[Illustration]
Brooches and bar pins are made in much the same way as scarf pins. The
bezel is soldered as to a flat bar of silver to receive the stone.
But, in place of the stick pin, brooches have a bar, hinged on one end,
and a little catch hook on the other. These bars and catch hooks can be
bought very cheaply at almost any jewellery store, and cheaper than one
can make them. However, if you wish to make that part of the brooch or
bar pin yourself you can do so in the following way: Take a piece of
silver 2 ins. long and 1/8 in. wide, No. 20. Round this piece of silver
up by driving on the wide side about one inch from the end. Keep doing
this till the piece of silver is about 1/16 in. square. Drive the four
corners down, and you have an 8-sided bar. If these corners in turn
are hammered down you have a 16-sided piece, etc. Continuous hammering
reduces this bar to a round piece of silver about one inch long. The
end should be flattened down according to the sketch (1).
[Illustration]
_To make the hinge (staple and hook):_ Take a piece of
silver, No. 24, 1/8 in. wide and 3/8 in. long. Bend it up in the shape
of a staple, square at the end (2). The piece for the hook can be made
at the same time you make the piece for the pin. Use a piece of wire
1/16 in. × 3/8 in. long. After hammering, bend it like the sketch (3).
[Illustration]
_To put the staple and hook together:_ Drill a 1/16-in. hole in the
staple very close to the top. Drill one in the flat shank of the pin
also close to the top. (See sketch.)
Put a silver rivet in and rivet the two together, making a hinge. Place
this on the bar pin or brooch and then put the hook in its proper
position. Now you can get the exact length the pin should be. Cut it
off long enough to let the end project through the hook about 1/8 in.
File this to a needle point and polish very smooth. If it is rough it
will not push through any kind of cloth easily. To solder, bind the pin
and hook to the brooch or bar pin, and solder as you would any other
piece. Polish and finish up as you have done before.