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Demonstrations>Ancillary Arts>Making
Hinges for Pouches Using Minimal Equipment
What We Will Be Doing:
During this upcoming demo, I'll show you how to make very
simple hinges which you can then use for making pouches or
other accessories that require hinges. Why not just go to
the craft store and buy them, you ask? Because then you would
not have the frustration and ultimate joy of making your own
with semi-period equipment. I'll be showing some period examples
and talking about how these things were made in period but
we will be using some more modern equipment to actually make
them. In this demo, I'll be showing you how to cut metal to
shape
Pre-Demo Equipment list:
- A jeweler's saw (NOT a coping saw) which is adjustable
(preferably) and looks like the illustration to
the right - Cost range: $12 - $23
- Saw blades - size 0 to 3/0 range. These are tiny
little blades that fit in the saw and are specially
made to cut metal - Cost range: $1 - $2
- A jeweler's file - half round - Cost range: $1
- $3
- A jeweler's file - round - Cost range: $1 - $3
- A pair of pliers - Cost range: $3 - $5
- A small hammer (I mean a SMALL one - preferably
new) - Cost range: $5 - $7
- A drill (either hand or Dremel) - Cost range:
$10 - 30$
- Drill bits of the same gauge as your wire - Cost
range: $1 - $3
- Sheet metal of brass, copper or silver - preferably
22 gauge but can be slightly thicker. I don't recommend
thinner - Cost range: $5 - $15
- Wire that matches your sheet metal - meaning of
the same type of metal - Cost range: $1 - $3
- A table that you don't mind nicking up - something
small that sits at a good height so that you will
not be stooping over when you sit and work at it.
Total cost range: $40 - $91
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Where to get these things:
Check in the yellow pages of the city you live in. If you're
lucky, there will be a jeweler's supply store (sometimes listed
under crafts, sometimes under jewelers). In Seattle, there
is TSI on Nickerson. There is also Rio
Grande on the Internet. You can also try your local hobby
stores, craft stores such as Michael's, etc. Rio Grande catalogs
are $5 each but they are really quick at shipping things and
are comparatively inexpensive. TSI also sends out catalogs
but are not so quick about shipping. They are not on the Internet
but here's their address and phone number:
TSI, Inc.
101 Nickerson Street
Seattle, WA 98109
1-800-426-9984, 206-282-3046, Fax 281-8701
Findings, gold & silver craft supplies, exotic beads,
fimo and supplies.
A good resource book:
The Complete Metalsmith : An Illustrated Handbook
by Tim McCreight
This can be ordered from Amazon.com for around $11. It's
well worth it if you want to go further into the art of metalsmithing
than this demo will take you. This is the book that I learned
from during college; it was required reading in our metalsmithing
classes. I highly recommend it. Tim McCreight is a minimalist
metalsmith, which means that he likes to make stuff with minimal
cost and equipment.
Ready to go? Click
here.
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