Restart

When I went to my Uncle Fareed's shop today, I was expecting to polish my ring and set the stone. I was dead wrong. My Uncle Marwan, who also works at F.M. Abdulky, taught me how to polish which is a fairly simple task, other than the fact that the metal gets really hot and burns your hands. I had to have burned my fingers about fifteen times. After I polished my ring and was prepared to set my stone, my Uncle Fareed noticed spots where I used too much solder which resulted in small bubbles on the bezel, so he made me start the ring all over again.... I once again created the bezel by shaping it into a circle, then curved the shank and also made it a circle followed by soldering the two together before time ran out and I had to go to track practice.

Mentor Meeting 4/26

This was probably the best mentor meeting Mr. Johnson and I have had since the project started. It was the first time we really got the chance to sit down and discuss everything I had done with my project and my plans for the remainder of the project. We talked about the things that I have learned during my work. One of the things I learned is that jewelry manufacturing is a different kind of art. I have taken plenty of art classes throughout the years and I have always been horrible at painting and drawing. It seems much different because I feel like no matter how hard I try, I will never be good at drawing, but with jewelry, it is something you really have to work hard for rather than be gifted with. Another thing we discussed is how I want to work at a jewelry store next year because I will need a job. My plan is to continue learning from my uncle after the project is over so I can do simple jobs when I am living in Massachusetts next year.

Red Flag 3

This week has been very slow for my project. With track going on and Ithaca Relays quickly approaching, I have found myself putting track before school work. I plan to get back on track today by going to work on my ring fifth period.

I don't have nearly as many mentor meetings as I should. Both Mr. Johnson and I have been very busy and finding time for our meetings can often be difficult. Whether one of us is sick or I forget to go to the meeting, something always seems to prevent us from seeing each other. The plan is to meet fifth period today to catch up on about five weeks of missed meetings.

As for journaling, this is my second one this week. I will be blogging about both my mentor meeting and my visit to my
Uncle's shop today. The only problem is, my Uncle Fareed has meetings for a club he is in so I'm not sure if he will be at the shop today.

This week in class, most of my classmates, including myself, shared our progress on our projects. It was interesting to see how each person's project has evolved since the beginning of the semester.

My fulfillment of the WISE requirements is decent this week. I definitely need to do more work in the shop in order to finish the project. My goal is to have the ring done by the end of next week and start the bracelet.

Partner Research

Last week, in class, we were asked to pair up with a partner and do research for one another. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to do so. On top of me forgetting to do my research, my partner also isn't in class today. I paired up with Luke Stevenson who is in the process of welding a TV stand. My plan is to do the research this week and remind Luke to research my topic and swap information by the end of the week.

Red Flag Day 2

Over the past week I have spent much more time on my project than usual. On Sunday, my uncle and I went into the shop alone so we could start the ring. I spent about six hours working on the ring and finished that day by soldering the bezel I made to the shank. The next day I went in was Monday which ended up being a very difficult day. I sat down to do my project and I instantly melted the bezel. Big mistake. I had to go back trough and file it down and solder two small silver pieces in the melted place to even the bezel and shank out. In the workplace, I spent about 10 hours so far this week.

For class, we need to pick a partner and do research on one another's project and give it to them so they will learn some information that they wouldn't research for their own project. Unfortunately, I did not blog about class.

The only research I have done this week is by watching the other craftsman in the shop and seeing how they work. I learned about the things you are supposed to put on the ring before you solder such as the boric acid and flux. The boric acid keeps the metal from oxidizing while the flux keeps the solder flowing.

I went to meet with Mr. Johnson yesterday and it turned out that he wasn't feeling well and stayed home. I plan to visit him fifth period today and see if he is able to have a quick catch up meeting.

I have made catching up with entries a big goal of mine and I am trying to stay caught up. Since last Monday I have about seventeen blog entries with about five this week alone. Most of my entries are talking about my plans for the following visits and what I did in the shop that day such as soldering or fixing my mistakes.

My fulfillment if WISE requirements has been very good this week because I have been working hard on my ring and I am actually starting to get very interested in my project. It has actually sparked an idea for me. Next year I will be playing hockey in Andover, Massachusetts and taking a few classes at a community college. I asked my uncle if he will continue to train me over the summer so I can work in a jewelry store next year that way I can make somewhat decent money an do something I enjoy.

For the following week, I hope to finish my ring and start the bracelet. I also want to create a nice pendant that I will probably give to my mother. Since the start of my project, many things have changed. I don't think I am going to make both a bracelet and a necklace because it seems redundant. Hopefully I can finish the ring, make a pendant, maybe make The Lord of the Rings ring, and possibly a few other ideas that spark within the next few weeks.

The Melted Bezel

Yesterday was fairly productive. I soldered the the silver piece I cut out into into the space I melted until it fit almost perfectly. Then, I had to go through and file down the pieces that were overlapping the bezel so they wouldn't cut anyone's finger. Once I had everything filed down, I had to go back through and file down the bezel and reshape it into a smooth circle.

