Drudge work

Okay, that is a rather negative title, but what else do you call working for hours on components without having a single piece of jewelry to show for it?

Friday I got the torch out and made headpins:

Another great thing about bronze is that you can take off the fire scale with some steel wool. Copper has to go into a pickle solution for at least 24 hours, and then also scrubbed with steel wool.

Saturday I got out my disc cutter and my earplugs:

Most of these will become bead caps. I just ordered a fancy piece of equipment that will emboss them, but it will take a few weeks to get here.

When I'm too braindead to make anything, I like to admire my bead collection. My mom made these. She's amazing, isn't she?

So, lots of work but nothing to show for it, really. I love the idea of making my own components, but it is a rather labor-intensive process.