Preserving Aircraft Rivets & Swarf

On two separate occasions recently, I have been asked to preserve rivets and swarf that were taken from the restoration of aircraft. I was contacted by a gentleman whose mother and father used to work on the Vulcan Bombers. He wanted me to preserve a small selection of rivets from the last flying Vulcan, serial number XH558. The Vulcan Bomber XH558 is currently in a museum and looked after by the Vulcan to the Sky Trust.

I received the rivets for preserving inside a resin paperweight and these are the labels that were displayed on the box containing the rivets. Firstly, an image of the Vulcan Bomber XH558.

Vulcan Bomber XH558

And on the reverse side of the box there are details of the rivets that were from the Vulcan Bomber XH558, including the 1965 packing date.

Vulcan XH558 Rivets Packaging

I incorporated several rivets from the Vulcan Bomber inside a resin square paperweight, along with the artwork from the box.

Vulcan Bomber Rivets Paperweight

The second item that I made recently contains original swarf from a WWII Hawker Typhoon that is being rebuilt to flying standards. The Hawker Typhoon Preservation Group are rebuilding the Hawker Typhoon. They are currently in the process of rebuilding the rear fuselage based on the original metal from the plane which crashed in April 1945. As a result of this work a member a member of the charity sent to me some original swarf and rivets for encasing inside a pendant.

And here it is, the original swarf and rivets from the Hawker Typhoon preserved within a resin ad sterling silver pendant.

Hawker Typhoon Rivets & Swarf Pendant

Many thanks for reading about how I preserved this historical aircraft metalwork inside jewellery and paperweights.

Mick

New Range of Keepsake Jewellery for Hair and Ashes

 I thought I would highlight my new range of keepsake jewellery that is suitable for both hair and ashes. These are sterling silver and resin pendants, and they are beautiful. The pendants have curved edges to them, offering protection from daily life but these edges also provide a frame to the enclosed hair or ashes from a loved one or pet.

The first example is a sterling silver circular keepsake pendant. This example pendant measures 17mm in diameter and contains both a lock of hair and a small quantity of ashes sealed within resin. The pendant would be suitable for just a lock of hair, sample of ashes or a combination of both.

Silver circular pendant for hair or ashes

The second example is a sterling silver oval keepsake pendant. This example pendant measures 26mm x 13mm (other sizes available) and can again be used to display hair, ashes, or a combination of both.

Silver oval keepsake pendant for hair or ashes

The third example is a  sterling silver heart shaped keepsake pendant. This example measures 21m m x 18mm. Other items can be added to the pendants such as small flowers, colours, and initials.

Silver heart memorial pendant for ashes or hair

This new range of sterling silver keepsake jewellery is also available in teardrop and rectangular shapes. All pendants can be used for preserving either hair, ashes, or a combination of both. With all these pendants, the settings can be left clear or coloured to any colour of your choosing.

Many thanks for reading!

Mick

My poem about the life of a train

I have been reading my previous blog posts and discovered that it has been 10 years since I last drafted a poem (back in February 2012), titled Hello Mr Snowman, a poem about our snowman that melted away.

So, I thought I should share a poem that I wrote when I was at high school. 

125 mph the train sped by
Like a hawk falling from the sky
Through the bushes, rivers, and trees
Not stopping to catch the midnight breeze.

High Speed Train (HST)

But in the future, it will start to die
No longer will it fly
It will fall from a breakers hammer
Oh boy will there be a big dilemma.

Decommissioned High Speed Train (HST)

I authored this poem about a train for a high school project about 40 years ago (I was a train spotter at the time). It is quite memorable for me because of the grade that the teacher gave me... C+ (which was quite upsetting at the time); poetry and art is so subjective, and to grade a person's personal poem is wrong, what do you think?

Mick

How to care for and protect resin jewellery

I am often asked how to care for resin jewellery and the ways to prevent wear and tear or even discolouration to the resin.

Resin jewellery is prone to discolouration or yellowing if exposed to sunlight for extended periods of time. I always ensure that the resin I use is an industrial type of resin, containing UV inhibitors and is therefore UV stabilized to minimise such damage. Most craft resins and home project resins are not UV stabilized.

Resin Jewellery

I always supply customers with care instructions with their completed jewellery. If these simple instructions are followed, the jewellery will last a life time. I have items of resin jewellery that I made over 10 years ago and they still look as new.

The following summarise the methods used to care for resin jewellery:

1) To keep the shine to silver jewellery and findings, use an excellent quality silver polishing cloth, such as Goddard's silver polish cloth that can be purchased from most supermarkets.

