Hi everyone! It's been a year since I have made this video and its still quite popular! I have seen all the feedback about the music being a bit loud and I apologize for that (newbie mistake), but I wanted to give you some good news! I will be remaking this video into a step by step tutorial with music that is nonexistent or super quiet. I hope to have the video uploaded sometime before Fall 2024. Thank you everyone for your support and all the lovely comments! It makes my heart happy to see so many people discovering and learning this beautiful artform.
I started gathering the materials and information for this ptoject for the past 2 weeks. Now i finally turned on the switch! Lots of trial and errors as i was expecting. There is so much to learn, and thats the beauty. These videos have helped ALOT. I'm on attemp No.3🍀
That's so awesome to hear! I'm so glad my video has been helpful. When I started electroforming there was maybe one youtube video I could reference for help and the rest was trial and error. It such a fun medium to work with and I absolutely love the way you can get unique results everytime! If you have any questions feel free to ask them and hopefully I can help answer them. :)
Thanks! I hope this video was helpful for you! I have more recently posted my own DIY conductive Paint recipe that may be helpful as well! :) I love being able to share this unique artform with everyone.
Thankyou for a great tutorial, my name is Peter and I teach jewellery making hobby at the Wingham lapidary club. I try and expose as many creative jewellery making techniques and processes to my students as possible and would like to include electro plating after I can perfect this process myself, thankyou for your inspiration and I will be watching your tutorials for further ideas.😀
That's so awesome! I hope you get to teach new students about electroforming/plating. Its such a unique art form and when I was learning it there was almost no videos on YT about it! I will continue to make little tutorials for electroforming along my metalsmithing content :)
You are AWESOME! Thank you so much for covering safety and the responsibility of proper waste disposal. I will definitely go through your other videos. Thank you again.
That was super helpful thank you, interested in your graphite paint recipe and where you get your graphite from, also would love a waste video! Ive been trying to research that and you seem to be the only one who brought it up, love that.
Thank you so much!! I actually just filmed my DIY graphite paint recipe and that will be the video being posted tomorrow at 6PM! I hope it helps you :) I am planning on doing a waste video, but I am also waiting until I have some waste built up as I have been focused on learning to metalsmith lately and not as much on my electroforming work.
Thanks so much! That video is coming up on my list to film very soon, and I hope to have it out and posted before the end of the year! I'm planning to include my recipe for my paint with a step by step on how I make it and some tips when using DIY graphite paint.
No fault finding, but agreed. It made me so nervous that I had to stop watching. Obviously, you are very skilled and a great teacher. So, this reply is just meant as viewer feedback, to be helpful, not hateful. Cheers to you!
Thank you so much!! As for sculpting you can use any sort of clay that will harden. I have seen people use air dry clay although I would strongly recommend something like Polymer or Epoxy clay so that helps to strength the durability of your design. Anything that stays pliable can break during wear or potentially leach unwanted contaminates into your electroforming bath if there is any soft clay exposed. I hope that helps!
Hi! I love this video and have been referencing it a bunch the past couple weeks as I begin my journey electroforming. Could you specify the purpose of the soap and what product specifically you used on your pieces after removing them and rinsing? Thanks so much. Love your work! 🖤
Yes I can definitely specify here. The soap I used is the soap that came with my Proteclear when I originally ordered it. It is called EZ Prep Concerated Cleaner & Acid Neutralizer by Everbrite. I use it just in case a dip in the distilled water after taking it out of the bath did not fully clean the piece of if it has been sitting a few days and I have been picking it up a lot and moving it around this will help clean it deeply. It does not do anything to shine it up though. You can purchase it on amazon which is where I got mine. I also use a mixture of water and baking soda to neutralize my pieces after removing them from the liver of sulfur to stop it from further reacting once I have achieved my desired darkness. I hope that helps! Please keep asking if you have any more questions! Thanks so much :)
@@crystalforged thank you so much for the thorough and insightful response! You did an amazing job of explaining everything both in the video and all your comments. Super appreciate you, and best of luck on your metalsmithing journey (I saw your more recent video hehe) 🖤🖤🤍
Hello! Such a nice video!!! I enjoyed so much! Can you tell me which epoxy clay are you using? I have difficulties to find something that can be sculpted this way and not just as a "repair kit" for plumbers 😅☺️
Hello! Thanks so much! I am glad you enjoyed the video. :) I use the Aves Apoxie Sculpt which is a 2 part modeling compound and has a working time of about 3 hours before it starts to cure. The clay fully cures after 24 hours and I have found it to be super durable and have been using it for the last several years now. I have it linked in my description from amazon which is where I purchase it whenever I run out.
