Cinnamon Jewellery

I wrote a blog post a while ago where I practised making a mini synclastic bangle  using a pair of synclastic pliers and dapping punches. I thought it was about time I made a proper sized bangle! If you're wondering what on earth a "synclastic" shape is it's where the surface curves towards the same side in all directions or in the case of my bangle rather than having a flat profile when viewed in cross-section it's domed. Or if you still don't understand it...just look at the photo :D I started with a strip of copper that I'd added a stripe pattern to... Once it was soldered and the join tidied up I rounded it on the bracelet mandrel and sanded both sides to get them flat. I cut the strips of copper sheet myself so they are inevitably a bit wonky to start with but it's easy to sort out once the bangle is soldered. I decided to make a medium size bangle and cut the length longer than normal to allow for the decrease in the ins...

Having recently become interested in anticlastic forms I was quite excited to come across a pair of synclastic pliers on ebay. Synclastic is basically the opposite of anticlastic in that it is a shape that curves towards the same side in all directions or if you need a more simple explanation {I do!} think of a ring that has a domed profile - the convex shape of the dome and the curve of the ring both go in the same direction. So I bought a pair of the synclastic pliers. They cost about £36. You can see from the photos they are quite a hefty bit of metal. They consist of a convex side and a domed side. The flat piece of metal sits in the convex curve and the handles are squeezed to press the the two sides together. The domed side pushes the metal down into the gap in the convex side resulting in the metal starting to take on that curve. I decided I'd experiment with a soldered mini bangle to see what the pliers could do... I started ...