Hello.
I have purchased some metal clay made by Metal Adventures and am
having trouble finding out any info about. Firing temperatures and
other specs required tous it would be really helpful.
Thanks for any help
Phil W
Hi Phil,
Before I answer any of your questions I need to know if you have a
kiln. Also you need a stainless steel container and special charcoal
to fire it. The person who I think has the most experience with
copper is Hadar Jacobson in CA. Her website is www.artinsilver.com.
She sells her own copper clay in a powdered form so you mix it as
needed, but her charts for firing can be used with the already mixed
kind too. Tell me what kind of kiln you have or if you have one and I
can give you the firing shedule.
hope this helps,
Linda Reboh
Phil - There is a website called cooltools.us They have a very good
firing schedule for copper and bronze clay. It is more in depth than
the manufactures own instructions. You can call Rio Grande and they
will be very helpful also. I would just type it up for you but it’s
long.
Have fun
Joy
CopprClay from Metal Adventures is available for purchase from Rio
Grande, as well as Art Clay World, and most likely all of the metal
clay suppliers you would normally buy metal clay from.
Elaine
I am currently using the following firing schedule for COPPRclay, the
Metal Adventures copper clay distributed by Rio Grande. This is not
to be confused with Hadar Jacobsen’s copper powder, which is a
different product and may have a different firing schedule.
I do a two phase firing.
Phase 1: Fire on an open shelf (no carbon) Ramp speed 500, Temp 560,
Hold 15 min.
This initial firing burns out all the binders, which seems to
improve the sintering in the second phase. Pieces will be black and
brittle after this firing.
Phase 2: Place an inch or so of activated coconut charcoal in a
stainless steel pan. Place pieces in pan and cover with at least one
ince of more of the charcoal. I fill the pan to the top. Ramp Full,
Temp 1700, Hold 3.5 hours. Leave in kiln until below 300.
I’m getting excellent results with this schedule. Good luck!
Pam East
FYI There will be a presentation by Pam East as a breakout session
at the Enamelist Society Conference in August.
http://www.enamelistsociety.org.
Pam has been testing copper clay for the manufacturer.
Marianne Hunter
Just out of curiousity, has anyone tried fused glass with a prefired
piece of Copper or Bronze Clay. My idea was to create a bezel out of
the Copper or Bronze Clay, fire it and after burnishing it set some
glass frit in the bezel and then use a fusing schedule for the glass.
Monica
Hi Phil,
I have just purchased copper clay and did my first firing last week.
The following comes from the sheet in my package.
The pieces must be surrounded by activated carbon in a stainless
steel pan. You spread a 1 inch layer on the bottom of the pan, then
place your pieces at least 1/2 inch apart, more if the pieces are
large. Pour more carbon granules on top, making sure there is a 1/2
inch layer between pieces on top. Fill the stainless steel pan to
top, cover and place in the kiln on stilts to allow good heat
circulation.
Firing: For pieces that are 6 cards (3mm) thick or less fire as
follows:
Ramp at full speed to 1650 F. (900 C) and hold for 2 hours. Total
firing time including warm up will be between 2 1/2 and 5 hours.
Firing thick pieces, or if you plan to fire thicker than 3mm or to
enamel fire the following program
Ramp at full speed to 1650 F (900 C) and hold for 3 1/2 hours. Total
firing time including warm up will be about 4 hours. Thin pieces can
also be fired with the thicker ones.
It is recommended to wear a dust mask when handling the carbon
granules. They are available through Rio Grande.
The above info was in my package of Copper Clay when I bought it,
the pieces I made came out quite well, although one piece should have
been sanded more before I fired it. Hope the above helps.
Make sure the pan you use is stainless steel if you think you have
something around the studio. Many stainless steel pans are plated
over something else and the steel can come off the pan making a real
mess of your kiln.
BONNE CHANCE!
Jeanne Rutka
CopprClay is manufactured by Metal Adventures and sold by Rio and
their distributors. It fires with a fast ramp to 1650-1700 for 2-3
hours. The variations are valid if you are firing with enamel, at
which time you’d use the higher numbers. Although I fire at 1700 for
three hours all the time.
Hadar Jacobson developed a different version of Copper Clay and is
selling it as a powder that the end user mixes up as needed. Her
schedule is a bit more labor intensive and involves two firings with
a cool down period in between.
Both versions of copper clay (and bronze clay for that matter)
require a programable kiln, a stainless steel covered dish (called a
‘sink’ in the restaurant industry) and carbon. CopprClay does best
in coconut based carbon. Bronze can be fired in either coconut or
coal based carbon and I’m not sure if Hadar’s clay is effected by
the type of carbon used. Carbon that one buys in a tropical fish
store is not recommended.
Copper clay has only been available for a couple of months and is
still in the experimental stage. I’ve fired 5 loads and not had a
problem with the Metal Adventures/Rio version.
Bill Struve, the inventor and owner of Metal Adventures is great,
helpful and loves e-mails. If you have any other questions you can
contact him at william(dot)struve(at!)gmail.com Of course Rio can
answer all of your questions too.
Hope this helps a little.
Lora
Just out of curiousity, has anyone tried fused glass with a prefired piece of Copper or Bronze Clay.
Might work. Read the article on enameling on CopprClay by Pam East
in the current issue of Art Jewelry Magazine.
Might work. Read the article on enameling on CopprClay by Pam East in the current issue of Art Jewelry Magazine.
Ah… Yes, well. My latest article in AJM is about De-enameling, not
Copprclay enameling. That one hasn’t been published yet. Unless you
have a crystal ball and are looking into the future? LOL!
For the record though, Enamel, which is a form of glass, does bond
with COPPRclay. I will be giving two presentations on this over the
summer. I’m presenting at the Metal Clay World Conference in July and
at the Enamelist Society Conference in Augusts. Here’s info:
http://www.metalclayworldconference.com
http://www.enamelistsociety.org/Activities/Conf2009/Conference2009.html
Hope to see you there!
Pam East