Hi, I was wondering if you could tell us what type of electric suplier you have. I am thinking about starting electroforming, but I am not sure which one to get. And thank you for your video, it really helped a lot :D
Hello! I use a DC Power Supply made by Eventek. I bought mine on Amazon several years ago and it still works perfectly. I have the exact one that I own linked in the description with an Amazon link. I personally have the 30V 10A one. You can use several of these power supplies for multiple electroforming setups or get a more powerful one if you want to electroform on a larger scale and do 50 pieces of jewelry or something very large rather than 5-10 pieces. Feel free to ask if you have any more questions!
I use two methods to protect my gemstones when Electroforming. To protect the gemstones from the electroforming bath I use liquid Latex which protects all the gemstones wonderfully. You just have to make sure you fully cover the gem and that you don't accidently cover something that you want copper to form over. I also use the Protecta Clear sealant on the copper portions and certain gemstones to give them additional protection when I am finishing up my jewelry pieces.
Heeey !! How many times do you change the copper wire in the tank? Mine became very "dusty" in very little and i think make the object that i whant to electroform weird
Hi! I tend to only change out the wire when it gets very very thin. I discovered that if your copper wire is a weird pink color, covered in blue crystals, or anything out of the ordinary you can take the copper wire out let it dry out and then use a stainless steel scrubber or brush to shine it back up. When you tank wire gets shined back up it seems to do much better with electroforming and prevents some of those weird patterns. Just make sure to clean the wire good so you do not get any contaminates in your tank that would effect the process. I hope that helps!
HI, I search everywhere but didn't find one person that explains the right way to dispose all the solutions used to made elecretoformed jewelry. Do you have any insight on this?
Hello! Apologies for not seeing your comment earlier. When it comes to Hazardous Waste the best way to find out how you can dispose of it locally is to go through your DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) for your state. There is usually a place that you can take any hazardous waste to be properly disposed off. Some communities do not have a program so they recommend that you neutralize the chemicals as best as possible and dispose of in small quantities over a longer period of time. But please check your local ordinances since these can vary between counties and states. I am only giving an example of what is available in my state.
Apologies! I just saw your comment, but to answer your question I use Everbrite EZ Prep Cleaner which is heavily concentrated and I just mix a little bit with distilled water and that helps neutralize any remaining solution after the electroforming process is done. The everbrite cleaner I get comes as a set with my Protecta Clear which helps me seal and finish all my pieces. Thank you for asking!
@@crystalforged thanks, no worries for the delayed answer 👍. I live in France so I have never heard of that...but thank you anyway. Your video is helpful.
Have you done any videos on electro forming large objects? I’m a basketry artist and considering trying electro forming on some of my sculptural works but we’re talking 12”+. Thanks!
I have not done anything too large. The largest object I have done is am 8" hairstick, but you can definitely do much larger electroformed work as long as you have a larger tank and much more anode in your tank. If you are doing larger sculptures make sure you use enough copper wire or copper pipe at that point to ensure your tank is adequately saturated for the copper to form onto the piece. Larger works will also need a much longer tank time so for jewelry I typically do 24-72 hours depending on the size, but you may be looking at a much longer time depending on the amount of amps you are using to get a nice thick coat of copper.