Unfortunately, when I was filing the bezel, I accidentally filed one side a lot lower than the other so part of it is much skinnier. I approached my uncle about this and it is possible that I may start the ring over now that I have the idea of how things work.

I also have had some other ideas for things to make. Some of my favorite childhood movies ( even though I never read the books) are The Lord of the Rings so I am thinking about creating the ring out of silver and gold or brass plating it and finding a way to engrave the script around it.

Failed Meeting

Today during fifth period I had a mentor meeting with Mr. Johnson scheduled. I waited in his room for about 15 minutes when a substitute teacher came in and said he wasn't in school. This is unfortunate because I was looking forward to telling him about my progress. My plan is to try and go visit him tomorrow and and see if he has time for a quick meeting.

Frustration

I returned to F.M. Abdulky yesterday incredibly excited that I would finish the ring. All I had left to do was solder one small piece, set the stone, and polish the ring. The hardest part would be setting the stone, second hardest would be polishing, and I've soldered a hundred times by now so that's just a piece of cake, right? .... Wrong.... When I went to solder a small crack between the shank and bezel I forgot to put flux, which keeps the solder flowing, on one of the pieces, which resulted in melting part of the bezel.

Once I realized I made a mistake, I screamed some words that probably shouldn't be said around my family, but I was incredibly frustrated. I then had to file down the melted part so it was flat. Then, I cut a small piece of silver to fit in the melted spot and solder it in place. This took much longer than it should have. The piece I had to solder was very small so it was very difficult to handle and solder down.

I was at my uncles for two hours and pretty much all I did was move backwards. Tomorrow, when I return, I have to make sure the solder is in place and then file down the mistake. I also have a mentor meeting fifth period tomorrow so it should be interesting to share my experiences with Mr. Johnson.

The ring

I took this picture after I soldered the bezel to the shank but I did a few more things to it afterwards. The changes are minor but will make the ring look much better at the end. The bottom of the bezel is now more rounded so a finger will fit better inside. The top of the bezel is also filed down more so it is smaller and the blue topaz stone will fit perfectly inside.

Progress!

Well today was very eventful! My uncle and I went into the shop at around 2:30 and didn't end up leaving until 8:30. We decided to restart the bezel and make it better. I had to cut another piece of silver out and shape it into a circle again. I am incredibly glad I learned how to solder because that seemed to be one of the most important things in jewelry making (other than patience). I soldered the bezel shut and then had to make it a perfect circle. This was a big challenge. While I was shaping it, the solder came undone so I went back and soldered it again, and then it broke again.... I soldered it shut about three times before it finally stayed.

I then had to shape the shank (the ring band) into a circle so it would fit on a finger and solder that shut which came undone several times as well. I then shaped the shank into a circle by placing it on a round ring sizer and hammering it down.

The next step was finding a way to solder the bezel to the shank. I had to file the bezel down on two sides so it would fit perfectly around the shank. Surprisingly this was the hardest part because it took so much time and frustration. I had to make sure both sides were even lengths and width so the shank would fit perfectly. Once I got them to fit, I had to solder the bezel onto the shank which took about 4 tries to finally get it to stay. The next step was filing the bottom of the bezel to make sure it was round. I took a large filing tool and went at it for about twenty minutes until it was finally perfect.

I then had to cut a piece of metal for the stone to rest on in the bezel. I took the piece of metal and shaped it into a ring shape and soldered it. I the. Had to shape it by placing it on the ring sizer and hammering away once again. That piece was then placed inside the bezel and the stone will rest right on top.

Upon doing all of this, I faced a few challenges. I made many soldering mistakes where the solder didn't go in the direction I wanted or I completely burned the solder off. I also had to saw a few things down and I ended up cutting them in an angle.

Tomorrow I will return to the shop. All I have left to do with the ring is set the stone and polish it. I'm incredibly excited to see the final product.

A plan

Last Friday, my uncle and I discussed a way for me to speed up my project in order to get it all done on time. I asked him if he is willing to go to the shop on Sundays and possibly at night after track practice is over. He thought this was an excellent idea which makes things for me much less hectic especially because it is hard to get his help when the other workers are there.

I plan to go work on my project today at three where I will continue to bezel set my blue topaz stone.

Stone

This is the stone I will be using. My favorite color is light blue, so I picked out a beautiful blue topaz to set in the bezel. The final product of the ring will be a sterling silver band with the blue topaz bezel set stone on top. I would like to learn how to do many different parts of jewelry making so right now I am brain storming ideas for what I can engrave on the inside of the ring.

Bezel

This is the bezel I made the other day. It is sterling silver and the way it will work is the metal will wrap around the stone, holding it firmly in place. The reason why I chose to bezel set the stone is because when I worked for my uncle a few years back, the bezel always caught my eye. I think that it is one of the most beautiful way to set a stone.

