[OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER: Please be safe! Always wear safety glasses or goggles anytime you use any hand tools. Read all instructions before you begin, and follow them carefully. Failing to thoroughly review instructions and forcing the object could result in a broken piece of jewelry. lexadazy cannot be held responsible if anyone breaks a piece of jewelry in the process of sizing the object.]
INSTRUCTIONS:
The majority of the ear cuffs I sell are printed in steel, infused with bronze and then plated gold. These are more brittle than if you purchase one at a higher price point (cast in brass, silver, or gold.) The key to sizing a 3d printed steel ear cuff, is doing so incrementally, just barely sizing the cuff bit by bit until it fits comfortably. You must size these cuffs very slowly using a bench vise or a c-clamp, because if you do so too quickly it might snap.
YOU WILL NEED:
-Your ear cuff
-A piece of leather or heavy-duty cloth to protect the surface of your cuff
-Either a bench vise or a c-clamp
First, open the vise grips. If the grips, are shut, you will turn the lever counter-clockwise to loosen the grips until there is about a 3/4″ opening between the grips. If the grips are already open wide, you’ll want to tighten the lever clockwise to that 3/4″ opening. It doesn’t have to be precisely that width, but roughly enough space to easily put the cloth and cuff in between the grips, not too tight, but not so loose that the cuff and cloth might fall out of place before you begin tightening.
Take your ear cuff, and sandwich it, with the open end of the cuff upright, in between a piece of leather or a heavy-duty cloth. This will protect the plated or polished surface of the cuff from being knicked by the metal vice grips.
Now, take your cloth-wrapped-cuff and place it in between the vice grips. if it begins to fall out of the grips, tighten the lever just until the cloth and cuff is suspended and snug between the grips.
Begin to turn the lever of the vise ever so slightly. You’ll feel a smidge of resistence the grips are not only suspending the cuff and cloth, but beginning to put pressure on them. GO SLOW! You just barely need to turn that lever to size it down considerably. Don’t turn it very much, then loosen the vice grips counter-clockwise to remove the cloth and cuff and try the cuff on your ear for size. If you need to size it smaller even still, simply repeat the steps, and continue incrementally sizing and trying the cuff on, until the perfect size is achieved.
I can’t stress how slowly and incrementally you need to size these, as in, just barely tighten the lever bit by bit. You can’t really be too careful in this case. You want to avoid snapping the cuff, and just as well, if you size it down too much it may end up too small. You’re better off sizing it little by little, loosening the vise grips in between incremental sizes, trying the cuff on your ear, and repeating the process if it is still too loose. I am choosing to make this information available to customers so that they can conveniently size these cuffs at home. However lexadazy cannot be held responsible if someone manages to break an earcuff in the process of sizing it. This is why I really encourage you to go super slow while sizing your cuff and review all instructions thoroughly before attempting this process.
FORGET THAT! DIY NOT YOUR CUP OF TEA?
There are a few other options for having your earcuff sized if this does not sound like anything you would ever want to attempt. I don’t blame you! You can take your ear cuff in to a local jeweler and have them use this method to size your ear cuff. *Make sure that you let them know this is 3d printed steel – not cast metal, so it absolutely should not be heated, and should not be sized forcefully. Request that they use a bench vise to gently and slowly size down the cuff with cloth protection to the surface of the metal.* If you are located in Kansas City or nearby, you are more than welcome to visit the studio to have a complimentary sizing. For those out of state, you may send the cuff back to lexadazy to have it sized down slightly, buyer covers all shipping costs. Please email lex@lexadazy.com if you have any questions!
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Post time: Sep-23-2017