It's our first Hammer Yammer

With 20 folks on deck from San Diego to Boston and points in between we had a lively conversation!

Miranda told us about her new online classes at Pocosin Arts https://pocosinarts.org/product/tiny-tricks-for-silver-soldering-fusing/ and https://pocosinarts.org/product/introduction-to-cloisonne-enameling/. She also asked for help with a solder joint warping problem. Wondering if it's the new mesh on the soldering station tripods at her studio. Dale said he uses some clips are handy for getting. Chapin shared a cool 1.4mm binding wire "bird's nest" coil trick. Dale suggested a thicker backplate for the bolo tie. Maybe a heavier material. Dawn asked about using a fire brick with cotter pins. Yoko shared Iron Wire Bird's Nest from Alex Boyd. Mary asked about how to get the last scratches off her new patterned mokume and everyone chimed in on how to do that.

Marriane told us a bit about her amazing trip to Barcelona and promised photos at our next in-real-life lunch.

Jan Piazza shared some new ocean-inspired sand cast rings and other creations. She's delighted with the results and having so much fun. What a great way to energize your creativity. 

Anne Wolf explained why titanium is not a heat sink - it's just the property of the metal. Most commonly used as an alloy since it can be very brittle.

We shared the recipe for Baldwin's Patina and this is kind of amazing! Until recently it was only available as an item you could buy from Reactive Metals. However, Anne came into possession of a workshop handout from the 70's. When Phil Baldwin passed away, his widow Lane felt that the recipe should be shared freely throughout the metal arts community. It calls for Joy dish soap and we're wondering if it HAS to be Joy brand or if any dish soap will do.  If anyone makes up a batch, let us know how it works out!

Yoko Rover shared some mokume gane pieces she's submitting to the Seattle Metals Guild and asked for pricing advice. Gorgeous pieces!

In and amongst all of that were the usual asides, stories and gossip. Congrats to Alex Boyd for winning Battle of the Rings with his tiny, working Guillotine Ring!

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