What brand do you use? I specifically use the Protecta Clear which I have linked. That does need a cure time of at least 24 hours although I usually allow my pieces to dry without disturbing them for 48-72 hours to allow the coating to fully cure and not get marred or cloudy from handling. If you are using protecta clear or any other type of clear coating is it newer or has it been sitting a long time? I have run into an issue with my Protecta Clear that after using it for over three years it started to turn cloudy and a weird color due to the age and I was getting to the end of the can. After getting a brand new one I had no issues again! Hope that helps :)
I don't believe the process is the exact same, but I have never done gold. Im sure there are youtubers on here that have but with how expensive gold is I believe they only plate with gold and not form. If you look up gold electroplating you can get a better idea of the process.
Hi thanks for the feedback! I am definitely going to make sure the music is not too loud on future videos. I tried to tone it down whenever I was speaking, but I did not reduce the volume enough. I appreciate it when people let me know so I can keep making better videos! :)
Hi everyone! It's been a year since I have made this video and its still quite popular! I have seen all the feedback about the music being a bit loud and I apologize for that (newbie mistake), but I wanted to give you some good news! I will be remaking this video into a step by step tutorial with music that is nonexistent or super quiet. I hope to have the video uploaded sometime before Fall 2024. Thank you everyone for your support and all the lovely comments! It makes my heart happy to see so many people discovering and learning this beautiful artform.
I like it but I find the music too distracting.
I started gathering the materials and information for this ptoject for the past 2 weeks.
Now i finally turned on the switch!
Lots of trial and errors as i was expecting. There is so much to learn, and thats the beauty.
These videos have helped ALOT.
I'm on attemp No.3🍀
That's so awesome to hear! I'm so glad my video has been helpful. When I started electroforming there was maybe one youtube video I could reference for help and the rest was trial and error. It such a fun medium to work with and I absolutely love the way you can get unique results everytime! If you have any questions feel free to ask them and hopefully I can help answer them. :)
Thanks for the generous sharing of your knowledge. Wonderful to see your beautiful work and understand your process. Thanks again!
Thank you so much! :) I'm always super happy to see these comments. Makes all the work I put into these videos worth it!
Thank you! This is my new deep dive/hyperfocus!
Thanks! I hope this video was helpful for you! I have more recently posted my own DIY conductive Paint recipe that may be helpful as well! :) I love being able to share this unique artform with everyone.
Thankyou for a great tutorial, my name is Peter and I teach jewellery making hobby at the Wingham lapidary club. I try and expose as many creative jewellery making techniques and processes to my students as possible and would like to include electro plating after I can perfect this process myself, thankyou for your inspiration and I will be watching your tutorials for further ideas.😀
That's so awesome! I hope you get to teach new students about electroforming/plating. Its such a unique art form and when I was learning it there was almost no videos on YT about it! I will continue to make little tutorials for electroforming along my metalsmithing content :)
You are AWESOME! Thank you so much for covering safety and the responsibility of proper waste disposal. I will definitely go through your other videos. Thank you again.
Thank you so much! I'm glad the videos are helpful!
This video was SO helpful! Thank you! ❤
I am so glad!! :) I love teaching this art form! It feels like on of those lost ones where the knowledge is not found as easily.
I agree with the background music comment. It detracts from the video, it needs to be reduced, please!
That was super helpful thank you, interested in your graphite paint recipe and where you get your graphite from, also would love a waste video! Ive been trying to research that and you seem to be the only one who brought it up, love that.
Thank you so much!! I actually just filmed my DIY graphite paint recipe and that will be the video being posted tomorrow at 6PM! I hope it helps you :) I am planning on doing a waste video, but I am also waiting until I have some waste built up as I have been focused on learning to metalsmith lately and not as much on my electroforming work.
Looking forward to your DIY graphite paint video
Thanks so much! That video is coming up on my list to film very soon, and I hope to have it out and posted before the end of the year! I'm planning to include my recipe for my paint with a step by step on how I make it and some tips when using DIY graphite paint.
without the background music, maybe...
