Lesson: Earring Findings

Lesson 3: Earring Findings
Making ear wires is so easy that I recommend that you make your own.
Creating your own findings adds value to your jewelry by setting it apart. It can distinguish your piece from your competitor’s. Make the shape of your ear wire go with the overall design of your piece- customize!

Ear wires: Usually 20ga. wire. Some people prefer 22ga.
• Cut 2 lengths of wire.
• Some common ways to attach ear wires are:
o Soldered directly to the earring
o End balled, attached through a jump ring
o End forming a ring, attached through a hole or jump ring
o End balled or T, wire run through hole in piece for ball/socket joint
• Use the bezel mandrel or round/flat pliers to for shape.
• To test balance and to make sure the earrings hang at the same level, hang them over the handle of your needle files, or a pencil. If the earring tips forward you need a longer wire in the back. The earring tipping forward means that the wire is not counterbalancing the weight of the earring, and makes it likely that it will work its way out of the ear.
• Using the round/flat pliers, give the end of the wire a slight bend, which also helps make it harder to slip out of the ear.
• Make sure the wires are the same length.
• Use your cup/concave bur on the ends so that they are not sharp.
• If tumbling, tumble the earrings to harden the wires.
• If you aren’t tumbling, use the flat side of the goldsmith’s hammer on the curve of the wire to give tension.
• Consider soldering a piece of wire on to create a hook for the wire to latch into. Added security!

Ear posts: Ear posts and their backs are one finding I recommend that you buy. There are several different types of ear posts available. Most posts have notches cut into them, so that they snap into the backs at that point. Ear posts are available in different thicknesses (.028-.036”) - .030” is a good standard thickness.
Posts are also available as a straight post or with pads or cups on the ends.
Posts with pads are very useful. They are available in a variety of different size pads, and the pad helps you to position the ear post perpendicular to the earring.
If you are going to be soldering posts onto a very narrow area, you will be better off with a straight post.
Ear posts with cups are good for curved surfaces. Some of the posts with cups have a small post in the center of the cup. These are for gluing a pearl onto to create the classic pearl ear stud.
Posts are also sometimes available with a ball on the end and a small jump ring soldered to the ball. These are best suited for beadwork.
There are also threaded ear posts available where the ear nut is screwed onto the post as opposed to being held on by tension. These are great for expensive earrings and good as a special order option.

Ear nuts: Most ear nuts are tension based. The two most common designs are the bullet style and the friction style.
The bullet back has rubber inside of it, which puts pressure on the entire length of the post. These are often more comfortable that the friction style for people with thinner ears, and they cover more of the post. The bullet backs are not available in a wide a variety of sizes.
The friction style is the most common. It is available in many sizes and weights. The light-weight backs are pretty flimsy- I would suggest medium or heavy weight. It is better to get a larger size than to increase the weight of the metal. The largest size of friction backs is popular with older women who have one hole that has stretched as it holds most styles of studs upright and centered on the hole.

Omega Backs: Omega backs are a versatile earring back since they can be used either as a clip or in combination with a post. Many women like them with a post since this eliminates the need to keep track of an earring back.
Most Omega backs come unassembled. There are 3 parts to the back- the joint, the rivet, and the clip.
To use an Omega Back:
• To determine the placement of the joint, fit the clip into the joint.
• Lay assembly against the back of your earring.
• Mark where the joint should be soldered, and remove the clip from the joint.
• Solder the joint onto your piece after sanding your piece, but before pre-polishing.
• Solder before stone setting, enamelling or epoxy, patination.
• Pickle and finish cleaning and polishing your piece.
• Do any tumbling.
• Fit the clip into the joint. The holes in the clip and the holes in the joint should line up.
• Fit the rivet wire into the hole and pull through until it stops.
• The rivet wire comes with one end flattened, so it will not pull all the way through.
• If you have trouble getting the rivet in, make sure that the holes are the correct size, and open up with a drill if needed.
• Place with flattened end against a steel block and rivet.
• Use the black and blue wheels to clean up the rivet and polish.
• Test the clip.
• You can bend the joint to adjust the distance between clip and earring back.
• If you are using with a post, solder the post on first, then figure out joint placement.

Screw backs: Screw backs are another style of clip earring back. They come preassembled. The front of the finding has a pad on it, which you solder to the back of your piece. A nice feature about the screw back is that it is adjustable for different ear thicknesses. When soldering, coat the screw with yellow ochre to prevent it from seizing.

Lever backs: Lever backs are a style of hook ear wire that has a back part that flips up. The wire goes through your ear, and then a channeled back flips up to cover the end of the wire and protect the earring from falling out. Many people prefer the lever back because of the security it offers. Lever backs usually come preassembled, and the earring is simply soldered onto the finding. Use a third hand (or chill gel) as a heat sink to keep the tension in the back from loosening.