70th of Ymiden 722
Part of a Series:
Master Smith I
Master Smith II
Master Smith III
Rorom poured the molten pewter metal into the mold once it was set upright, it's channel dug so that it would flow easily into the specially shaped chamber that he'd be using to form the pieces for his solo earring. The metal bubbled and sizzled against the moisture of the sand mold as it was funneled into the chamber. For a moment, as Rorom listened to the way the elements played upon that opening, he worried that it would get stoppered up, congested before reaching its final destination. He whispered despite himself, coaxing the heat and flame to maintain against hte introduction to a colder exterior, so that it would remain liquid. Fortunately, coaxing and cajoling the tempestuous and unpredictable elements wasn't necessary, and it appeared to fill the chambers, sinking into the hole that was on the side of the mold, for the introduction of metal.
He waited only a bit or so, before opening up the mold, splitting it and revealing the rough product of the casting. Inside, a rough cylinder of beads interconnected by wiry connections was revealed. The protuberance of the beads were shaped like tear-drops or water drops, as Rorom had intended they be designed. He used the tongs to remove this cylinder from the mold, and carefully began using cutting shears to sever the bits connected by thin wire-like strings of metal. Thus he was left with four very rough pieces of metal, all ready to be heated and shaved and ground down to the shape he required.
He took one of these as his first try, taking it in hand and examining it before applying steel wool to the rough slag that covered it. Bit after bit, he wore away at the rough exterior to reveal a shiny metal beneath, which was pewter. Of course, this being pewter and not quite a noble metal, it'd be tarnished as a matter of practice. This was simply what one did with pewter jewelry, to give it's texture some contrast. Otherwise it would look bland. But for now, it was a bright gray throughout, devoid of definition.
He took it at turns, heating it, and then etching designs into the back of the water-droplet-shaped setting. He etched designs that resembled waves and some fish on the back of hte water droplet. Molding it, shaping it in such a way that it almost appeared a reasonably attractive piece of jewelry. It appeared he wouldn't even need the other samples that had been left over, as this one was shaping up to be a great setting for the carved whalebone that he had worked on the night before.
The front of the solo setting was concave, ready to accept the setting. Rorom pondered his options, whether to use a resin based glue to secure the whalebone to the setting, or to use prongs or pins to secure it in place. In the end, he decided he'd peen it, using a drill to carve a hole in the center of the 'nel-shape' that had been etched onto the whalebone. He made a hole into the whalebone, carefully, with a hand drill. He had to be careful about this, not applying too much pressure too fast lest he fracture the bone. He just focused on removing a little material at a time, after time, until it was entirely thorough, ready to accept a soldered pin to secure it in place.
He was still intending to use some resin-based glue to keep it in place, some of which he'd set aside. He slathered a little bit onto the back of the whalebone jewel, not too much, lest he create a separate plane that completely disconnected the metal from the whalebone. Then he pushed it against the jewel. He let it dry, as he grabbed a soldering iron from the furnace to heat it up. Looking into the flames, he couldn't help but be hypnotized by the elements, yet he maintained his discipline in the face of it and didn't coax it to heat faster this time.
After a few bits of that, the glue had surely dried, and so he took his soldering iron and melted a bit of shaved off pewter from nearby the workbench where his jewel was resting. There, he gently pushed the droplet into the small hole he'd drilled through the whalebone. The excess, he made sure to curl a bit into a sort of wiry design that resembled waves, extending to either side of the nel-etching on the whalebone. This would give it a little bit of visual interest, as well as securing it further into place, binding it to the singular jewel.
The main piece of his solo earring having been finished, he turned his attention now toward the chain and earring hook that would need to be formed from the jewel.
