Jewelry Making Daily Publishes Free Guide to Electroforming Jewelry

Feb. 24, 2012 - PRLog -- The free video can be viewed online: http://www.jewelrymakingdaily.com/electroforming-jewelry

Loveland, Colo.: Jewelry Making Daily publishes a free eBook loaded with helpful information to equip beginners with basics and supplies needed for electroforming jewelry. Electroforming (also called electroplating) involves taking organic objects and coating them with a layer of real metal which allows the use of complex, natural shapes in metal jewelry without difficult fabrication. Anything found in nature can be incorporated into jewelry: from delicate seed pods to acorns to sea shells. By using some of the techniques for jewelry electroplating, findings like jump rings can also be integrated right into electroformed jewelry to create custom, ready-to-use elements.

Denise Peck, editor of Step by Step Wire Jewelry and senior editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist, guides viewers in the free video tutorial through supplies needed to get started electroforming jewelry; the equipment and supplies for copper plating. Viewers are able to discover just how simple and accessible the electroforming process is by watching the free video from Jewelry Making Daily.

The free video can be viewed online: http://www.jewelrymakingdaily.com/electroforming-jewelry

Electroforming techniques can be used for gold plating, nickel plating and silver plating as well as copper plating–which are covered more in detail in this free video tutorial. Denise explains each piece of electroforming equipment and what each is used for. She also covers the basic process of electroforming to get started, because it's important to know some of the electrical details when working with electrical equipment.  This beginner electroforming video covers all of the supplies needed to create electroformed jewelry elements using copper plating materials.

The free video can be viewed online: http://www.jewelrymakingdaily.com/electroforming-jewelry

Copper Electroplating Equipment - Rectifier

A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current from your house to a direct current which flows in only one direction. House current is way too strong and will burn the pieces that you're electroforming. Low voltage output and low current output is needed for electroforming jewelry. Rectifiers are easy to find and even come with one setting for voltage and current where adjustment is not needed.

Copper Electroplating Equipment - Copper Electroforming Solution

A copper electroforming solution makes the electric current from a rectifier move in the beaker. Electroforming solution is necessary to electroform the metal particles to the organic object. When electroforming jewelry from a metal other than copper: electroforming solutions are required for silver plating, gold plating and nickel plating. All solutions have particles of the metal suspended in the solution except for a copper plating solution. Copper plating is the only process in which metal particles from a piece of copper (anode) are being deposited to an organic object instead of from a liquid solution alone. The anode is suspended into the beaker and solution. In order to get a bright and shiny piece of copper jewelry, the anode used for copper electroplating needs to be a clean, polished piece of copper.

Copper Electroplating Equipment - Object to Electroform (Cathode)

There are so many fun possibilities using organic objects to transform into jewelry elements. A cathode doesn't have to be an organic piece; it can be plastic or glass. A piece of metal can even be used to electroform to be a custom jewelry element. Metal will not attach to an organic piece unless it also conducts electricity. Specific steps must be followed to properly prepare an object for electroforming. Any organic material being used to electroform must be covered in several coats of lacquer, because the electroforming solution can damage the cathode.

The free video can be viewed online: http://www.jewelrymakingdaily.com/electroforming-jewelry

Source: http://www.jewelrymakingdaily.com

# # #

Jewelry Making Daily is the premier community for jewelry artists, looking for expert information on all things jewelry. Jewelry Making Daily has top notch resources for wire working, casting, working with stones and much more.