Love Locks Heart Charm

by Judy Larson

Category: Metalwork
Technique(s): Butane Torch Techniques
Skill Level: Intermediate

My husband and I have a favorite vacation destination. Every year, we can't wait to go back. The last time we were there, we noticed people attaching locks, purchased at the front desk, on a large wire form in the shape of Kukulkan. Just like the locks attached to Pont des Arts in Paris, these locks symbolize eternal love AND that the person attaching the lock will come back to this amazing place. We never got around to purchasing a lock, but knew we would be back, so no problem, right? You guessed it-the pandemic curtailed travel for everyone! I made my own Love Lock to remind me that we can find amazing places to visit anywhere as long as we are together.

Materials

24 Gauge Dead Soft Argentium Silver Sheet - 6 Inches

H19-24SM6

Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 1 Inch
Price: $42.72
Gold Club Price: $32.04

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16 Gauge Round Half Hard Argentium .940 Silver Wire

H19-16H

Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 1FT
Price: $9.03
Gold Club Price: $6.77

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Tools

Solderite Soldering Board 6 Inch by 6 Inch Soft

SOL-421.10

SOL-421.10
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $14.76
Gold Club Price: $11.07

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Magnesia Soldering Block

SOL-455.00

SOL-455.00
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $7.95
Gold Club Price: $5.96

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Silver Solder Paste Medium SS70 - 1/4 T.O.

SOL-822.15

SOL-822.15
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $18.95
Gold Club Price: $14.21

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Blazer Big Buddy Turbo Torch, Black

TRCH-8010

TRCH-8010
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $40.00
Gold Club Price: $30.00

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Steel Bench Block 4x4 Inch - Pack of 1

G17-10

G17-10
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $21.95
Gold Club Price: $16.46

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Steel Brush

BRS-967.00

BRS-967.00
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $8.25
Gold Club Price: $6.19

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Premium Nylon Jaw Pliers

G2-35

G2-35
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $14.95
Gold Club Price: $11.21

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WireJewelry Single Barrel Rotary Tumbler, Jewelry and Metal Polishing Kit, Includes 1 Pound of Jewelers Mix Shot and 8 Ounces of Shinebrite Burnishing Compound (2021 Version)

G24-1V2-KITSS

G24-1V2-KITSS
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $159.93
Gold Club Price: $119.95

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Pickle Pot, 16 Ounces

CLN-584.00

CLN-584.00
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $31.95
Gold Club Price: $23.96

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NATURE'S TOUCH CITRIC PICKLE, 2LB PLASTIC JAR

CLN-163.00

CLN-163.00
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $17.95
Gold Club Price: $13.46

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Instructions

Step 1

Read through the tutorial before starting the project. Follow all safety precautions pertaining to the tools and supplies being used and the space you are working in.

Follow the directions in the Argentium Silver Scrap Chain tutorial for layering and fusing/melting scrap sheet. (https://www.wirejewelry.com/jewelry_making_patterns_tutorials/Argentium-Silver-Scrap-Chain_523.html)

Draw a heart shape inside a 1" square on a piece of paper and cut it out to use as a template. Place the heart template on a smooth section of a Solderite board. Trace around the template with an ultra fine point Sharpie marker.

Step 2

Place one layer of scrap pieces of Argentium sheet on the Solderite board using the drawn template as a guide.

Judy Larson's Love Locks Heart Charm - , Metalwork, Butane Torch, Soldering, Solder, heart charm

Step 3

Heat the scrap pieces until they fuse together.

Step 4

Place a layer of scrap pieces of Argentium sheet on top of the fused heart. Heat until the pieces of the two layers fuse together.

Step 5

More pieces can be layered on top of the first two. Heat until the metal becomes slightly molten. Use the solder pick to tap down the metal scraps and to push in any scrap metal points around the outside edge. Be careful. Keep pulling the flame away from the heart as it is VERY EASY to heat the metal too much which causes the metal to pull in and create a round blob.

