Part 2 - The Elements
You Will Need: 0.6mm/22 gauge round wire (it can be made of any metal), a pair of snips, flat-nosed pliers, sterling silver frame wire (3mm x 0.5mm), a flat file, a fire brick, flux, steel tweezers, hard silver solder, a blowtorch, brass tweezers, fresh water, pickle, pickling unit, copper tweezers
To help create a frame around each coin with an even border you’re going to need to create a spacer. The wire you use to create your spacer is sacrificial so it can be made of any metal, but here I’m using a piece of 0.6mm round earring wire. Form it around the edge of one of your coins and snip away the excess so that the ends don’t quite meet around the circumference of the coin. Make sure it is sitting flat with a pair of flat-nosed pliers and place it around the coin.
To create the frames we’re using a 3mm x 0.5mm length of fully annealed sterling silver. Here you can either make your own by flattening a piece of square wire in your rolling mill, or use your jewellers saw to cut 3mm wide strips from some silver sheet with a thickness of 0.5mm (24 gauge).
Use your fingers to form the frame wire all the way around the coin and the spacer so that it creates a snug fit. Mark the point where the ends overlap with a scribe and use a pair of snips to cut away the excess frame on the excess side of the scribe line.
File the pinched ends of the frame using a flat file until they come together flat surface to flat surface.
Reform the frame around the coin and spacer to check the size, and once you’re happy, remove it from the coin and bring the ends together ready to solder.
Place the frame onto a fire brick and paint the join with flux. Use your steel tweezers to place one piece of hard silver solder onto the join and heat the frame all over with your blowtorch. Once the flux has bubbled and become glassy, concentrate your flame across the join until the solder runs.
Once the solder has run, turn off your blowtorch, quench in fresh water, and pickle.
Repeat this step with all six of your coins.