For those of you needing a surface to solder or anneal on, there are two types that I use:
1st: A solid non-asbestos pad. These come in 6"x6", 6"x12" or 12"x12" sizes.
2nd: A honey combed ceramic pad. These come in 5-1/2"x7-3/4" and 5-1/8"x3-3/8"…
Born and raised in Springfield, Ma, I left in 1969 for a long stint in the military. Arrived in Albuquerque, NM in 1978 and decided to stay. Love the country, people and weather. Started working lapidary in 1989 doing hand rolled beads with Bobby McGee (my mentor) for local jewelry artists.
How many years have you been designing jewelry?
Being self-taught, I started 'burning' silver in 1991. Once I figured out to stop melting it I started designing and creating my own designs. Simple at first then getting more complicated. Since then I have incorporated brass and copper into some of my jewelry designs for color accent. Of late, I have been exposed to the labor intensive process helping make Mokume Gane with a friend and have used some with good results.