Step 6

Continue to add scrap to build a puffed heart shape, heating and fusing as you go, until ½ desired thickness is achieved. Here, 5-6 layers were used. Allow the heart to cool naturally before continuing. Use the pick to create a nugget like surface. While doing this, keep pulling the heat back. If it is hot enough, the metal can be manipulated a bit with no flame on it.

Step 7

When the heart is removed from the Solderite board, there will be quite a bit of board residue on the back of it. Place the heart on a bench block. Use a soft bristle steel brush to remove the residue from the back side of the heart.

Step 8

Pickle, rinse, and dry the heart.

Step 9

Place the heart back side facing up on a magnesia soldering block. Rub it back and forth a bit to make a depression for the rounded nugget side to sit. Continue until the heart flat side is almost, but not quite, level with the soldering block.

Step 10

Add a layer of scrap to the flat side of the heart. Heat and fuse in the same manner as the first side of the heart, using the pick to push down the scraps. Add two to three more layers of scrap to make the puff on this side of the heart. Allow to cool naturally.

Step 11

Rinse the solder brick residue off the heart. It may be necessary to use an old toothbrush with soap and water to get it all off.

Step 12

Pickle, rinse, and dry the heart.

Step 13

I keep short and long pieces of twisted wire in various gauges on hand because I never know when I might want to use it in a project. Two pieces of 16 gauge wire were tightly twisted together.

Step 14

If a newly twisted wire length is used, cut the end of the wire off to where the coil starts.

Step 15

Mark the heart where the twisted wire loop will be attached.

Step 16

Cut a 1" (or slightly longer, if desired) length of 16 gauge twisted wire. Form the wire into a "U" shape that will fit the marks on the heart.

Step 17

File grooves in the edge of the heart at the marks. The wire ends will fit into the grooves because the diamond file used here to file grooves at the marks is about the width of the twisted wire.

Step 18

Adjust the twisted wire loop, if needed, to fit into the grooves. File the twisted wire ends flat.

Step 19

Place the heart back in the depression in the magnesia block. Place a generous amount of medium paste solder in each groove. More paste solder is needed than you think as it will travel up between the twisted wires as well as hold the loop to the heart.

Step 20

Concentrate the heat on the heart as it is the larger of the two pieces being joined. Heat until the solder flows. Allow to cool naturally. Check the join. If needed, add more solder and heat again.

Step 21

Rinse the solder brick residue off the heart. It may be necessary to use an old toothbrush with soap and water to get it all off.

Step 22

Pickle, rinse, and dry the heart.

Step 23

Use files and sanding sponges to remove any sharp edges and refine the heart.

Step 24

Tumble the Love Lock for several hours to bring up a shine. No patina was added to this bracelet. However, the "nugget" look of the heart and the rustic nature of the links would look great with patina.

Reviews

Judy Larson

My philosophy has always been "I will never live long enough to learn everything I want to learn, go everywhere I want to go and see everything I want to see!" So, what I make and how I create it is always changing and evolving. I was born shortly after WWII to parents who grew up during the Depression. They always had a "we can do it, we can make it" attitude which rubbed off on my two younger brothers and me. My brothers are amazing and can make and do ANYTHING! When I was a little girl, my mother gave me an old carved cigar box, which I cherish, filled with pop beads, wooden beads and yarn for stringing. That was the beginning of my jewelry making journey.

On a visit to the Grand Canyon when I was a young woman, I was fortunate enough to help a Native American silversmith sand cast my first silver bracelet and bezel set a large turquoise nugget on top. I was in love, hook, line and sinker! While working full time and having a family here in northern Minnesota, my artistic endeavors slowed down but never stopped. I am an artist, scrapbooker, seamstress, woodworker and jewelry artisan. Now that I am retired, I am able to indulge in all my hobbies. However, there just never seems to be enough time in the day to do it all, but I try!

I have been teaching community education beginner and intermediate jewelry making classes since my retirement. Many of my students have been bitten so hard by the jewelry making bug that they say I have turned them into monsters-they just can't get enough. Making jewelry, seeing something take shape from small bits and pieces, is so rewarding that I hope it brings out the "monster" in you, too!