Creating Wooden Jewelry. Sarah King
cracking. Wood is either air dried, which is the more traditional way, or kiln dried. Wood that hasn’t been dried is referred to as green wood, and will need approximately one year of drying time per 1 in (25 mm) of thickness. When gathering your own green wood, you need to select larger diameter branches, as they will have more heartwood. See Terhi Tolvanen’s profile on page for further information on preparing green wood.
Oak beads cut for use in the Oak Broken Line Necklace project on page.
MATCHING WOOD TO TECHNIQUE
Wood is a good material for making bold work, as it is light enough to allow large pieces to be worn with comfort. In addition, wood is very versatile in the number of techniques that can be used to shape it and the appearance it can be given with different finishes.
Carving: Basswood is a common initial choice for carving, as it is easy to work. Since it doesn’t have a visible grain, it often tends to be stained or painted. Other hardwoods to try are sycamore, boxwood, cherry, oak, walnut, maple, apple, pear, and plum.
Woodturning: Both dry and green woods are suitable for turning, and there is a wealth of information and advice online from suppliers and enthusiasts.
Found objects: Most found objects will be made of hardwood (like the beech spoons used in this book on page) and, therefore, suitable for experimentation.
Think laterally when sourcing wood. Beech spoons, used for the necklace on page, are easy to find at ktchen or hardware stores.
I twisted locally sourced willow stems like these to make necklaces, earrings, and bangles—see page for instructions.
Inlay: Silver and pearls work well when contrasted to darker woods like exotic hardwoods. Try bog oak or a medium-color hardwood if you don’t have a source of suitable scraps.
Laser-cutting: Only certain woods and plywood are suitable for laser-cutting. Laser-cutting companies often supply their own so discuss with them the size of their wood, their laser-cutter bed, and your CAD drawing so that you know they’re all compatible.
Veneers: Veneers, or thin slices of wood, are available in a wide range of wood types, and since they are often used as a surface layer for a less expensive material underneath, they are a very economical use of an expensive wood. Veneers are sometimes sold with an adhesive backing, but the project on page uses a “raw” veneer product.
SOURCING
If you don’t have access to a band saw, then you need to buy wood in a depth that is manageable to saw with whatever hand tools you have available. Wood suppliers will often slice down a larger piece of wood for a small fee. This is advisable since some woods can be very dense and hard to cut. It will be more cost-effective than buying many small pieces and there will be less waste if your wood is the right depth for what you need.
Search specialty websites for wood sold for certain types of work, such as guitar making and turning. For instance, guitar-makers tend to use attractive thin woods for the body of guitars, but there is waste from cutting the required shape and these scrap pieces can be bought. Lime is used for carving spoons and is, therefore, easy to find in suitably sized pieces. Model stores and lumberyards also sell useful woods. Fruit trees need pruning and might provide a good source of green wood if you have access to a garden tree or orchard.
MIXING WOOD WITH OTHER MEDIA
Jewelers working with wood don’t always use it as a main medium, but as part of a mixed-media approach to their work. Often they will use whatever materials they feel convey a certain idea or feeling that is appropriate for a particular design. Many of the practical challenges of constructing pieces from materials without heating them, as you would solder metals to make attachments, apply to many non-precious materials.
Mixed-media necklace by Katy Hackney in wood, metal, colorcore, and nylon cord.
Some plastics such as acrylic sheet can be sawn, drilled, and filed in a similar way to wood. For example, Emily Kidson uses laminating to attach Formica to wood and then adds the findings into the wood underneath. Care needs to be given not to damage the surface of plastics, but some can be polished on a motor polisher just by changing the mop and type of polish. Methods o: construction such as riveting, glued pegs, plaque and claw settings, and threading would also be suitable to use for a wide range of materials. There are many contemporary jewelers who use a mixedmedia approach, like Lucy Sarneel and Lisa Walker.
BREAKING THE RULES
Applying techniques from other disciplines, or, indeed, any influences from the world around us, can lead jewelers to experiment. Experimentation and chance are key to innovative results. If you only draw inspiration from other jewelers, it can be difficult to avoid making derivative work and harder to find your own voice or style. Sometimes having an in-depth knowledge of a certain field and the “correct” way of doing things can inhibit a fresh approach. For instance, Beppe Kessler’s sewn balsa wood pieces came from her having a textile background and seeing what was possible across another material. It is also exciting to see a material used in an unexpected and hitherto unseen way. Manami Aoki soaks her wood then hammers the end grain until the fibers separate, and then sculpts it into tufts reminiscent of hair.
Getting started
Once you have mastered the techniques used in the projects in this chapter, try the dot pendant (see above and page).
These two initial projects are designed as a starting point for the inexperienced jeweler and are also an introduction to wood for those who have previously worked in metal. The techniques may be simple, but this can make the design stage harder, since to make something striking from limited means can be harder than it initially appears. The dot pendant shown left also makes good use of shallow shaping, and might be another project to try at the beginner stage.
The step-by-step sequences for these projects are shown close-up from the first making stage, so it is important that you check cut the workbench setup instructions you will need to carry out prior to this stage (see page). When you are using a piercing saw or when you’re filing, you will need to support your work on a bench peg that has had a V-shape cut into it. If you don’t have a custom workbench with a bench peg built in, you can improvise with a bench peg clamped onto a table with a C-clamp. It is important to consider your setup here, because you will need to support the jewelry piece that you are working on, while at the same time, keeping your fingers from being in front of the piercing saw or the micromotor drill.
You also need to establish basic workshop safety. Keep any loose hair, necklaces, or scarves out of the way. Do not wear open-toe shoes in case you drop hot items or acid. Protect yourself from dust with a dust mask or respirator—this is especially important