Editor's note: To learn more about the author and other niobium artists see “Neon Rainbow” on page 20 of the September Lapidary Journal.

In Hawaii we are surrounded by exotic, tropical fruit and flowers. Niobium's rich colors and light weight are perfect for capturing the look and feel of these beautiful plants. Working in niobium presents both opportunities and problems that are unique to the reactive metals. It can be extensively cold forged and then anodized to stunning colors that never fade or tarnish, but it cannot be cast, annealed, or soldered with tools normally found in a small studio.

One of my favorite styles to make is the anthurium. It can look great with color combinations that wouldn't work on some other designs. Achieving the 3D look requires some planning, bending, and forging.

	• 26-gauge niobium sheet • Cross-peen hammer • Flat top stake • Saw frame and blades (4/0) • Liquid Bur Life® or other lubricant • Sanding stick • Glue stick • Nail polish • Fusion welder and ear posts (the author used a Sparkie® for this project) • Goggles • Anodizer • Multi Etch™ • Bead blast cabinet with vacuum air handler and filter • Amp limiter (optional)
For information on supplies, please see the Annual Buyers' Directory. Always ask for the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for any materials you buy, which will give you reactivity, health hazard, and safe handling data.

Using a glue stick, glue together two 1" squares of 26-gauge niobium sheet. (A piece of paper sandwiched between the sheets helps fill gaps for a stronger bond and also helps to separate the 2 pieces later.)

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Scratch or draw and transfer the basic outline shape onto the metal.

Saw with a 4/0 blade. After the initial shape is done, cut the 2 lines that will allow you to bend the spadix out from the background.

Niobium is what machinists call a “gummy” metal. It quickly clogs saws and files. I keep a piece of synthetic chamois lightly soaked in liquid Bur Life® at the back of my bench pin. I press each new piece of metal onto it before I start sawing and also relubricate after replacing a broken blade.

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After sawing, put the sandwiched pieces in warm water to soften the glue and separate. Use the sanding stick to debur and round the edges to avoid cutting your fingers. Fold the spadices back and away from the body of the earring. Be sure to make a true pair for a left and right earring.

Hold the earring as shown, with the spadix down and out of the way. Begin hammering with the cross-peen hammer.

This hammer stretches the metal front to back with minimal slide expansion. Your hammer face should be oriented radially from the center of the earring out to the edge, giving a little more force to hitting the edge of the earring. This expands the edge faster than the center.

At this point, you can adjust the force and tilt of the blows to make a fairly flat piece or a very wavy piece. You can even make the 2 ears of the anthurium bypass each other. Continue around until you get to the bottom of the earring. Go back over the same surface with lighter blows. This will help hide misplaced strikes and leave a pleasing texture. Turn the earring around and do the other half. Repeat with the other earring.

Bend the earring back along the middle, bend the ears forward and out and bend the spadix to the front of the piece.

Bend the body of the earring back to fairly flat.

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Steam clean or ultrasonic and immerse in Multi Etch™ at room temperature for 15 minutes, before bead blasting. I find that this gives me brighter and cleaner colors when I anodize.

Remove and neutralize in water and baking soda. Rinse clean and dry.

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Bead blast the front of the pieces completely. This will cause the earrings to bend back and away. Bead blast the backs as necessary to reshape the earrings back to a flatter plane. Next, bead blast the spadix, starting at the base where it is attached to the body of the earring and working your way out to the end. This curves it both end-to-end and side-to-side, giving it a more rounded and 3D look. Use a bead blast cabinet with a vacuum air handler and filter. Glass beads break down during use and release free silica, which causes silicosis. Don't rely on just a paper mask.

Fusion weld the posts. Wear goggles. Molten metal can fly from a fusion weld. >>

Clean up any carbon residue with soapy water and a brush. The reason for waiting until now to fuse the post is that the bending back and forth during bead blasting will weaken the connection of a post to the earring body. Fusing it at this point, after all of the bending is finished, leaves a much stronger bond.

If you use silver posts, cover them with rubber plating sleeves. Immerse in Multi Etch™ for 15 seconds. Neutralize, rinse, and dry.

Paint the top and sides of the spadices with nail polish and let dry for a few seconds. This will mask out the electrolyte during the first anodizing.

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Anodize the body of the earrings to desired colors. Silver posts must remain covered with rubber sleeves.

When anodizing, the key words are clean and cool. Make sure that there is absolutely no oil or dirt on the piece before you start. The slightest fingerprint or bit of skin oil will diminish the quality of the color. Also, keep your electrolyte cool; refrigerate it when not in use. Increase voltages slowly to avoid high amperage overheating and “burning” of the colors. An amp limiter is highly recommended.

When the earring is anodized to that first dark bronze color, pull it out and check to see that you haven't missed masking any spots on the spadices or haven't splashed nail polish over onto the body of the earring.

Now would be the time to dry it off and fix any mistakes before proceeding. The rainbow effect you see on niobium and titanium jewelry can be achieved by pulling the piece up out of the bath while turning up the voltage. The spadix will be colored later using lower voltages than the body. Keep this in mind when choosing your background colors.

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Rinse the earring and dip them in clean acetone for about 1 minute. This will remove all of the nail polish. Rinse immediately in water so that the acetone doesn't get a chance to dry out the pieces.

Now anodize the spadices at a lower voltage than the body of the earring, again, pulling the earrings out as you raise the voltage to create a rainbow. Rinse and dry and you have a matched pair of anthuriums.

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John Flynn is a self-taught metalsmith who has been making jewelry since 1975. He can be found at his store, Elements, in Kapaau, Hawaii, or reached at kahiko@kahiko.com or www.kahiko.com.

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