I am not a bench jeweler, but have some basic skills and enjoy learning new things by trying on my own. If you are interested in something I have made, contact me and we can discuss options for me to make one for you. I am also open to trying something custom for you.

I started learning about jewelry many years ago when I was in High School. My first work was just making cutouts for pendants with a jeweler’s saw. I just learned how to do this on my own. Later in college I took a couple basic classes in sheet metal fabrication, soldering and setting stones in bezels. Then I took a lost wax casting class.

My Dad asked me to take a couple lapidary classes through an evening community classes from one of my Jr. High teachers. I learned to make cabochons that we used in several ties he liked to wear. He had to were a a tie for work, but never wore a traditional necktie. Instead he wore what are known as Bolo, Western or String ties.

I really enjoyed learning what I did and love the creative side of the work. But, a busy job and family kept me from doing much more with it. However, I decided to acquired some equipment while working at a full time job so I could get back into it once I retired. I am doing just a little now, and trying to learn a few things on my own like setting faceted stones (thank you YouTube and the internet).

Due to the cost of materials, I pretty much stay with silver and nickle silver work. I have also done some casting of small items in bronze and brass for practice to better do both the centrifugal and vacuum casting methods.

Below are a few pictures of items I have made. Nothing fancy, but I am having fun. This is just a hobby.

 

This is one of my first pieces. A simple cutout of  the Chi Rho symbol. The symbol is of the Greek letters Chi (X) and Rho (P). These are the first two letters of the Greek spelling of the name of Christ. Made from nickle silver sheet.

 

 

Another early piece. The sign of the Fish in Christian symbology.

 

 

 

Another early piece. I have just always liked stars.

 

 

 

Nice little design of a silver star with a beautiful moonstone set in a silver bezel below it. One of the first works I did with soldering involved.

 

 

 

Another early soldering piece. Has a brass star with a silver tail on a stick pin.

 

 

 

One of my first cast pieces. We had to make a sculpture type of cast item. I left the base and sprue on it to act as a stand.

 

 

One of my later cast items. It is made from silver and features a teardrop shaped black coral cab setting.

 

 

We also had to learn how to cast things found in nature. This is an Alder cone. Cast in silver and mounted on a stick pin.

 

 

Here is another example of items from nature. A couple of heads off of wheat cast in bronze.

 

 

This is my wedding ring. I made the wax pattern, but a father of a friend of my wife’s cast it for me and set the ruby.

I volunteer as a National Park Ranger at Mount Rainier during the summer. Volunteers do not have a badge, so I tried making one modeled after the official badge. I was hoping to make these for all volunteers.

But, the National Park Service has a strict policy that volunteers not try to look like paid staff, and this was considered to be too close to the original. I got to keep it for fun, or to wear to a costume party.

This was my first mounting of faceted gemstones. I purchased the white gold findings from a wholesale house  and cut my own prongs for mounting the pair of stones. I intend to try some more, and hope to make some of my own metal pieces in the future.

 

This is a belt buckle I made for my Father-in-Law. It is the button from the base of an elk antler.

 

 

Here was my first attempt at scrimshaw. It is of a buck deer’s head on the button from the base of an elk antler. It is a Bolo tie. The dangles at the end of the strings are the tips from an antler.

 

 

After making the Bolo, I decided to make Dad a matching belt buckle too.

 

 

I later made this version of the button from the base of a deer antler. It is a pin I made for my wife.

 

 

This was one of my early cutout designs of a leaping stag. It is done in silver sheet, with a second sheet behind that were soldered together so I could blacken the background.

 

 

 

One of the Bolo tie cabochons I made for Dad from Biggs picture Jasper. That was one of his favorite stones.

 

 

 

Another Biggs picture Jasper Bolo tie cab for Dad.

 

 

 

And yet another picture Jasper for Dad. Not sure where this Jasper is from.

 

 

 

Here is a nice little piece of petrified wood made into a Bolo tie for Dad. Just a flat slab polished on both sides.

 

 

 

Here is a cabochon of Biggs Picture Jasper I made that is waiting for me to make into something. A pretty picture indeed!

 

 

And one last Jasper cabochon I made waiting for the right piece.