Thanks - I ordered the sandblasting equipment and will see how it goes.

Ok - here's an update on the texture wheels - they don't do well on large flat surfaces.  Even with the Flexshaft at max speed, they leave directional lines that reflect the light differently depending on how you turn the piece.  Not the look I was trying to get.  So back to my original question - will bead blasting with ...

Thanks Edmund, I actually have 3 of those texture wheels, but I have the 2 smallest sizes, which don't give a lot of texture, and the biggest one, which, like, chews up the metal.  I did order 2 of the middle sizes and am looking forward to seeing what they will do.  Note to anyone considering these wheels:  DO wear eye ...

I want to get kind of a grainy-matte surface on silver, and I do this on a regular basis with sandpaper in a rolling mill.  However, I want to tumble polish some thicker pieces so that the edges are nice and rounded, and get the same surface on the edges.  Will bead-blasting do this?  I don't want to invest in the equipment if ...

Thanks for the replies - I thought of using a step bezel, except that I don't want a lot of silver bent down around the piece - I just want a small edge around it.   Hadn't thought of trying to file a channel into a piece of square wire - it would have to be a long channel since the pieces are fairly good size.  Is that ...

I need bezel-wire similar to what Rio Grande sells as a Cinch-mount. I am creating pendants of 2 thin pieces of metal pancaked together and they need something surrounding them as an edge, but I don't want to use a regular bezel like you would use with a stone.  The cinch-mounts are exactly what I need, but the ones that they sell ...

Is there any such thing as lead-free (or California-compliant) sheet pewter that can be fabricated like silver ? I have some earrings that I am trying to make something to match. thanks! Robin 

 You can gently wet rattail and the kinks will come out of it (by gently, I mean just dip it in water - not scrub it or wring it out).  It can also be steamed, but wetting it is faster.  Note: the real rattail cord is a rayon/cotton blend.  The other type of satin cord is nylon.  It can be a tad bit more stubborn for ...

 We downloaded an earlier version of this several years ago and found it to be a good tool when looking for ideas for other colors to use with a base color, of for getting past a 'color-block' on a project. 

 Gorgeous micro-macrame work!  Thanks for sharing.