Pendants make great gifts and I like making them. In this tutorial I wanted to show two things. The first is how to do an image transfer onto metal.  The second is to make a pendant with a rounded top so that you can string it easily. 

Techniques

• Image transfer onto metal
• Making a pendant with a rounded top 

Materials

• Metal sheet - I used .8mm brass measuring 5cm (2inches)  by 2.4cm (.9 inches)
• Images and printer - you can download this free PDF that I created for this tutorial if you don’t have anything at hand 
• Metal transfer liquid (I used Knorr Prandell smooth transfer varnish)
• Varnish to waterproof the design

Tools and equipment

• Saw (or shears)
• Files
• Propane torch
• Heatproof block
• Sand paper, steel wool and steel brush
• Printer and images for the image transfer
• Bench block
• Rawhide hammer
• Bracelet mandrel
• Scalpel
• Metal ruler

Safety information

Be careful working with metal means that you work with hazardous chemicals and hot materials. Please follow general safety precautions while working with metal, read the MSDS for each chemical and if you have not done so yet, read an article dealing with general safety before doing this tutorial. 

Always make sure that your work area is clear and that you wear protective goggles, shoes etc, tie long hair back, and don’t wear loose fitting clothes.

Method

Measure the sheet metal and cut it to size. I sawed mine. File the edges straight [image 1]. 

Put the sheet on your heat proof block and heat it up with your propane torch. This makes the metal easier to work with. Mark rounded edges on the sheet metal and file. Take the sandpaper and make sure it is clean. I like the brushed metal look so I sand and brush with a stainless steel brush to give it a brushed look. 

I want to make a loop at the top of the pendant where I can feed the leather cord through when the piece is finished. Use your round nosed pliers to bend the sheet. Try to keep the loop even. When you have made just over half a loop it is ready to be hammered [image 2]. Put the pendant face down on your bench block and hammer the loop to close it. If you are having a lot of problems bending the sheet it means that you forgot to heat it up. Image 3 shows how it should look at this point.

File, sand and brush the metal again if you made any marks on it.  

Put a layer of transfer varnish on the metal and wait for it to dry. I find the extra layer that you apply in this step helps prevent damage to the transfer when you remove the paper later.

Cut out the transfers you want to do and make sure they fit the size of your pendant. Image 4 shows my designs.

When the layer on the metal is dry, cover the image with transfer varnish and put another thin layer of varnish on the metal and smooth the print on. Get rid of air bubbles. 

Wait for it to dry. Image 5 shows a picture of the pendant after the paper’s been placed. Gently rub the paper. At some point the top layer will start coming off. Carry on rubbing until the white marks are all removed. At this point you might need to put a little bit of water on the transfer to help you get rid of the rest of the paper. I usually do this a few times before I am happy with the result [image 6].

Your image should be transferred to the metal now. 

If the edges of your transfer are not straight, place a metal ruler or something else that is metal and straight, I used my stiff blade, and use your scalpel to cut through the transfer. While keeping the metal ruler in the same position carefully scrape the bits of the transfer away where it is uneven. Be sure that you’ve cut through the transfer before doing this otherwise it will damage the transfer. Image 7 shows the cleaned up pendant.

Varnish the metal. Follow the instructions on the transfer gel. They usually recommend baking the piece at a specific temperature to make the transfer waterproof. If you like you can varnish the piece again. I generally use Johnson’s Klear or something similar. Give it more than one coat. Wait for it to dry. 

Cut some leather, cotton or rubber cord and attach your pendant to complete the piece. Image 8 shows my completed pendants.