Hold it together! Clasps and Closures
Working on a making a one-of-a-kind statement necklace or wanting to add an extra bit of personality to a pre-fabricated chain? Hold it together with a handmade clasp or closure! In this virtual workshop, students will learn the basics of fabricating more common closures like toggles and hooks, and will also dig in deeper by learning how to construct a keyhole clasp. Variations on each type of clasp introduced will be discussed so students will feel confident creating closure solutions for any necklace.
For more information about virtual courses, visit our Virtual Course FAQ page.
Please read the Materials & Tools tab!
Meet the instructor
Marissa Saneholtz makes narrative based jewelry and objects using humor and sarcasm to comment on gender roles in American society. She has been published in several books, including Art Jewelry Today II edited by Jeffery Snyder, Humor in Craft by Brigitte Martin, and Narrative Jewelry: Tales from the Toolbox by Mark Fenn. Her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally and can be found in multiple collections including the Racine Art Museum, the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC, the Enamel Arts Foundation in Los Angeles, CA, The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock, AR, and the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, CA.
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 (note that you can work in any size wire, but at least 6" of 16g round wire in silver or base metal is recommended):
- 3" min. x sterling heavy wall tubing - 3mm (Rio Grande)
- 3"x3" min. x silver or base metal sheet - 18g (Rio Grande)
- 6" min. x various gauges / shapes of wire (Rio Grande)
Torch setup:
- 1 x fireproof area - steel sheet, tiles, etc. (Amazon or Home Depot)
- 1 x Solderite™ pad / pan with pumice (Rio Grande or Rio Grande)
- 1 x torch - Smith mini, Silversmith, or butane (Rio Grande or Rio Grande)
- 1 x #0 or #1 torch tip - if getting Silversmith (Rio Grande)
- 1 x striker or lighter - Silversmith system has one (Rio Grande)
- 1 x soldering tweezers (Rio Grande)
- 1 x soldering pick (Rio Grande)
- 1 x 3rd arm (Rio Grande)
- 1 x cross lock tweezers (Rio Grande)
- 1 x paste flux (Rio Grande)
- 1 x copper tongs - for pickle (Rio Grande)
- 1 x 6” silver solder - hard (Rio Grande)
- 1 x 6” silver solder - medium (Rio Grande)
- 1 x pickle - sodium bisulfate or citric acid (Rio Grande or Amazon)
- 1 x brass bristle brush (Rio Grande)
- 1 x crock pot or lidded glass container (Rio Grande or Amazon)
- 1 x tempered glass container or sink - for quenching and rinsing
- 1 x small brush - for flux
Hand tools:
- 1 x rotary tool - flex shaft, micro motor, etc. (Rio Grande)
- 1 x round nose pliers (Rio Grande)
- 1 x chain nose pliers (Rio Grande)
- 1 x flat nose pliers (Rio Grande)
- 1 x snips / flush cutters (Rio Grande)
- 1 x jewelers saw (Rio Grande)
- 1 x pack saw blades - 4/0 (Rio Grande)
- 1 x bench pin (Rio Grande)
- 1 x half round hand file - #2 cut (Rio Grande)
- 1 x set of needle files - #2 cut (Rio Grande)
- 1 x center punch (Rio Grande)
- 1 x scribe (Rio Grande)
- 1 x ring clamp (Rio Grande)
- 1 x small steel ruler (Rio Grande)
- 1 x sheet of sand paper - 220 to 600 grits (Amazon)
- 1 x dividers (Rio Grande)
- 1 x sanding sticks (Rio Grande)
- 1 x drill bit - 3mm or #31 (Amazon)
- 1 x drill bit - #52 or smaller (Rio Grande)
Other/miscellaneous items:
- particulate dust mask
- eye protection
- pencil and notebook / paper
- sturdy work surface