Metal Style: 20 Jewelry Designs with Cold Joint Techniques by Karen Dougherty

Metal Style: 20 Jewelry Designs with Cold Joint Techniques by Karen Dougherty (Interweave $22.95) opens a world of jewelry making to those interested in working with metals but not that eager to pick up a torch.

There are all kinds of methods for making metal jewelry without having to solder, and this particular book focuses on cold connections, especially the use of rivets.

The tools section is pretty extensive, but as the author notes in the introduction to this section, you do not necessarily require all of these tools in order to make cold connection jewelry. For example, she shows and discusses no less than 9 different types of hammers but explains that this is considered "an ideal set." In the descriptions of the tools, she goes on to explain how she uses some of the tools for her own jewelry needs and what to look for in some of the tools she describes.

As far as techniques, other than the section on riveting, the other areas are pretty standard when it comes to fabricating metal: drilling, sawing, and cutting. So with just these handful of techniques, the projects in the next section are created.

As the subtitles indicates, there are 20 projects included in the book. While some of the projects are designed by the author, she also has some well-known metal artists participating including Connie Fox, Thomas Mann, and Lisa Niven-Kelly. Counting herself, there are a total of 15 contributing artists.

A mix of metals - copper, brass, sterling - are used in most of the designs. A few projects incorporate non-metal materials such as screen for a "Medallion Bracelet" project and a poker chip for a "Poker Chip Broach." All projects include step-by-step instructions with accompanying color photographs of the process. Sprinkled throughout are "Spotlight" areas that describe additional techniques not necessarily related to cold joint connecting but still related to metal and jewelry making in general such as etching, making balled-end head pins with a torch, and creating copper patina.

The fact that this book shows how it is possible to make a large assortment of jewelry pieces without any heat is wonderful and refreshing. There is plenty of step-by-step help between the photos and text, but this may be a little involved for someone who has no metal experience at all. I say this not so much because the techniques are necessarily difficult but more so because most of projects are generally on an intermediate to advanced level. Still for someone who has been wanting to work more with metal but has been turned off by the idea of soldering, this book is a great example of how it is possible to make plenty of metal jewelry designs without a torch.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.