Day 4

Upon retuning to the workshop yesterday, I was determined to get this project going. My uncle and I discussed what I will be doing for this project and I decided that I want to bezel set (sample picture attached) a stone. I went into the vault and decided that I want to use a blue topaz stone to work with.

I began by cutting a strip of silver out of a big sheet. Next, I brushed some acid on it and began to anele the piece. I did this by heating the piece up until it turns a lightish brown color. Once the piece turned brown, I dropped it in a tub of acid for about two minutes. I then rinsed it off and began my next step which was shaping the bezel. I had to take rounded pliers and shape the silver in a circle to fit the stone by pinching it with the pliers and turning the piece.

Red Flag

The past week of my project has been more productive but definitely has not been as good as I would like it to be. I mentioned in my last journal that I went to work on my project and my uncle was home sick and one of my main goals has been to catch up on my blog posts. I met with Mr. Johnson yesterday and we had a very brief meeting because of my lack of work. We discussed working on my blog and trying to get more hours in the shop by working about three times a week.

As a mentioned before, my hands on work has been slacking big time but I will be working in the shop tomorrow. The only research I have done is finding out the price of gold and silver. Gold is $1564.95 per ounce and silver is about $27.50 per ounce.

My mentor, Mr. Johnson, and I met on Wednesday this week and like I said before it was very brief. We talked about how to improve my project and my blogs. I have definitely stepped up my journal game this week adding about six entries this week about the obstacles I have faced.

This week in class was very laid back. Ms. Lord passed out lollipops to the class and we discussed our journals amongst our groups. I have quickly realized that my work has been very poor and I need to step up my game because I haven't actually worked on my project in about three weeks.

Bad timing

Over the past few weeks there has been a bug going around in my family and it has gotten pretty much all of us. Yesterday I was excited to finally be able to go work on my project so I left school after fifth period. I got to my uncles shop only to find out that the bug had gotten him and that he left work early to see the doctor. I sat in the shop for about an hour only to find out that he was taking the rest of the day of to rest. Talk about bad timing!

Mentor meeting 4

Mr. Johnson and I had our weekly mentor meeting today and it was once again brief because of my lack of improvement. We discussed my goals for the next week and it was decided that I will work on my project today as well as Monday of next week and possibly Tuesday before we see each other next on Wednesday. I also told him how I am falling behind on my blog so we set a goal to have ten more blogs by the time we meet next but I think I am going to try and catch up with a few more than that.

After my meeting with Mr. Johnson, I ran into Coach Bernstein who has always been an excellent motivator. He has been following my blog so he asked how it has been going. I explained to him that it is not going nearly as well as I hoped due to my laziness and lack of dedication. It is nice to know that someone is following my blog because it gives me more of an incentive to work on my project to show the people around me what I am doing.

The struggle

Unfortunately, I could not work on my project today because I had a track meet in Susquehanna Valley. With track, it is difficult to find time to work because practice doesn't end until 6 and my Uncle Fareed's shop closes at 5:30 so I need to find a way to make all of this work either by taking advantage of my free periods better or by leaving practice early.

I also have a mentor meeting tomorrow and I can't see Mr. Johnson being too thrilled that I am in the same position that I was in three weeks ago. I think the meeting will be longer and more interesting than usual because we will most likely try to find a schedule for when I can work on my project and how often I should be blogging.

Red Flag

Well class, it looks like I'm red flagged. Today I received an email from Ms. Lord letting me know that I will be attending class on Thursdays. I think this will help me a lot considering I am about three week behind in my blogs and being in class more often will help me get back on my feet and make WISE more of a priority.

Task Force Reflection

My blog was viewed by Mrs. Amy Cronin who I have known for a few years now. As I read through her reflection, I realized that the things she pointed out are definitely true. I do not have anything near the amount of entries I should have and Mrs. Cronin pointed out that I should set a schedule for blogging. I will make it my goal to blog on Monday's, Tuesday's, and Friday's. I also do not elaborate on the changes I am making such as changing the type of metal used so I will try to be more specific and have details and the changes and why I am making them. She also pointed out that I for some reason expect people to know the jewelry terms I am using, even though I just learned them, and not explaining what they mean.

Overall, I need to set a better schedule for when I will work on my project and when I will be blogging as well as a clear explanation for each one of the steps taken in my project.

Oh boy...

Well it looks like I have successfully blown off my project for three weeks like a moron. I was not in town the week before break because I had hockey tryouts in Massachusetts so working in the shop wasn't possible. As for spring break... I took advantage of being a lazy high school student and practically forgot I even go to school. Unfortunately, the tryouts and my laziness have put me far behind schedule and I need to work much harder if I want to get this done by June. I plan to get back on my feet this week and try and get in the shop at least three times so I can fix this big problem.