DragonWerx Jewelry - Medieval Cabochon Ring

	Time to break out the saw and get some practice! I found a nice design in a book, scanned it, and printed it out on tracing paper. I like the thinner weight of tracing paper to saw through, but not all printers can handle it. Always work from the inside to the outside when piercing...you are making "swiss cheese", and you don't want to wind up without support at the inner sections. I've done the first two rounds, here. Each element to be pierced was drilled with a 0.5mm drillbit, and my blade is a Pike 6/0. This is my first time piercing a form that is already domed. The paper wants to lay flat, but the silver is curved...what to do?
	I used rubber cement to adhere my design to the metal. This allows me to reposition it as necessary (white glue will heavily distort paper, because there's so much moisture in it). I gently lifted each section on the curved area, and pressed it flat in just the area I was going to pierce. You can see the three holed for the new section to be cut.
	The new section has been cut out. I insert the saw blade into the hole, and run the metal all the way to the head of the saw. There it balances while I tilt the saw frame, handle 'up' so that gravity keeps the metal at the head. Then I use an overhand grip on the handle (with my left hand) and use my right hand to tighten the blade grip. The saw must be tight when piercing; otherwise, you will break blades, and it will be very hard to stay on your line.
	All the elements have been cut out. I found it hard to see if I was cutting nice sharp points on all the elements. So after stripping off the paper, I checked for 'offness' from the back side. From the back side, I re-cut any points that did not meet sharply. I then checked the front side again. Irregularities were cleaned up with the saw blade; very few files will fit into such small spaces.
	I decided on a matte finish for this piece. It's going to be the top plate of a multi-layer pendant. To be continued... Back to top