Second Free Project: Multicolor Lentil II
It’s Friday, 11 p.m. ET and I am stuck at Dayton, Ohio airport because of weather conditions. I’m on my way to Martinsville, Indiana, to teach a workshop at 10 a.m. tomorrow. Thank God for Internet access. What better way to pass the time than posting the second project in the series. Much better then playing with fire after a sleepless night. Which I may have to do anyway. By the time you read this I’ll probably be back home, but who knows, the storm doesn’t seem to be going away.
So this lentil is also made with copper, Bronze XT, and low-shrinkage steel XT. They seem to work pretty well together. You will also need a doming mold and a trillion-shaped cutter or template.
1. Roll a slightly textured layer of steel, 3 cards thick. Cut a circle the size of your choice, and dome it over the doming mold. Using the trillion-shaped cutter or template, cut a trillion shape in the middle.
2. Remove the trillion and return it to your storage. Dry the steel dome.
3. Roll a slightly textured copper layer, 3 cards thick, and cut a smaller circle.
4. Dome the copper circle and cut in it a smaller trillion shape.
5. Remove the cut-out trillion and return it to your storage.
6. Place the dry steel dome on the copper one. Make sure that all of the cut-out area in the copper shows through the cut-out area in the steel dome. If it doesn’t, repeat step 4 with a smaller trillion shape.
7. Repeat step 1. Repeat it again with a bronze XT circle, slightly smaller.
8. Place the bronze circle on top of the steel one, with the textured side of both facing down.
9. Dome both circles on the same mold.
10. Cut yet a smaller trillion in both circles. Dry.
11. The back of the lentil is 2 sided: the outside is steel; the inside is bronze.
12. Rub the two half-lentils on a piece of 150-grit sandpaper, using a figure-8 motion, until their edges are flat and they fit each other perfectly.
13. Join the two halves with water, and dry.
14. Make a bail with a “tail”, over a cocktail straw.
15. Attach the bail to the top of the lentil.
16. Cut away the excess from the “tail.”
17. Fire the lentil positioned on its narrow side, using high-fire schedule.
18. Clean the pendant with radial discs mounted on a screw mandrel.
2 a.m. now. Storm has gone somewhere else. Time to go. Wish me luck tomorrow.
September 8th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
Storm is on the way here. Glad you didn’t get mixed up in the NYC storm. Hope you had good luck.
September 8th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
Great! Thanks Hadar!! Sorry about the storm 🙂
September 8th, 2012 at 3:42 pm
Hadar, this is such a great project! I hope you made it out of the airport and to your destination all in one piece. What a bummer. Try to get some sleep after your class. We miss you back home in Berkeley!
September 8th, 2012 at 9:10 pm
Hadar,
I love the Lentil with the trillion shape repeated in the design. It’s very stunning.
I wish I was able to attend your seminar next week in Martinsville,Ind. The storm has not come yet. We just have had a slight rain in Il.
September 9th, 2012 at 5:45 am
Can hardly wait to try it! thanks Hadar.
September 9th, 2012 at 4:28 pm
Glad you are safe, my dear…
I love the ring but don’t have that cutter…
It’s all curves…can I improvise with a circle cutter?
September 10th, 2012 at 7:40 pm
Hope everything turned fine finally… Thanks for these nice projects
September 29th, 2012 at 2:18 pm
awsome, can’t wait to try!Thanks for the endless inspiration. Glad you’re safe at home.
October 9th, 2012 at 3:04 pm
Shucks… I tried this but the steel on the front came out with a few cracks. The back is fine. Any idea why? Thanks for this tutorial, Hadar. It was really fun to do.
October 10th, 2012 at 7:30 am
Nicki, When firing together metals with slightly different shrinkage rate cracking is normal. Just repair and re-fire. No need to repeat the first phase.
November 17th, 2012 at 2:00 pm
Hadar, is it better to use low shrinkage steel instead to reduce cracks?
November 17th, 2012 at 6:42 pm
Otteline, Yes, and also making sure that all the layers are well connected.