Hello, My name is Jenn and I am the owner of Crystal Forged! This channel is going to show my Small Business Lifestyle so you can follow me along on my journey as I grow and expand! I will also be helping you out as well by showing you tips and tricks on starting your own small business, how I learned my craft, and a behind the scenes of running a small business. I will also show you my creative process and hopefully inspire you a bit along the way! Videos will be released 1-2 times a month!
In the links you can find all the different ways to follow me along with my Etsy Shop link!
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Awesomely done,i just watched a lady named melanie kline who put out a series of jewelry videos and 1 of them talked about sawing and what to do and what not to do and you did that like a pro.
Thanks so much! I spent the majority of this year learning all of these different metalsmithing skills mostly from youtube and I believe I have watched that video on sawing too! :)
@crystalforged yea that's how I'm teaching myself as well. I taught myself how to do spray paint art and now I'm onto cutting opals and silversmithing lol.
Ive only just found your channel and im really happy i have as im just starting to get into silversmithing as well. Im just wondering where you got your jewellers vice and mitre jig from cause they are a really expensive piece of kit. And your polish (black) . Any help would be greatly appreciated
Hi! Sorry it took a few days to get back to you here. I'm so glad you're enjoying my videos! I have just added the links to the description for the Vice and Mitre Jig. Both of those were bought from amazon and the costs are very reasonable esepecially for the ball vise which can run a few hundred normally. The one I bought is from Vevor and I honestly feel its very well made and as a beginner silversmith it suits my needs perfectly and probably would for most metalsmiths. The only weird thing about it and you can see it from the video is the two leather wrapped inserts don't 100% line up perfectly but that does not affects its functionality. It does come with a variety of pegs to hold your work in place and is pretty smooth to use. I'm super happy with it! The Mitre jig is also from amazon and due to it being on the cheaper side I did see from the reviews that it is a bit hard to use at first. That's super easy to overcome. I tiny spritz of WD40 and it moves smoother or you can just work with it over time and it will get easier to move. When you first get it the pieces are very hard to pull apart. The polishing compound I bought from Rio Grande which is a fantastic place to get a lot of starter tools as well. This is the Dialux Brand which is a bit better than the amazon one I had purchased before. I hope that helps! Please feel free to ask about anything else! It helps me decide what sorts of videos to make next! :)
@crystalforged morning, thank you very much for answering my questions, I appreciate it alot as im just starting out and finding it's quite an expensive hobby. I've asked other jewellers questions and received no reply so it was nice to get some guidance, thank you. I'll have a think and if I have any more questions I'll get back to you .😊
The ink cost for this printer and for the ET8550: Per ml = $0.25 (dye inks); $0.28 (pigmented Black) / Dye inks are €15.42 (70ml); pigmented Black (70ml) is €18.13 = 77.10+18.13€= 95.23€ pack
To prevent your mixes and liquids from drying out so fast, store your containers and jars upside down, with liquid resting on cap to prevent air getting into containers, I do this for pvc glue lol. Thanks for sharing your recipe, was interested in electroforming but this is much more economical than pre-made conductive paint. THANK YOU 😀
Hi. I am curious about the clear box you use for polishing. Can you tell me did you purchase it or make it. If you didn’t purchase it where did it come from? I need one like that for my polish at my bench which I’m doing in my home. Thanks for sharing.
Hi! I have just added the link to the video description for the polishing box. I bought it off of Amazon and while it was smaller than I had expected it to be when it came in I found its the perfect size for me. It is small enough that it does not take up a lot of storage space and perfect for sanding, polishing, and buffing jewelry! I hope you find it useful! :)
Hi! Thanks for the feedback. I am still learning a lot of about metalsmithing and I am slowly showing my learning process. As I learn more some of my videos are more detailed and will turn more into tutorial videos as I become better and can offer much more information. I will keep this in mind and offer more details about my methods in newer videos! :)
Hello, I make my own conductive paint! I did make a whole video about it and here is the link: DIY Conductive Paint for Electroforming: Only 2 Ingredients ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-G_oFHUJQ9vQ.html The recipe is quite simple and works very well for me and I have been using it since I started electroforming. I do tend to double coat certain things I electroform because certain materials are a bit harder to pain such as resins. I know a commonly used paint in electroforming is the Safer Solutions paint, but it is a bit expensive. I hope this helps!
