First time here after seeing your beautiful dies on Etsy. Excellent and fun video, Jim! Subscribed! :) I"m a new silversmith trying to buy tools a bit at a time. I look forward to going through your vids. Have a beautiful day! Cheers from Ontario, Canada
Oh wow, hi there Jim! That little press is exactly what iv been lookin for.! But I thinkin it would be too expensive again I ship to me in Ireland 😔.. But I like your dies and will definitely be checkin your etsy store to see what other kinds u have, like punch dies. I love skulls too 👌
Thanks Jim, your videos are always an inspiration. And your first piece, not so bad, nothing a little spit and shine one help. Keep up the good work thanks again
Thanks for watching! I used a texture plate and rolling mill to first apply the texture to sheet of 18 gauge sterling, then I cut out the guitar pick shape with a jewelers saw. Then I used an impression die to form a separate sheet of 22 gauge silver into the skull and crossed bones and sawed them out. Then I tinned the under side of the skull and crossed bones with medium solder and then soldered them to the 18 gauge guitar pick shape.
It kinda depends on the die and what I'm making but I generally use 22 to 18 gauge. I like 18 or 20 for bigger things like conchos but I prefer 20 to 22 for smaller stuff. Thanks for watching!
I’m having no luck getting an impression in the silver coin I’m using. Got your urethane pieces, cut small to fit, annealed coin and nothing. What am I doing wrong? Using a 20 ton press as well
Heather, most often the problem is using too much urethane. Also annealing often helps. Contact me on Etsy or at brandviktools@gmail.com and I can help you more easily.
At last someone who is making tutorial videos with a sense of humour 😅😅👍 There's so many people making tutorial videos for jewelers both in the UK and the US too but who are boring and usually I'm falling asleep in front of there videos. They might well be good at what they do but long videos which can go on for between 20 minutes to over an hour with no background music and somebody just droning on and on is BORING !! to say the least, but I like your video Jim because you have a funny sense of humour which I like and it keeps your video alive Now to go and watch some of your other videos 👍 at this rate I might even give you a thumbs up and subscribe too 😱😱😲👍 Nice press by the way 👍 how much is it ?? Glen 😂
Glenfiddich101 I appreciate the kind words. Believe me though, not everyone appreciates my sense of humor and lame antics. I get comments sometimes telling me as much. (But ask me if I care) You can find a small press similar to mine at potterUSA.com . I think they discontinued this particular one, but they still make similar ones.
JT Coin Rings I always recommend a 20 ton press but I have seen people get decent results with smaller presses. I would give it a try. You might have to focus on a smaller area, say half of the design at a time.
Just saw your die on a sponsored Etsy ad. Thanks for sharing this video! What is the thickest gauge silver that you would recommend to use with the skull dies? And do you do custom designs? Thanks!
Vehement Knives Hi! Thanks for watching! You can use as thin as 24 gauge or is thick as in ingot that is eight or 10 gauge. You just need a good press to get a good impression. If you use an Ingle it you don’t need to use any urethane because the thick metal will find its way into the cavity. If you look up my name on Instagram you can see a buffalo die cast pendant that I did out of a solid ingot. No, I don’t do custom designs. The reason is I haven’t figured out a way to make money making dies unless I make designs that have a universal appeal. The custom die would be too expensive for most people to justify.
Jim, thanks so much for the quick reply! Based on your explanation, I totally understand how the thicker ingot would eliminate the need for the urethane backing. I can also see how custom dies would not be cost effective. Fortunately, I already dig your original designs. Hopefully, I'll be snagging one from you very soon! Thank you!!
First time here after seeing your beautiful dies on Etsy. Excellent and fun video, Jim! Subscribed! :) I"m a new silversmith trying to buy tools a bit at a time. I look forward to going through your vids. Have a beautiful day! Cheers from Ontario, Canada
Thanks and welcome, Emma!
Oh wow, hi there Jim! That little press is exactly what iv been lookin for.! But I thinkin it would be too expensive again I ship to me in Ireland 😔.. But I like your dies and will definitely be checkin your etsy store to see what other kinds u have, like punch dies. I love skulls too 👌
Thanks Jim, your videos are always an inspiration. And your first piece, not so bad, nothing a little spit and shine one help. Keep up the good work thanks again
I LOVE skulls too!