I greatly approciate your explanation! But it was hard to focus on what you were saying over the loud music.
great information but the music is way too loud. Had to it down and use Close Captions.
Please turn down all that background distraction
No fault finding, but agreed. It made me so nervous that I had to stop watching. Obviously, you are very skilled and a great teacher. So, this reply is just meant as viewer feedback, to be helpful, not hateful. Cheers to you!
Very informative and great info !!!! 👍😎🤙💚 (copper heart;)
Thank you so much!!! 😄😄 I love electroforming and its fun to share this unique art form!
Why do you have to have the music on need for it
Great video lady
Thank you :) I appreciate that and thank you for watching!
Hi, love your designs! If I dont have epoxy clay or polymer clay, is there anything else that can be used like Model Magic or oil-based clay?
Thank you so much!! As for sculpting you can use any sort of clay that will harden. I have seen people use air dry clay although I would strongly recommend something like Polymer or Epoxy clay so that helps to strength the durability of your design. Anything that stays pliable can break during wear or potentially leach unwanted contaminates into your electroforming bath if there is any soft clay exposed. I hope that helps!
Hi! I love this video and have been referencing it a bunch the past couple weeks as I begin my journey electroforming. Could you specify the purpose of the soap and what product specifically you used on your pieces after removing them and rinsing? Thanks so much. Love your work! 🖤
Yes I can definitely specify here. The soap I used is the soap that came with my Proteclear when I originally ordered it. It is called EZ Prep Concerated Cleaner & Acid Neutralizer by Everbrite. I use it just in case a dip in the distilled water after taking it out of the bath did not fully clean the piece of if it has been sitting a few days and I have been picking it up a lot and moving it around this will help clean it deeply. It does not do anything to shine it up though. You can purchase it on amazon which is where I got mine. I also use a mixture of water and baking soda to neutralize my pieces after removing them from the liver of sulfur to stop it from further reacting once I have achieved my desired darkness. I hope that helps! Please keep asking if you have any more questions! Thanks so much :)
@@crystalforged thank you so much for the thorough and insightful response! You did an amazing job of explaining everything both in the video and all your comments. Super appreciate you, and best of luck on your metalsmithing journey (I saw your more recent video hehe) 🖤🖤🤍
Hello! Such a nice video!!! I enjoyed so much! Can you tell me which epoxy clay are you using? I have difficulties to find something that can be sculpted this way and not just as a "repair kit" for plumbers 😅☺️
Hello! Thanks so much! I am glad you enjoyed the video. :) I use the Aves Apoxie Sculpt which is a 2 part modeling compound and has a working time of about 3 hours before it starts to cure. The clay fully cures after 24 hours and I have found it to be super durable and have been using it for the last several years now. I have it linked in my description from amazon which is where I purchase it whenever I run out.
Hi, I was wondering if you could tell us what type of electric suplier you have. I am thinking about starting electroforming, but I am not sure which one to get. And thank you for your video, it really helped a lot :D
Hello! I use a DC Power Supply made by Eventek. I bought mine on Amazon several years ago and it still works perfectly. I have the exact one that I own linked in the description with an Amazon link. I personally have the 30V 10A one. You can use several of these power supplies for multiple electroforming setups or get a more powerful one if you want to electroform on a larger scale and do 50 pieces of jewelry or something very large rather than 5-10 pieces. Feel free to ask if you have any more questions!
thank you very much@@crystalforged
.muy interesante , gracias
¡Muchas gracias!
Thank you very much for your videos May I ask how to protect pearls gems and sto nes thanks and blessing❤️🙏
I use two methods to protect my gemstones when Electroforming. To protect the gemstones from the electroforming bath I use liquid Latex which protects all the gemstones wonderfully. You just have to make sure you fully cover the gem and that you don't accidently cover something that you want copper to form over. I also use the Protecta Clear sealant on the copper portions and certain gemstones to give them additional protection when I am finishing up my jewelry pieces.
is there a brand of liquid latex that you recommend?@@crystalforged
Heeey !!
