About Dr. Ari Roark Expertise Metalsmithing, Goldsmithing,Jewelry Making, Gemology,Metallurgy,Art Jewelry,Jewelry Appraising,Metal Mill Work,Jewelry Education,Group Projects Adaptable to Special Populations as well as ordinary groups,Ethnobotany,Metal Clays, International Jewellery Law,Trade Law,Rock hounding,Industrial Health and Safety Assessment and Education as it pertains to Jewelry Studios (of all sizes and manufacturing concerns relative to the Trade, Jewellery Trade Organisations,Objective US Jewelry School critical Analysis,Applied Anthropology,goldssmithing,lapidary,metals,refining
Experience More than 35 years experience in the Jewelry Industry, Juris doctorates, PhD's in Anthropology, Cultural History, Cultural Geography, Mining Locations Assessments, Industrial Health and Safety Inspector to the Jewelry Industry, Montessori Educator, Occupational Therapy, Natural Historian, Scholar of Jewelry Evolution, PhD in Creativity ( the analysis of the divergent genres of thought on the process and impetus of the essence of creativity as a state of being expressed tangibly),Extensive Fieldwork with populations of Traditional craftsmen worldwide, former Peace Corps volunteer, Former VISTA volunteer, Etc.
Organizations too numerous to list
Publications prefer not to answer for reasons related to plagiarism
Education/Credentials PhD Anthropology( Applied(1), Cultural(2)Ethnobotany(1),PhD -Physics (Metallurgy 1)( Wave and Particle Dynamics 1),,JD,MD,MFA-Metals/Jewelry,,MFA-Printmaking, MFA-Sculpture, Extensive undergraduate degrees, extensive post doctoral work, Montessori Educator Certification (Primary and Secondary)..many, many Degrees, Grants, and Awards in my past as an Academic turned Jeweler, OSHA Certifications
Awards and Honors too numerous to list including 3 Honorary Doctorates, Two Humanitarian Related Awards, and Service on Many Boards of Directors
Question I am a jewelry designer who creates pieces using gold wire and gemstone
beads using wire wrapping techniques. I am now taking a metalsmithing
course, and have a question that my teacher is unable to figure out the
answer to. I love the clean look I see in many designs where a gemstone
bead is attached to a chain using either a loop of wire that appears to be a
seamless closed ring, OR another I have seen is a wire passed through the
bead hole with a ball on either end. I am told that a gemstone will crack if
heated, I am hoping you can explain how this is done?
Answer Hello Michelle,
First let me answer the gemstone bead question: most gemstone beads, particularly those sold through Fire Mountain gems and beads ,Rio Grande and other vendors are low grade, highly included ( and overpriced by 200 or more %!) and depending on the material of varying hardness, however any metalsmithing teacher worth his or her salt should know that there are eay methods of protecting the bead from heat whilst doing a hit and run soldering operation as is required to attach a bale to a wire, adding a jump ring to a component etc.Wet wadded newsprint will accomplish this quite well and is perhaps the most inexpensive way to accomplish protecting the bead material while soldering .If the bead were of a high quality gemstone material without inclusions or very lightly included ( excepting rutilated quartz, and labradorite, spectrolite etc. which the inclusions can be, if cut correctly, of no concern- if you see no needles of tourmaline, or rutile exposed on the faceted or polished surfaces the stone may be protected then heated safely) simply using wet newsprint or a thermoprotectant ( vigor sold through companies carrying the standard Grobet catalogue and products line makes my favourite brand. I believe it is called Vigor "Heat Shield " and available from Rosenthal's supply, FDJ Tools On Time, Contenti co. ,Cookson's in the UK, Otto Frei, and a number of other jewelers supply houses. Welding supply stores also carry heat shielding pastes.You simply pack it on and then go ahead with the operation, then rinse to remove as most are clay based, or a silica gel/clay proprietary formulation. Two gemstone protectants I absolutely DO NOT recommend are "Cool Jool" and Rio Grande's heat shield powder- both are messy and useless, falling off no matter how applied, and the Cool Jool actually catching fire particularly in working gold or platinum..The wet wadded newsprint is fail-proof ! and virtually free.
Now, as I conceptualize what you want to accomplish: You would ball the end of your wire after dipping the length (plus an allowance of a bit extra to work with and a feww millimeters for the balled end) into a good firecoat and flux product like Cupronil, or the flux and firecoat of your choice ( you can make your own firecoat with denatured/methyl alcohol and boric acid added into the glass container of alcohol until it no longer dissolves then add in about a tablespoon of powdered borax to each pint of liquid , and keep well sealed with a non-metallic lid, or a lid that is coated with enamel or another chemical resistant product) hold the wire in your pliers or insulated tweezers and heat it until the metal begins to ball up, then withdraw the torch, or burner and when grey quench- at this point form the ball with any tools you need to achieve a shaped rather than balled end.So you may planish the wire to form a bale at this end and after soldering the other, if I understand what you want to do,you turn the whole over ball up the other end too, and then form ,or attach a bale or other component to make either end connectable to another part of your design. Or just ball the end and then thread it through your bead and pack on the wadded newspaper that is wet but not dripping water ( i use a product called " Cell-u-Clay" which is ground nicely as it comes from the package and is intended for papier mache' creations- it simply needs to be thoroughly, wetted and then squeeze out any excess water and it's ready for use ) and ball the other or attach a bale to either end at the same time without balling the ends, since your gemstone material is protected for at least as long as it takes to set up attaching two pieces to a wire passed through a gemstone bead and fluxing then soldering on your charcoal block or soldering board.Anything can be accomplished this way. If you just planish one end of the wire first and form it into a bale on your bench block or anvil, then after passing it through the bead, planish the other then a cold connection is feasible with no soldering necessary. The only other option is to create a threaded end on one side of the bead to which you can screw on a bead or other component that can be threaded to match with a micro-tap and die set making the bead interchangeable.Since I can't see exactly what you are trying to do I can only speculate that you are after a post through a bead that has similar ends as in a bracelet link or component for necklace, chain, bracelet, etc that links on either end or as for a pendant that can be hung from either end as from a bale..Any metalsmithing teacher should be able to figure out any operation that is required to accomplish any jewelry design .I would seriously research your instructor's qualifications before paying for any lesson in the future. Not that your instructor is a bad one, but if the person is teaching metalsmithing, even limiting the class to cold connecting operations, the person should have offered a solution provided you are able to articulate or draw your design idea.teachers that are springing up all over rarely know enough to be teaching at all- I don't say that out of anything but to reinforce that even in creative pursuits one must be a good consumer and know what you are getting for your money- and know it before you sign anything or put up a deposit! Two schools in the southeastern US, and one in the southwest often have teachers that are not experienced enough to be teaching, yet repeatedly teach classes at the 3 schools I speak of because the administrations are operating on what I consider to be the unethical side.I would no more allow anyone to teach that isn't fully qualified than I would allow a child to use a torch unsupervised.Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions about instructors or schools in the future,You can count on my unbiased, truthful answers.Be a good consumer! and good luck on your project.If you need more help write again!
Best regards,Ari