Silver polishing cloth

2) Avoid exposing the resin jewellery to unnecessary chemicals or products which may cause damage to the silver or resin. e.g., Sun lotion, bleach and other related products can damage silver and resin.

3) Regularly polishing the resin jewellery with a small amount of carnauba wax will prevent scratches and wear to the resin. I use Meguiars Deep Crystal Step 3 Carnauba Wax that can be purchased from any car maintenance shop such as Halfords.

Resing care - Wax

4) Resin jewellery can be cleaned with lukewarm soapy water if required, but bathing, showering, and swimming with resin jewellery should be avoided to prevent over exposure.

5) Resin jewellery should not be exposed to extended periods of sun or heat as this can cause unnecessary bleaching and damage to the jewellery

6) When the resin jewellery is not being worn, it is best to keep it in its original packaging to help keep it in optimum condition.

I hope these care instructions for resin jewellery are helpful and enables you to have many years of enjoyment from your jewellery.

Mick

Bespoke Paperweights Containing Medical Vials

So, this is my first blog post of 2022 and a Happy New Year to you all! This is likely to be the last thing you would want to see after the difficult couple of years we have had; however late last year I was asked to make several bespoke paperweights containing medical vials (yes you know the sort!).

Bespoke paperweights containing medical vials

The custom-made resin paperweights containing the vials are to be given as Christmas presents for the clinicians and admin staff of a primary care network (who have given up so many weekends over the past year to get them delivered).

Custom made paperweight gift for a Clinician

Obviously, the vials were empty (and sterilised) before they were sent to me. I encased the vials within bespoke square resin paperweights, and they turned out great

I am sure they made great gifts however the recipients may not want a reminder of the past year! I do hope this year is better for all of us and we manage to get back to the things that we love.

Mick

Keepsake Jewellery for Teeth

Not a question that gets asked every day, but I have been asked this many times "can you preserve teeth for me into jewellery?". These are often a collection of baby teeth saved from a child, a puppy tooth, or even the teeth kept from a family member or loved one. I have set the teeth within resin keepsake jewellery, forming pendants, keyrings and even paperweights. 

This is an example of a puppy tooth, preserved within a resin heart and attached to a keyring.

Puppy tooth keyring

This is an example of a collection of teeth that have been saved over a period of many years and preserved within a resin paperweight.

A collection of teeth within a paperweight

This is a tiny canine puppy tooth preserved within a resin pendant.

Puppy canine tooth pendant

And a tiny baby tooth preserved within a heart shaped keyring.

Tiny baby tooth keyring

A tiny puppy tooth set within a sterling silver ring

Puppy tooth keepsake ring

And finally, a large dog canine tooth set within a keyring and personalised with the dog's name.

Dog canine tooth resin keyring

So, this article has led me to think about what is the largest tooth ever discovered? Did you know that scientists have discovered woolly mammoth teeth as old as 1.2 million years old! These teeth were so well preserved, due to them being buried underneath the Siberian permafrost, that the scientists were able to extract DNA from the teeth. Making this the oldest DNA in existence!

I hope that you have enjoyed seeing my collection of items that I have made from teeth.

Mick

Handmade Steampunk Coffee Table

I thought I would show off my industrial looking steampunk coffee table that I recently handmade. The coffee table was inspired by a similar one that I saw being sold in the USA, however due to the high import duties, I thought I would make my own.

My handmade steampunk coffee table

The wooden frame of the steampunk coffee table was provided for me by a craftsman in the UK. The frame is formed from recycled scaffold boards and beautifully stained with Danish oil. I added the cast iron corner brackets to the table to give it an industrial feel. The most difficult item to source were the square headed screws. I eventually found some on eBay, and the seller had just enough of them for my requirements; I then sprayed them to match the corner brackets. Pipe fittings were then added to the underside of the table to form the legs.

Steampunk coffee table - side view

Inside the frame of the steampunk coffee table, I added quite an intricate maze of pipe fittings. pressure gauges, a stopcock, and light fittings. As you can appreciate this was quite a complicated jigsaw to sort out! I spent several hours scratching my head trying to get the fittings evenly distributed within the table, however I am incredibly pleased with the result!

Steampunk coffee table - Lighting

An electrical supply was fitted to the steampunk table and threaded through the pipework to power the Edison style bulbs. The table was then topped with a sheet of tempered glass, attached to the table with mirror screws. The steampunk coffee table has been an enormous success for my son and his art studies; the light shining through the glass has created a lightbox that aids him when tracing pictures.

Steampunk coffee table - Details

I hope you have been inspired by my coffee table made from recycled objects!