Thank you so much! I just added a link to my organizer in my video description and here. There are several styles to choose from. I did get the 12 drawer one which is basically two 6 drawer organizers that stack on top of each other. Wooden Crystal Organizer: amzn.to/3AEntBT
I wanted to do metalsmithing for a long time also I'm just really inspired that you're doing this I'm so excited to see your progress and the learning curve and definitely on a budget so glad that you are making this content can't wait to see where it goes thank you
I'm so happy to hear that! I really hope you get to learn this awesome skill and find the same kind of joy it brings me! I have wanted to metalsmith for such a long time and realized that I did not need a million tools and things to be able to do it. I did start with only a few tools and since then I have found a bunch of things that can be bought at a much more palatable price than buying stuff at extraordinary prices for professional equipment. I am thinking of making a video that shows the level of intricacy you can achieve with just using the most simple tools, because a lot of the tools I have recently acquired do make things easier, but the same can be achieved with simpler tools also.
Gracias por compartir Realmente muy pocos comparten como hacer su pintura Yo he trabajado básicamente hojas de plantas y algunas flores, las rosas me han quedado hermosas
¡De nada! La receta es bastante simple y no creo en el control. Esta forma de arte puede ser accesible para muchas más personas. Ahora bien, tal vez las pinturas fabricadas profesionalmente podrían funcionar mejor, pero al menos esto puede darle a alguien la oportunidad de comenzar a aprender a electroformar sin necesidad de gastar tanto al principio. Hopefully the google translate did not butcher my comment too badly but here is the English for comparison :) You are very welcome! The recipe is quite simple and I do not believe in gatekeeping. This art form can be accessible to so many more people. Now maybe professionally made paints could work better, but at least this can give someone the chance to start learning to Electroform without needing to spend so much in the beginng.
I tend to only wait 2-4 hours in between coats unless I am working on something super large that needs a heavier layer of conductive paint then I give it a longer time between coats. When I have fully finished all of my coats of conductive paint then I usually leave everything to dry for 24 hours or at least overnight before I throw it into the bath to electroform. This ensures that everything is fully dry and won't come off in your bath and contaminate it in any way. Thanks for asking! I hope that answers your question :)
I sweat solder copper in the same way you would silver. I take my copper solder and heat it up until it melts into a puddle on the piece I want to solder onto something else. I then take that piece that has the melted solder on it and put it onto the metal that I want to solder it to and heat everything up evenly and apply some pressure with my solder pick until I feel the two pieces "stick" together. I will make a more in depth video about this eventually as I get better with the technique. I also bought some cheap copper solder off of amazon. I have it linked on my material video. I will try the solder from rio eventually too.
Beautiful. I’ve recently started silversmithing as well and your videos showing your progress has only fueled my imagination even more. Thank you. Please keep going!!
Thank you! I wanted to make that progress to show what it looks like when you first start learning something new because so many people forget that in the beginning.
I think you are heading in the right direction, when I try out a new technique I always use copper to work the technique with. I think you are doing great and remember the more you do the better you will get you should be proud of yourself
Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate that. This has definitely been a challenge and I absolutely love learning how to metalsmith but it can be super frustrating at times. I did learn very quickly that I have to slow down and really have patience with the metal. I am super happy with my progress and making this video really made me see it because I did not think I had progressed that much yet. :)
What brand do you use? I specifically use the Protecta Clear which I have linked. That does need a cure time of at least 24 hours although I usually allow my pieces to dry without disturbing them for 48-72 hours to allow the coating to fully cure and not get marred or cloudy from handling. If you are using protecta clear or any other type of clear coating is it newer or has it been sitting a long time? I have run into an issue with my Protecta Clear that after using it for over three years it started to turn cloudy and a weird color due to the age and I was getting to the end of the can. After getting a brand new one I had no issues again! Hope that helps :)
Thank you! I'm going to give this a try. I've been using India ink and graphite and it works, but I want better results. I will let you know. BTW you better clean up that mess before MOM gets home! LOL. 🤣 Subbed.
