Loop in Loop Chain Making Class #6 Post

Ancient Chainmaking Loop-in-Loop Class

Tah Dah!
Here are the samples of sailors’ knot or pinched loop chain(left) and single loop-in-loop chain (earrings on right). The class is working on the next set of samples, considering which type of chain to select for their projects, and some are reading ahead in the book. One student ordered her silver wire from out of town and is still waiting.

The silver ring fusing is very sensitive to variables of the flame, the physics of the ring, my personal concentration and torch skills, and of the environment. Flame variables are somewhat controllable. The torch tip needs to be uhmm… perfect. Fortunately, we are in a studio with multiple tips so if one isn’t right we can grab another one. The gas pressure is a factor and it changes as you work. The knob on the torch can be so sensitive that it moves as you work. The charcoal block heats up and this changes the response time of the silver. My vision needs augmentation to see the little opening in the ring that I am attempting to fuse together.

Watching the flame and the opening takes concentration and with other students moving about and moving things while making unexpected noise breaks the concentration. I need to focus on that one ring and nothing else. I found it most interesting that the probability of making a bad fuse is much higher if I am thinking about things that happened at work earlier in the day or things that I need to do after I leave the studio. Concentration is key because these variables make each ring fuse differently and the flame must be removed immediately upon fusing.