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Applied Stamping Techniques for Stunning Belt Buckles

This demo-focused virtual workshop will introduce participants to the world of stamp making with emphasis placed on stamping applications for gorgeous, fully functioning belt buckles! Students will learn about variable types of steel and their properties, how to anneal steel, carving and pattern making techniques using files, how to properly temper steel to make a lifelong, lasting tool, and how to fabricate the various components of a belt buckle.

There will be step-by-step demonstrations on how to make different shaped stamps - each of them introducing new techniques that will allow the attendees to explore in-depth ways of shaping and texturing the steel. Using the stamps made during the workshop students will then learn how to accurately lay and stamp patterns on sheet metal, prior to Matthieu focusing on how to apply these techniques to shape and fabricate a belt buckle!

Meet the instructor

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Matthieu moved from Paris to New-Mexico when he was 19, where for seven years he studied Navajo, Hopi and Zuni jewelry techniques. He was immediately drawn to stamping, making concho belts and bracelets. He then moved to Mali, West-Africa and worked for a few years with the Fulani, Tuareg and Bambara jewelers. 

In 1999, Matthieu settled in Montreal Canada and continued his studies by going to a jewelry school and learning a more classical part of the trade. Over the years, Matthieu has returned to Africa regularly.

In 2014, Tim McCreight and Mattheiu Cheminee created the Toolbox Initiative, a non-profit organization that helps jewelers in West Africa through the gifts of donated tools.

“I have been stamping and making stamps since the beginning and have developed a form of stamping design by creating patterns that fill the entire piece of metal. This is called “tessellation”.

Matthieu has written two books,  “Legacy, jewelry techniques of West Africa“  and “The Art of Stamping”, both published at Brynmorgen Press.

Visit Matthieu's website or instagram page for more info on his work.

Materials & Tools

The following supplies will be used for course demonstrations and objectives. A suggested item and/or vendor has been provided below for reference. Click the vendor name (in red) to be redirected to a page where you can find the item. The quantities needed for each item are listed first. If ordering, please be aware that some items may come in larger quantities than needed for this class. We recommend not opening an item's packaging until the day of the workshop. Student participation during or in-between class sessions is strongly encouraged but not required - observers are welcome.

 

Metal/raw materials:

  • 3"x3" x silver or copper sheet - 16g (Rio Grande)

  • 1"x1" x sterling silver sheet - 20g (Rio Grande)

  • 5" x silver wire - 10g (Rio Grande)

  • 2" x silver wire - 19g (Rio Grande)

  • 1 x mineral oil - 8oz or 16oz

 

This workshop will be focusing on working with tool steel. 5/16" O1 tool steel is recommended, but you can also convert old W1 or O1 steel nail punches and other old steel tools (no thinner than 1/4"). 

  • 3"x6" min. x sheet metal - 14g sterling silver or copper (Rio Grande)

  • 3-5 x pieces of 3" tool steel - 1/4" to 5/16" thick - W1 or O1 (McMaster Carr)

 

Torch supplies:

 

Hand tools:

 

Other/miscellaneous items: 

  • hard/stable work surface

  • escapement files - optional

  • safety glasses 

  • ruler

  • old files/nail setters/chisels

  • fine point permanent marker 

  • glass jars/containers - for oil and vermiculite

 

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