Excellent video and instruction 👍🏿
Very informative!!
your fun to watch, putting some humor into something thats interesting,. . thanks
Hi Jim how do you make the skull and cross bones on the patterned guitar pick ?
Thanks for watching! I used a texture plate and rolling mill to first apply the texture to sheet of 18 gauge sterling, then I cut out the guitar pick shape with a jewelers saw. Then I used an impression die to form a separate sheet of 22 gauge silver into the skull and crossed bones and sawed them out. Then I tinned the under side of the skull and crossed bones with medium solder and then soldered them to the 18 gauge guitar pick shape.
What gauge metal do you usually recommend using for your dies, I have a few of your longhorn ones .
It kinda depends on the die and what I'm making but I generally use 22 to 18 gauge. I like 18 or 20 for bigger things like conchos but I prefer 20 to 22 for smaller stuff. Thanks for watching!
I’m having no luck getting an impression in the silver coin I’m using. Got your urethane pieces, cut small to fit, annealed coin and nothing. What am I doing wrong? Using a 20 ton press as well
Heather, most often the problem is using too much urethane. Also annealing often helps. Contact me on Etsy or at brandviktools@gmail.com and I can help you more easily.
At last someone who is making tutorial videos with a sense of humour 😅😅👍 There's so many people making tutorial videos for jewelers both in the UK and the US too but who are boring and usually I'm falling asleep in front of there videos. They might well be good at what they do but long videos which can go on for between 20 minutes to over an hour with no background music and somebody just droning on and on is BORING !! to say the least, but I like your video Jim because you have a funny sense of humour which I like and it keeps your video alive
Now to go and watch some of your other videos 👍 at this rate I might even give you a thumbs up and subscribe too 😱😱😲👍
Nice press by the way 👍 how much is it ??
Glen 😂
Glenfiddich101 I appreciate the kind words. Believe me though, not everyone appreciates my sense of humor and lame antics. I get comments sometimes telling me as much. (But ask me if I care) You can find a small press similar to mine at potterUSA.com . I think they discontinued this particular one, but they still make similar ones.
Do I need a 20 ton? Can I use a 6 ton?
JT Coin Rings I always recommend a 20 ton press but I have seen people get decent results with smaller presses. I would give it a try. You might have to focus on a smaller area, say half of the design at a time.
Jim Brandvik thank you, I tagged you on Instagram.
I probably know the answer to this, but do you think a 6-ton press would be sufficient for these impression dies?
Never mine i saw the answer below
Steve Schaefer, no sir. ☹️
Just saw your die on a sponsored Etsy ad. Thanks for sharing this video! What is the thickest gauge silver that you would recommend to use with the skull dies? And do you do custom designs? Thanks!
Vehement Knives Hi! Thanks for watching! You can use as thin as 24 gauge or is thick as in ingot that is eight or 10 gauge. You just need a good press to get a good impression. If you use an Ingle it you don’t need to use any urethane because the thick metal will find its way into the cavity. If you look up my name on Instagram you can see a buffalo die cast pendant that I did out of a solid ingot. No, I don’t do custom designs. The reason is I haven’t figured out a way to make money making dies unless I make designs that have a universal appeal. The custom die would be too expensive for most people to justify.
Jim, thanks so much for the quick reply! Based on your explanation, I totally understand how the thicker ingot would eliminate the need for the urethane backing.
I can also see how custom dies would not be cost effective. Fortunately, I already dig your original designs. Hopefully, I'll be snagging one from you very soon! Thank you!!
Wow, guess I have a few things learn!
Hey there - what is the plastic looking handle thingee (technical term :-) on the pipe piece you use to lift up your jack? Thanks for the video.
Yvonne, I made that Jack handle and put a rubber grip on it. Thanks for watching!
great !
So do you make any graphite molds , I would like to pour liquid hot metal into a mold not press.
Zach of All Trades no, I hate carving graphite cause it’s so messy.
Jim Brandvik yeah can’t find anyone who makes custom for hot pours
Thanks Jim!
Could you do this with Copper??
Yes, copper works as well.
Yep. Magic shit. What the heck.