Hahah I love this! Luckily I have my own home but I still need to clean up the mess before my boyfriend thinks something exploded in the craft room LOL! I Let me know if this works for you! I have never tried the india ink and graphite so I'm curious on what works better.
Hi everyone! It's been a year since I have made this video and its still quite popular! I have seen all the feedback about the music being a bit loud and I apologize for that (newbie mistake), but I wanted to give you some good news! I will be remaking this video into a step by step tutorial with music that is nonexistent or super quiet. I hope to have the video uploaded sometime before Fall 2024. Thank you everyone for your support and all the lovely comments! It makes my heart happy to see so many people discovering and learning this beautiful artform.
Thankyou for a great tutorial, my name is Peter and I teach jewellery making hobby at the Wingham lapidary club. I try and expose as many creative jewellery making techniques and processes to my students as possible and would like to include electro plating after I can perfect this process myself, thankyou for your inspiration and I will be watching your tutorials for further ideas.😀
That's so awesome! I hope you get to teach new students about electroforming/plating. Its such a unique art form and when I was learning it there was almost no videos on YT about it! I will continue to make little tutorials for electroforming along my metalsmithing content :)
I love it. Always great to get ideas for organization and tool and supply storage. I recently moved my desk ( also don't have a jeweler's bench) into a new room in a window nook. Only place it would fit in the new room. And have less room for my tools on the desk itself. Luckily there is an entire wall of bookcases, so I can store a lot there. Great video n some really good ideas too.😊👍
Thanks so much! I love organizing my workspace and it has changed so many times, but its a fun process to get it just right! I'm glad this gave you some ideas :) Good luck with your new setup!
Thanks! I hope this video was helpful for you! I have more recently posted my own DIY conductive Paint recipe that may be helpful as well! :) I love being able to share this unique artform with everyone.
Hi! The Protective layer is a clear liquid called Protecta-Clear that prevents the copper from oxidizing and keeps it shiny. I do occasionally use it to protect the crystals as well if it’s a crystal that can get damaged more easily or especially for rings where the crystals would see the most wear. Thank you so much :)
I’m also just starting my metalsmithing journey, so it’s good to see others documenting their process. I feel like right now the hardest thing for me to remember with soldering is to actually keep the hottest part of the flame where I want it. I swear, coordination is half the battle lol
I have definitely felt the learning curve in this process compared to most thing I have taught myself. I learned the hard way that solder flows toward the heat and to not just heat the solder which will just turn into a little ball. I am definitely still learning but I have made some progress and I will be starting with silver now! :) Good luck with your metalsmithing journey. I hope you have fun with it too!
That was super helpful thank you, interested in your graphite paint recipe and where you get your graphite from, also would love a waste video! Ive been trying to research that and you seem to be the only one who brought it up, love that.
Thank you so much!! I actually just filmed my DIY graphite paint recipe and that will be the video being posted tomorrow at 6PM! I hope it helps you :) I am planning on doing a waste video, but I am also waiting until I have some waste built up as I have been focused on learning to metalsmith lately and not as much on my electroforming work.
Hola, tengo subtítulos activados para todos mis videos, pero RU-vid me advierte que pueden tardar algún tiempo en aparecer. Espero que aparezcan en el vídeo para ti. Gracias por ver :) - Disculpas si hay algún error de traducción ya que estoy usando el traductor de Google.
Awesome video music being loud didn’t bother since u weren’t talking during the louder music play❤ Thanks for all the little details I didn’t know that about the saw blades
Thank you! I am so glad the video was helpful :) My editing app updated to a new version recently and since then I have had a slight issue with the loudness of my music so I am glad it did not bother you :)
Yes I believe you should be able to use air dry clay with no problem. You just want to make sure that every inch of air dry clay is either covered in the graphite paint or sealed to prevent the solution from eating it away.
You are AWESOME! Thank you so much for covering safety and the responsibility of proper waste disposal. I will definitely go through your other videos. Thank you again.
