finaly finished a piece

completed the chain yesterday. I really like how it moves and the way the links can lie in different positions.

test link

this is the 1st link i made with my new tool. it came out alright on the one side and I'm sure i could perfect it, but it is not very easy to make and it takes to much time. after looking at it a realized that it does not need four steel cable spans so i decided to simply it so it only had two.

Evolution

this is the new tool i have made it has a tab on the back so i can press it against the vice and a small ledge under is for the link to rest on. With this i can hold the two tools and the link with one hand and tighten the vice with the other.

A little glue goes a long way

since i started working with steel cable i realized that it was very hard to work with because it wants to spring everywhere except where you want it to be. I have been trying to solve this problem with binding wire and other methods to try hold it in place these all failed...then the other day i realized the answer came in a bottle all i need is a small drop of glue to hold it in place.

long way around

after struggling to crimp my new prototype link i decided to make a tool i could just put in the vice with the link... it works relatively well but it is still hard to use because i need to hold two of these and the link while i tighten the vice i need to make something that can hold all three together so it will be easier

Battered and bruised

this is the 1st test piece i have made after trying different ways to crimp the steel cable in i finally made a tool and used that but it still need refinement

some photoshop

this is some Photoshop work i did for shining lights I am relatively happy with how it came out I still looks three dimensional and the sparkle came out great. I need to work on making it so you can see the individual stones though

final link

I have finally worked out a link that will work. The cables are held together in two different holes this way i can stop the cable from rubbing and also stop the leverage problem. the movement is almost right now the only problem is that i need to find a better way to close up the holes the just bending id over makes holes oval and this restricts the movement.

wire link

I have made a link out of round wire now to see if it makes any difference to the movement. my theory was that it should make it move smoother. It did make a small difference, but the other problems were definitely the main cause of the movement issues

smaller connection

I have now made a smaller link it has solved the leverage/spring problem, but now the cable is rubbing against each other and is still not moving smoothly.

new connection

this is my 1st new connection the idea is to make a flat oval jump ring that will match the rest of the silver elements. It looks right but i need to make it thicker. the bigger problem is this connection does not make the chain move nicely. because the steel cable is spread out it makes a spring because of the leverage it has. i need to make a smaller one and see if it works better

Connections

the connections seem to be a huge problem on this piece. originally I wanted to make the connections out of a smaller steel cable element but i have found that i cant because i cant hold the cable and crimp it at the same time. I need to find another way to connect it.

jig

I have now made a jig that i can wrap the steel cable around so it all ends up a uniform size

Chain of development

this chain has turned into a nightmare the steel cable is way to springy to make it easy to work with but i don't want to anneal it because then the cable will not have the tensile strength that made me choose it in the 1st place. i think i need to take a step back and design an easier chain then come back to this one once i have learnt some more about how to work with the steel cable.

Just springing not moving nicely

when i connect the elements it does not move like a chain and is too stiff. I need to find what is making it do this and design connectors that will stop this.

Connections

connecting the elements seems to be a big problem because the steel just wants to spring out of place before i can fasten it in place.

Need to make this easy

I need to find an easy way to make all the steel cable the same

some success

I have now found the correct depth for the groove I cut into the metal so i can crimp it and have just enough metal covering it

Problems

I have made up some elements and am finding it hard to hold the steel cable together while crimping it because it is so springy I need to find some way to hold it in place while a work on it.