Introduction
The first post was just soldered onto the back of the brooch
As a jeweler there is a point when buying pre-made clasps for brooches may not work. The may be too expensive or the wrong size. Using machine made clasps can be annoying. At the same time making a clasp can be a bit daunting. As an experienced jeweler you have all the skills to make your own clasps if you break down the steps.
The tools you will need are silver wire, around 16 or 18 gauge, flies, hone comb board and a third arm. With these tools you can make the hook and the spring/pin that is necessary. The advantage of making your own clasp is that you can fit it to any size piece and place it any way you want.
The Hook
Creating the hook involves some necessary steps. First, take a piece of wire about 1 inch long and sand/file one side completely flat. Remember this is a point to plane to contact so the more surface area the better, therefore the flatter the connecting point for the wire tip the better the solder will connect and the longer it will last.
Spring held by the third arm ready for soldering
With the third arm grasp the 1 inch piece of wire vertically with the flat side down. Then place it over the point of solder with the brooch’s backside. Remember you want all of this on top of a honeycomb board or a piece of solderite. Burn off the flux then place a small piece of medium solder next to the wire brooch connection point. Solder the piece on and make sure it is connected. Then trim the hook down to 1 cm and bend it over to create the hook!
The Spring and Pin
To create the spring and pin you first need about a 4 cm long piece of silver or silver nickel wire. Wrap the silver around the end of some round pliers a first time and bend it upwards. Remember you want the wire to be work hardened upwards because it need pressure against the hook.
The clasp is made and ready to go
After the spring is made, cut both ends of the wire to the length needed. When you are deciding a length for the area that will connect with the brooch remember you don’t want it too short so that the solder can travel up and fill the spring, that will ruin your spring. Then file the area that will be connected to the brooch as flat as possible for the same reasons as the hook. With the other end make sure the wire is long enough to go under the hook and then sharpen it like a spear with a file. It needs to be sharp enough to go through clothing but not to cut skin or scratch skin easily.
Once that is all ready you use the third arm again and solder it on. You can use either medium or easy solder. If you are a more experienced solder I would use medium because it is tougher, but if your experience is limited then use easy. Remember to check if to be sure it is completely soldered then place it back into the pickle.
Conclusion
The finished brooch!
After you are finished the solder, remember that the extra solder needs to be cleaned. This can be difficult because the spring and hook can get in the way. The best way to clean is to use 300 to 200 sand paper with your hands. Power tools, like the flex shaft, will get rid of it quicker but then you will still have to go in by hand to make the silver look smooth like the rest. The cleaning of the solder makes the piece look much better and allows you to price it higher.
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