Keychain

Students will create a sheet metal keychain using at least two negative space cut outs. Students will use the jewelry saw, sandpaper, hand files, drill press, buffer, and polisher to make the sheet metal keychain. Afterwards, students solder the jump ring as an introduction to the soldering torches, pickle pot, and ultrasonic machines.

This unit has six parts: research, drawing to scale, sawing practice, sheet metal keychain (cutting, drilling, sanding, filing, buffing, polishing), jump ring (soldering), and documentation of the finished work.

Overview Unit Goal

Picture

Composition Concepts

  • Negative Space Cut-outs
  • Silhouette

Technical Skills

  • Sawing
  • Drilling
  • Sanding
  • Filing
  • Buffing 
  • Polishing
  • Soldering

Tools & Supplies

  • Jewelry Saw
  • Drill Press
  • Sandpaper
  • Hand Files
  • Buffer
  • Polisher
  • Soldering Torch

Keychain Design Ideas: Use a Silhouette with 2+ Negative Space Cut-outs

Composition Concepts

Technical Skills Videos

Tools & Supplies

Sawing Practice
  • Jewelry Saw with Saw Blade
  • Burr Life
  • Bench Hook
  • Sheet Metal, Rubber Cement, Practice Drawing
Keychain Project
  • Drill Press Station: drill press, chasing tool, rawhide mallet
  • Jewelry Bench: Jewelry Saw, with blade, burr life, bench hook, Sandpaper (3 levels), Micro Files
  • Buffing & Polishing Stations: finger guards, glasses, support block
  • Soldering Station: torch, fire brick, fire starter, quenching bath, tweezers, solder, cutting pliers, flux

Unit Components

Research

Spend a few minutes thinking before you search the internet for ideas. Sometimes your ideas are better than the ones that come up in a google search.

When searching, you don't need to search for a silhouette. You can make any image a silhouette yourself! Just draw the outline of the image and skip all the details inside.

Make sure you end up with at least two negative space cut-outs in your design. 

Drawing

Sawing Practice
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Draw Your Design on the Metal

  • You can draw directly on the metal or use rubber cement to glue paper to the metal.

Chase the Metal where you want a Hole

  • Chase divots into each negative space hole. The design below has 7 divots.

Drill the Interior Holes & the Hanging Hole

  • Drill each interior hole, plus the hanging hole for the keychain.

Cut the Interior Holes

  • Feed the saw blade through the hole and cut out your interior hole shapes

Cut the Exterior Shape

  • Cut out all of the exterior edges of your shape

File the Edges at a 45° Angle

  • Use the micro files from your toolbox to file the edges of your keychain at a 45° angle.

Sanding

  • Start with the roughest sandpaper and work the whole surface
  • Sand both sides with sandpaper starting with 100s, 200s, 300s, 400s, 500s, 600s

Jump Ring

  • Carefully open the jump ring and attach it to your key chain
  • Close the jump ring completely - the ends must touch perfectly

Soldering Station Introduction

  • You must have a teacher or TA guided introduction to the soldering station
  • You will need your keychain metal with jump ring attached

Solder the Jump Ring

  • Use the 3rd Arm to hold the ring
  • Paint flux onto the metal
  • Put a tiny piece of solder on the metal you want to join
  • Melt the solder
  • Quench the metal
  • Pickle the metal for 4 minutes

Buffing & Polishing Stations

  • Buff both sides of your keychain
  • Use the wood support block to keep your keychain metal flat while buffing.
  • Remember to use all of the safety gear (finger guards, glasses, hair tie)

Documenting your Keychain

  • Use a solid background (no distracting lines, shadows, table, or other stuff) like the photo cube
  • Use quality lighting (soft shadow from sculpture only)
  • Photo should be in focus, with keychain centered
  • One photo from front high angle with diffuser
  • One photo of top

Email an image of your Keychain