How many times do you change the copper wire in the tank?
Mine became very "dusty" in very little and i think make the object that i whant to electroform weird
Hi! I tend to only change out the wire when it gets very very thin. I discovered that if your copper wire is a weird pink color, covered in blue crystals, or anything out of the ordinary you can take the copper wire out let it dry out and then use a stainless steel scrubber or brush to shine it back up. When you tank wire gets shined back up it seems to do much better with electroforming and prevents some of those weird patterns. Just make sure to clean the wire good so you do not get any contaminates in your tank that would effect the process. I hope that helps!
HI, I search everywhere but didn't find one person that explains the right way to dispose all the solutions used to made elecretoformed jewelry. Do you have any insight on this?
Hello! Apologies for not seeing your comment earlier. When it comes to Hazardous Waste the best way to find out how you can dispose of it locally is to go through your DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) for your state. There is usually a place that you can take any hazardous waste to be properly disposed off. Some communities do not have a program so they recommend that you neutralize the chemicals as best as possible and dispose of in small quantities over a longer period of time. But please check your local ordinances since these can vary between counties and states. I am only giving an example of what is available in my state.
hello,.when you talk about putting your pieces in distilled water then a neutralizing soap, what kind of soap is this?
Apologies! I just saw your comment, but to answer your question I use Everbrite EZ Prep Cleaner which is heavily concentrated and I just mix a little bit with distilled water and that helps neutralize any remaining solution after the electroforming process is done. The everbrite cleaner I get comes as a set with my Protecta Clear which helps me seal and finish all my pieces. Thank you for asking!
@@crystalforged thanks, no worries for the delayed answer 👍. I live in France so I have never heard of that...but thank you anyway. Your video is helpful.
Take out that music
Have you done any videos on electro forming large objects? I’m a basketry artist and considering trying electro forming on some of my sculptural works but we’re talking 12”+. Thanks!
I have not done anything too large. The largest object I have done is am 8" hairstick, but you can definitely do much larger electroformed work as long as you have a larger tank and much more anode in your tank. If you are doing larger sculptures make sure you use enough copper wire or copper pipe at that point to ensure your tank is adequately saturated for the copper to form onto the piece. Larger works will also need a much longer tank time so for jewelry I typically do 24-72 hours depending on the size, but you may be looking at a much longer time depending on the amount of amps you are using to get a nice thick coat of copper.
Thanks alot! I’m thinking of trying to find a setup architecture from people who do bronze shoes, etc….
Hi when I use protection on som beautiful shiny thing, it seems like it looks dead instead, but still clear, and I tried som different.
What brand do you use? I specifically use the Protecta Clear which I have linked. That does need a cure time of at least 24 hours although I usually allow my pieces to dry without disturbing them for 48-72 hours to allow the coating to fully cure and not get marred or cloudy from handling. If you are using protecta clear or any other type of clear coating is it newer or has it been sitting a long time? I have run into an issue with my Protecta Clear that after using it for over three years it started to turn cloudy and a weird color due to the age and I was getting to the end of the can. After getting a brand new one I had no issues again! Hope that helps :)
@@crystalforged Thank you much
Is the process the same when electroforming with gold?
I don't believe the process is the exact same, but I have never done gold. Im sure there are youtubers on here that have but with how expensive gold is I believe they only plate with gold and not form. If you look up gold electroplating you can get a better idea of the process.
The music is too distracting, i couldnt watch the whole video, which is a shame, because it sounds like you are very knowledgeable.
Hi thanks for the feedback! I am definitely going to make sure the music is not too loud on future videos. I tried to tone it down whenever I was speaking, but I did not reduce the volume enough. I appreciate it when people let me know so I can keep making better videos! :)