Brass and Copper

Jewelry Discussion
1

Mollie, I hate wroking brass and copper! It is very difficult to
work. I think that it would be better for you in the long run to
do practice pieces in silver. If you have a project that you
aren’t sure how to make, do one in silver to work out the bugs of
the project first then do the final piece. You will learn more
from doing this. Then if you start doing gold you do the same
thing with projects. Build one in silver then go to gold. Keep
all of the old scrap projects for future inspection and
adaptation to new ideas. David

2

David, to me, silver is a precious metal . . . Working in copper
or brass is fun. Gold . . . sheesh, I can’t even imagine doing
that - scary!!!. (Although, I keep hearing how low the prices are
now.)

3 
    Mollie, I hate wroking brass and copper!  It is very
difficult to work.  I think that it would be better for you in
the long run to do practice pieces in silver.

David, (and Mollie)I hate to disagree, but I’m a off/on again
hobbyist who is now starting to work with sterling and
contemplating gold work… my work with copper and brass taught me
the following things… correct me if you disagree!

– piercing and saw control (i.e. Blade breakage)
– sanding comfortably
– soldering blunders and corrections
– forming experiments, (i.e. raising)
– polishing ( getting the right finish is a hard thing to learn)
– metal combinations

I admit, but do not concede, that brass and copper are lower on
the value scale of jewerly work, but there learning value versus
cost are priceless…

For example, I have in my personal budget, 50$ every 2 weeks to
buy sterling… and everything else to ‘experiment’ with… copper
and brass are (pricewise) heavensent when I’m trying a new
idea/concept/application. Well, just my .02 worth Terry

4

Try jewelers bronze. It is not nearly as hard as brass but
harder than copper. It is very cheap and makes nice pieces for
practice!

5

I love working with silver and copper. I hate brass. Silver
and copper seem to have a similar softness to me. I love the
different patinas that can be obtained with copper and the
facility of etching it with ferric chloride. If I were you, I
would try all of them. Don’t limit yourself. Each metal has its
place and use and learning to work with many materials helps
expand your knowledge. In my opinion. Amy

6

Hi, Orchids,

I enjoy all metals!

I use different colour brasses, copper, AL and any other surface
that fits my design, ie, delrin, corian, cork, formica…as
well as sterling and golds.

It is the idea and how it is expressed that is of interest to
me… for me the materials are subservient to this NEED I have to
show my unique way of SEEING and CONNECTING disparate
materials…

I love ORCHID and Orchids,

all the best in all things,

Wm.

New energy tools and earrings are up on my site…check them out…
If we are not linked and you would like to, email me off list and link we shall.

             Mystical Grits
         Wm. Augustus Mason
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864-306-9910 or 864-855-5218

7

Hello all: At Paris Jr. College,we used a mixture of bronze and
brass to do all but a few of our projects,I think they called it
Silicon-bronze.We cast it,set stones in it, Bright cut it,sawed
and fabricated with it. If you can work that stuff you will find
gold a breeze.Most suppliers sell a variety of non precious
metals to experiment with.Silver is usually cheaper.

Michael Mathews Victoria,Texas USA