M.A.I.L. :: View topic

Ukko · Posted on Fri Jul 31, 2009 10:47 am

OK, not strictly maille, but it may have rings in it? ,)

So, I'm planning to make cufflinks. The plan is to cast the main piece, and fabricate the rest with any means available to me (at a penny budget). The usual cufflink pole design incorporating a hinge-with-spring part seems a bit out of my reach (skill-wise) to make, so I'm exploring other options: I've seen cufflinks where the two "buttons" were simply connected with a few jump rings, and some designs that are a one solid piece (which might work great if the whole thing could be cast in one pour).

Has anyone here tried their hand at making cufflinks? I tried searching the web for instructions (I'm sure I'm not the first home jeweller who wants to make a couple cufflinks), but couldn't find any.

I'd appreciate any and all suggestions and tips!

Corvus · Joined: August 10, 2005 Posts: 7026 Submissions: 294

If you type in 'making cufflinks' on Google you should see 6-7 different 'How to ..' guides.
One that I thought looked cool if you fancy trying your hand at knotting:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5007299_silk-knot-cufflinks.html

Maille Code
V2.0 T7.3 R5.4 Ep Feur MAg/Cu Wm$ Cbjpw$ G0.5/3.0 I1.5/12.0 N322.150 Pajs Dacdjsw Xa7g631p4t24w64 S88 Hipsu

ZCademy · Posted on Fri Jul 31, 2009 7:37 pm

I have a few pairs of antique cufflinks (heirloom), and they are:

fancy outer piece
jump ring
metal bar, about 1/8" wide by 1/2" long
jump ring
plain inner piece

Or in ASCII art:

Oo�o0

Professional Polymath
http://polymathsolution.com

Ukko · Posted on Mon Aug 03, 2009 4:44 am

heh, I googled for casting, diy and whatnot cufflinks, but didn't think of using the keyword "making". Thanks!

Lizpf, thanks for the dimensions - I found pictures of cufflinks like that, they seem very simple to make so I should give that a try.

If I get my ambitions up and running high enough, I should try something like this: http://warrantyvoidifremoved.com/blue-paua-cufflinks Lots of precision work, but does not require special tools or skills.

I found plenty of instructions that started at purchasing the poles/backings that were to be glued (!) to the actual piece, that's not quite what I'm after here - I want to make the whole thing myself.

paul.didesch · Joined: August 04, 2009 Posts: 16 Submissions: 0

i saw the word casting so i have to ask what kind of materials are you looking into useing. i worked in a foundry for a while when i was a civilian and i poured my engagement ring but found out later that my TI didnt like how hot i got it so do your research if you are gunna smelt stuff at really high temps or you have a purple ring

Paul's Law
It is impossible to fall off the floor

Ukko · Posted on Wed Aug 05, 2009 6:43 am

I'll be using silver, sterling purity (925�) or maybe a touch over depending on what happens to emanate out of my scrap silver box. I'll be smelting the shtuff with a small butane torch, which seems to work fine since the quantities liquefied per pour are rather small.

paul.didesch · Joined: August 04, 2009 Posts: 16 Submissions: 0

sounds like a good plan i would like to see picures of whatever desin you come up with. keep up the good work.

metal is facinateing it truely is

Paul's Law
It is impossible to fall off the floor

Ukko · Posted on Mon Jul 02, 2012 6:09 pm

I'm not shopping for boxes in which to store my collection of cuff links since I still haven't even made the first pair, but I'm now in the process of making my first cast. And no, it's not going to be a cuff link =)

About that: I made a crude "model cast" out of tin into a mold I carved from a piece of gyproc (dry wall), and am now finishing it up before I make a cuttlebone mold with it. Now, the question is: if I want to fill up some parts of my model, maybe I could use epoxy of some sort? Have you done this? What fill material would not stick to the bone dust when pressing it in? Any thoughts, ideas?