Keum-boo FUN-damentals
Ready to add a little glitz and glamour to your jewelry but not sure where to start? Keum-boo is an 11th century Korean technique that combines gold and silver to create beautiful surfaces and patterns. This intensive two-session virtual workshop explores the traditions of Keum-boo with a variety of techniques and variants to create jewelry which combines gold and silver in an economical way.
Students will learn about the fundamental properties of gold and silver foils, how to create and use their own foils, metal preparation, and proper applications of foil. This course will also cover innovative tips and tricks for combining keum-boo with collage techniques, options for working around stone setting, soldering, Argentium silver, PMC, as well as proper clean up and framing to create refined and finished pieces of jewelry.
Meet the instructor
Paulette Werger is a metalsmith and teacher who works in Lebanon, NH. She sells her work both nationally and internationally and is owner of Metalpeople East, a jewelry and hollow ware studio. She has taught metalsmithing at the University of WI, Montana State University, and at craft schools throughout the country.
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:
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2"x2" min. x Argentium® sheet - 22g dead soft (Rio Grande)
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2"x2" min. x fine silver sheet - 22g 1/4 hard (Rio Grande)
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12" min. x Argentium® round wire - 20g dead soft (Rio Grande)
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12" min. x Argentium® round wire - 16g dead soft (Rio Grande)
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12" min. x Argentium® round wire - 14g dead soft (Rio Grande)
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12" min. x fine silver 1/4" bezel strip - 26g dead soft (Rio Grande)
Gold foil can be found at Art Clay World, Contenti, Rio Grande, or by calling Tevel at All Craft (note that demonstrations will cover how to make foil and how to use commercial foil):
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1"x1" min. x high karat gold foil
Heat setup:
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1 x hot plate that heats to 1000° F (Amazon)
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1 x fireproof area - steel sheet, tiles, etc. (Amazon, Home Depot)
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1 x 6"x6" Solderite™ pad (Rio Grande)
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1 x compressed charcoal block - hard (Rio Grande)
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1 x torch - Smith mini or Silversmith (Rio Grande or Rio Grande)
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1 x #0 torch tip - if getting Silversmith (Rio Grande)
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1 x soldering tweezers (Rio Grande)
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1 x soldering pick (Rio Grande)
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1 x cross lock tweezers (Rio Grande)
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1 x Ronda purple flux (Rio Grande)
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1 x paste flux (Rio Grande)
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1 x piece Argentium® wire solder - medium (Rio Grande)
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1 x copper tongs - for pickle (Rio Grande)
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1 x pickle - for non-ferrous metals (Rio Grande)
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1 x crock pot or tempered glass container with lid (Amazon)
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1 x tempered glass container or sink - for quenching and rinsing
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1 x small brush - for flux
Hand tools:
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1 x interchangeable tip burnisher (Rio Grande)
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1 x steel burnisher (Rio Grande)
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1 x steel tweezers - fine tip (Rio Grande)
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1 x sharp scissors / shears (Rio Grande)
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1 x needle file set - #2 or #4 cut - optional (Rio Grande)
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1 x half round file - #2 or #4 cut (Rio Grande)
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1 x pliers and flush cutter (Rio Grande)
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1 x half round forming pliers (Rio Grande)
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1 x jewelers saw (Rio Grande)
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1 x pack saw blades - 2/0 or 4/0 (Rio Grande)
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1 x dividers (Rio Grande)
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1 x bench pin (Rio Grande)
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1 x rotary tool - flex shaft, micro motor, etc. (Rio Grande)
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1 x pack of pumice flat edge wheels - medium (Rio Grande)
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1 x 1/16" screw mandrel 303 - 3/32" shank (Rio Grande)
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1 x slotted mandrel - 3/32" shank - optional (Rio Grande)
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1 x center punch (Rio Grande)
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high speed twist drill bits - #67, #60 (Rio Grande)
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wet/dry sandpaper - 220, 320, 400 grits (Amazon)
Forming tools:
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1 x rawhide mallet (Rio Grande)
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1 x planishing hammer (Rio Grande)
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1 x cross peen/texturing hammer (such as Rio Grande or Rio Grande)
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1 x ball peen hammer - 8oz (any hardware store or Amazon)
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1 x steel block (Rio Grande)
Other/miscellaneous items:
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hard work surface
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fan and open window - or ventilation system
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safety glasses
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pencil, Sharpie, notebook
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rags/towels
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baking soda