Our Slate Veneer is an innovative material that is lightweight and flexible. It is created by pouring a resin/fiberglass mixture over slabs of slate allowing the thin layers of stone to be pulled off in a thin veneer. It is sealed with a stone sealer and is quite durable to chemicals and water. Recoat with a slate/stone sealer if needed. The Slate is a natural material so slight variations in color and patterning will occur.
Cut the Slate using scissors or shears. The thinner Black and Red Slates can be cut with scissors while the thicker pieces can be cut with shears. We use a metal shear from Home Depot. You can also use a jeweler's saw and a guillotine cutter for metal and a metal disc cutter to shape your pieces. Use metal punch pliers, power punch or drill for creating holes.
Both sets of earrings were created by cutting various Slate pieces with the metal disc cutter.
The first set has two of each size discs glued back to back to each other with a piece of black anodized aluminum running through them.
On the second set of earrings, the discs are glued to a pair of distressed bronze anodized aluminum discs.
The backing of the Slate is a resin/fiberglass mixture. This can be irritating to the skin. Although there is a protective plastic film on the back of each piece, it is best to also wear protective gloves while working with the material. Leave the plastic film on while cutting and shaping but remove before gluing or finishing. Also, cover the back of your finished slate pieces with metal, another piece of slate, Ultrasuede or another material to avoid direct contact and irritation to the skin.
The first necklace is a piece of Slate glued into a metal bezel created with our Patina Copper sheets. The second necklace is made up of several Slate pieces cut into rectangles, backed with gray Ultrasuede, and linked to pieces of Aquamarine. The butterfly is a rub on transfer that was applied to the Slate to give create an unexpected unique look.
The veneer bends easily when heated. We set our pieces in the window to let the intense Colorado sun heat them up. If you do not have that luxury, you can put your slate piece that is cut to size in a towel sandwich. Then, heat the slate through the towel with a hot iron. Because the Black and Red Slate are the thinnest veneers, they have the greatest flex. These can bend around a brass cuff blank. The other color choices are a bit thicker and do not bend around a cuff as easily but will bend. Wrap your warm and flexible piece around the shape you are trying to achieve and glue and clamp in place.
The Slate on cuff was cut to size and heated, then glued, clamped and trimmed to the brass cuff. We glued some 1.7mm rubber tubing around the outside edges to give it a finished look. The Slate on the bracelet was first cut to size and then backed with gray Ultrasuede. We then put holes in the Slate/Ultrasuede with our metal punch pliers and then linked together with jump rings.
We use fast dry glues for quick setting such as when placing in bezels or gluing slate pieces to each other and E-6000 for longer working time such as positioning a piece on a cuff.
Have fun exploring all the possibilities of creating with our Slate! Cut, shape, drill, bend, glue, set and layer!
This reversable pendant was created by cutting pieces of Slate in rounds and triangles in two different Slate colors. The coresponding shapes were then glued together back to back. Holes were drilled through the glued pieces for the jump rings. Then, aluminum wire was pounded out to flatten and widen the piece to fit the width of the glued pieces. Then, the flattened wire was wrapped around the pieces, cut to length and glued in place. Then, jump rings were used to connect the components together. For a finishing touch, an accent round was glued on each of the main triangular pieces.
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