Silver Etched Cufflinks, How to Make them & other ideas. 

Correct... it depends on the date. Up to and including 1919 they are 925 sterling silver, from 1920 to 1946 they are 500 silver (50%), and from 1947 onwards they are Cupro-nickel alloy. Dave.

Celtic Dreams Hi Dave, love all of your videos they've been a great help. Did you manage to make a video about using the p&p paper?

Not yet. I'm pretty stacked out at the moment. But Fellow RU-vidr Andrew Berry did a nice video on the pnp parer. See link,. Dave. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CHMmP7wpskI.html

I found that one and have had a go thanks.

That is awesome! Such a lovely thing to say. This is the whole reason I do this, no charge, nio adverts !, just sharing my passion and helping to inspire others. Wear your bracelet with pride - you made it. As for the cufflinks.... I wear them myself "Brother". Dave.

yes, Cufflink Blanks from cookson gold. The blue paper is called "Blue Press n peel" transfer film for pcb's readily available on Amazon. You will see ferric Chloride everywhere for etching copper circuit biards, but remember you need ferric "nitrate" to etch silver. Cant remember where I got this, but at the time of writing HS Walsh sell it link below... Dave www.hswalsh.com/product/iron-ferric-nitrate-500g-t03936

I use Adobe illustrator for such things. Dave

Indeed, the square and compass. Dave

Fraternal Greetings brother. Sincerely & fraternally, Dave (W. Bro Wilson)

Here in the Uk I bought it from RS components, a large electronics supplier (link below). But google "Press N Peel" and you should find it online. Its used for masking your own circuit boards. Dave uk.rs-online.com/web/p/pcb-developing-kits/2157004

Ha ! at last ! I've been waiting for someone to spot that. It's a tool called a "centre finder". Much used by engineers, but most jewellers have never seen one. Many people make coin rings and I have seen so many videos on RU-vid about how to find the exact centre of a coin. unbelievably complicated methods. No silly methods required. Just get one of these, simple as you can see. Mine is a small steel one of ebay for a couple of pounds. You can also get plastic ones. or even make your own. just a right angle with a ruler set at 45 degrees from the corner. Its a little lifesaver. I should really make a video on it. Well spotted ! Dave.

I know nothing about tattoos, so cant say. But considering you iron it on to the metal, That would be a pretty painful process for the start of a tattoo. You can always paint freehand, with a sharpie marker or cut shapes from plastic film or tape. You just need "something' to act as a barrier to the etching solution. Hope this helps. Dave

Cufflinks wearing away? I'm not sure what you mean. If you are referring to the etched pattern, it is physically cut into the silver, like engraving, so it can't wear off. Dave

+jim bettridge ....Easy when you know how. Thanks again Jim.

Good point. In theory yes, you are correct. But in practice the ends are sealed. Many items have metal springs, such as cufflinks, bolt rings and lobster catches. It seldom makes any difference to the pickle. Even if pickle does get into the springs, the metal spring is very small compared to a litre of pickle. So is unlikely to have much effect. Also they are only in the pickle for a few seconds anyway. The real problem comes from sing steel tongs or tweezers being constantly left in the pickle. I find that my pickle gets full of dirt and sludge from dissolved borax and oxides, just in normal use. So I change it regularly anyway. Dave

Thanks for taking the time to comment. Appreciated. Dave

Thank you for taking the time to leave such a lovely comment. I hope I have inspired you to have a go. Thanks for watching. Dave

Glad you liked it Dave

Hallmark quality sterling silver paste solder (easy). See link. Dave www.cooksongold.com/Solders/-Alloy=Silver_Solder/-Type=Paste/&prdsearch=y&show=N I also made a video on the different solders here.. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-en2KLTb-CV4.html

I'm not just a jeweller ; ) Dave www.davewilsonmagic.com/

Yes. I believe you can pretty much etch anything as long it conducts. Check out Prof. John Ahr of the online jewellery academy, he has some great videos on doing this. see link Dave ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-l5Rn_xx2i3Q.html

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by Ferric Acid. Ferric Chloride is often used to etch copper circuit boards, but apparently this doe snot work on silver, hence why we use ferric Nitrate which etches silver. So for etching silver you need Ferric nitrate. Dave

ty.

+pagefour217 if you are in the USA then check out this website for lots of information on becoming a jeweller. they also have links to courses etc and typical salaries. lots of info here....hope it helps & good luck. Dave. www.mjsa.org/career_resources/mjsa_beajeweler_initiative

+Celtic Dreams thank you sir

+Frances Winyard ...."Ferric nitrate" I purchased it from Amazon. Just google it, there are chemical companies and some of the larger jewellery suppliers may have it. Note that you may see a lot of ferric chloride which is used to etch copper circuit boards, but for silver you need "Ferric Nitrate". it comes as white crystals and is mixed with warm water. Dave

Thanks Dave!

