The story continues: Now I have the beginnings of a copper clasp and some tube beads. Here you see: a bright and shiny tube made from untreated copper; a small hook and tube that have been oxidized but nothing beyond that; and a hook and larger tube that have been oxidized and tumbled to remove the oxidation from the high spots. Notice that the small "S" hook and small tube have no shine. But the other "S" hook and larger tube do have highlights (kind of like getting your hair highlighted at the hairdresser). I also used a Moonshine polishing cloth on the last two pieces to bring get a little more shine.
Copper is a soft metal, great for wiring, not so great where strength is needed. You don't want your necklace to fall off because the clasp let go! Copper pieces can be "work hardened" by tumbling them in an ordinary rock tumbler. It's the same as when you wiggle a can lid back and forth until it breaks off. The metal will bend only so many times before it gets hard and breaks. AND tumbling removes a good part of the oxidation while you can be doing something else, like watching "Judge Judy". I put these pieces in my tumbler along with stainless steel shot, enough water to cover all, and a drop of Dawn liquid detergent. And then tumbled away for 30 minutes. (One TV court show.)
Last thing to do: more tubes and a complete clasp. The problem here will be how to attach the clasp to the braid neatly and look really cool. Fortunately, there is a full day's schedule of TV court shows.
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