on the join now and it will suddenly gleam, flash and fuse together. Stop heating immediately. It helps if you can do all this in low light - that's why I put up the large board.

• Drop into water to cool (using insulated tweezers!). As you are using fine silver, there is no pickling required. Stretch the links with two metal crochet hooks or similar if you would like oval ones like mine.

• Then I gave them a bit of a bash with my ball pein hammer to get a bit of texture. Now polish. Fine silver is not as sturdy as sterling silver, so is not suitable for heavy use, like bracelet clasps. So lovely as an element in a necklace or earrings, though.  

• Here is a link to a really clear tutorial. It's not where I learned how to do this - that is lost in the mists of time - but it's really clear and it deals well with the essential safety aspects. Here is another good one. Have fun!