Metal Jewellery Making

Metal jewellery making is the craft of turning sheet metal into wearable pieces such as pendants, earrings and keyrings. You cut out a shape with a fine saw, smooth it with files and sandpaper, then add texture or polish. Jewellers have used these hand techniques for centuries. Copper is a lovely metal to start with, because it's soft, warm in colour and easy to work.

The piercing saw is a small frame saw with a very fine blade. It cuts detailed shapes, even curves and tight corners, out of sheet metal. Jewellers usually rest the metal on a bench peg, a wooden block with a V-shaped slot, while they saw.

Files and sandpaper, sometimes called emery paper, smooth away rough edges and saw marks.

Hammers and punches add texture. A ball-pein hammer leaves little dimples, while metal stamps press in letters or patterns.

A hand drill makes the hole for a jump ring, the small metal loop that joins your piece to a chain, ear hook or keyring.

Draw or stick your design onto the metal first. Hold the saw upright and let the blade do the work with long, gentle strokes, rather than forcing it. To cut out a shape in the middle, like a window or a star, you drill a small hole, thread the blade through and saw from the inside. Take the curves slowly. Saw blades are thin and they do snap. It happens to everyone, so don't take it personally.

Copper slowly changes colour as it reacts with the air. Freshly polished copper is bright and pinky orange, and over time it darkens to a deeper brown. Given long enough outdoors, it can even turn green, like the roofs of old buildings. This natural layer is called a patina. Some people love the aged look, and others give their piece a quick polish to bring back the shine.

Your Activity Leader shows you each tool before you use it. You choose a design, from a simple template to your own freestyle idea, and cut it from a small square of copper. Then you file and sand the edges, pick a finish (hammered texture or a high polish) and add the fittings to turn it into a pendant, keyring or pair of earrings.

Yes. Copper is forgiving, and even a simple shape looks great once it's polished, so you don't need to be an artist. It's a calm, focused way to spend an afternoon, with just enough hammering to feel productive. And you leave with something you made yourself, which beats a gift shop every time.

You might also like Blacksmithing, Tin Embossing and Pyrography.

See all Camp Wildfire activities