Turning old into new

I haven't written a blog for ages so thought it was about time I got back to it. I have a few "remodelling" commissions on at the moment and last week, I was working to repair an old copper bangle that had become brittle and sharp at the ends. The bangle had a steel core running through the centre and it's owner didn't want to loose the oxidisation and ageing as it was a sentimental piece so I couldn't just re-solder the two loose ends.

Instead, I made two new end caps out of some scrap copper that I had in my workshop. They were made to be just a very good "hammered on" fit that wouldn't need any additional solder to hold them in place. I also purposely added a few extra knocks afterwards to make them look like they'd alway been part of the design. Here's the pics...

The copper bangle showing how part of the end had snapped off.

The beginnings of the two new end caps made from a bit of recycled copper.

Soldering on the "ends" of the end caps.

End caps hammered on ready for finishing.

The new end caps polished and then "bashed" a little.