Thanks. Not specifically an etching video, but I thought it would be nice to show how I made them. Thanks for watching. Dave

Thanks for sharing that great tip on the hair straighteners. Thanks. Dave.

Celtic Dreams My pleasure! (Must be at least 300 deg.) Have an awesome day!

By any chance do you come from Leigh? near Wigan. it's such an unusual spelling./

Celtic Dreams No sir, I'm in West Virginia, U.S. :)

+CLIFTON MORGAN I'm not sure on that one. The question is what chemical to use. When etching copper circuit boards you use ferric chloride. But this doesn't work so well for silver. Hence for silver we use ferric nitrate. But for stainless steel, I don't think either of these would work. You may need a strong acid. My suggestion would be to take your artwork to an engraver and get it machine engraved. You'll get a much better result if you want it deep. Dave

Thanks for the information and advice Dave

This was my first ever attempt at this process. But the results where an astounding level of detail. Much finer than i could ever engrave. (not that I can). Dave P.s. Andrew Berry makes a good video on it... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CHMmP7wpskI.html

Thanks Dave for the link--Andrew Berry makes excellent videos.

Indeed. Andrew is a very knowledgeable chap and really starred the whole jewellery video idea . Nice chap too. He's probably watching ! Dave.

Greetings brother!. Dave

cheap black and white Laser printer (with toner). Dave

Glad you liked it! Dave

I bought a 250g bag of Ferric Nitrate crystals from Amazon UK. The instructions say to mix it 1:1. so 100g of Ferric nitrate in 100g (100CC) of warm water. Keep it warm (i used a second large bowl of hot water, rather like when melting chocolate) and it took about 15 minutes to get a good deep etch. I have also seen it for sale as a solution. So I guess y read the label and follow the manufacturers instructions on ratios. Remember for silver you need Ferric "nitrate". The common Ferric Chloride etching solution you may see for sale is ok for copper circuit boards but is not very effective for silver. Hope this helps. Dave.

Gracias.Thanks!!!

Thank you. Nice of you to say so. Thanks for watching. Dave

+Pitchayapa Jingjit . Surprisingly, no. I have many letters after my name with a master’s level education. But my academic skills are computers and multimedia (hence my videos). I have never really been taught jewellery. I did a short beginners course for just a few weeks at the local adult college, over 15 years ago. I learnt the basics of how so solder, but that's about it. The point is, it gave me the confidence to explore further. Since then I have spent the past 15 years, studying, practicing and learning everything from wherever and whoever I can, Books, videos, internet etc. If I need to do something I will research it, practice first and work out the best method. I am constantly learning. My first ever piece was a Celtic Bracelet. I worked out the maths in order for the links to fit together and designed a small jig to make the links on. I made my first piece out of paper clips and electrical solder. I then made it in silver, and then gold. All self-taught, I could not find any information on how to do this. So I had to work out a solution to every problem. That's why I now enjoy giving back the knowledge and skills I have learned. I know how hard it can be starting out. Thanks for your question. Dave.

+Celtic Dreams thank you for the reply! I'm extremely wanting to learn how to make silver steering earring studs and etc.

+Pitchayapa Jingjit ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-gR5PuqHdFlA.html

Thanks Curt great tip. The copper probably also helps to spread the heat evenly. Thanks again, Dave

mail@celticdreams.co.uk www.celticdreams.co.uk

إذا كانت طويلة جدا ، يتوقف الناس عن المشاهدة. Dave

I don't know what country you are in. But here in the Uk the fittings I used came from Cookson Gold. Dave. www.cooksongold.com/Findings/Sterling-Silver-Assembled-Cuff-Link-Fitting-Round-Bar-With-U-Arm-Plain-prcode-NVU-101

+luis armando “pasolento68” lopez landeros ....Hi. Dave. : )

Adobe Photoshop. You need to scale and crop the image, invert it (if desired, the black toner is the resist and will be the high spots). if using text you will also need to flip it horizontal. Photoshop requires a monthly subscription, but there are lots of free image apps that can so basic editing like this. "Gimp" I believe is very popular. Perhaps look at "portable apps" too, which are free and will run from a USB stick. Hope this helps, Dave

@@CelticDreamsCoUk , Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

My printer is a Dell 1660W A4 Colour. It was a reconditioned unit from the Amazon store and was just £40, best bargain I ever had. As for the iron, no steam and "medium" hot. silk setting is too low, but cotton can be too hot and curl the sheet. The size and thickness of your silver will also affect it. so on a large bookmark for example you may need a little more heat. You are only melting the toner onto the silver so it doesn't need to be excessive. Its not an exact science, I guess I just got lucky first time. if it doesn't work, there's nothing lost, just wipe off with acetone (nail polish remover) and try again. Don't etch until you're happy with it. Hope this helps. Dave.

Thank you for your great advice

In the USA try Riogrande.... Dave. www.riogrande.com/Product/Sterling-Silver-One-Piece-Cuff-Link-Back/626771