Is it possible to harden fine silver enough to use it as jewelry? I
had always thought that silver will tarnish, but that’s because I’d
only seen sterling. What do you know–pure silver doesn’t tarnish!
It stays clean and bright, even after heating.
Is there any way to harden fine silver sufficiently to use as
jewelry? (I figure that if steel can be made harder or softer
depending on how it is heated and cooled, the same may be true of
other metals.)
“Classical Loop-in-Loop Chains” has projects that call for fusing
.999 silver wire into links, and recommends using a kiln for better
control. The kiln looks like a stand holding a mortar bowl and lid.
No indication of how it is heated. What kind of kiln is this, and is
there an inexpensive substitute that can be rigged up at home?
Using a torch instead of a kiln is tricky–it’s harder to hit the
correct fusing temperature. My links are either underheated
(unfused) or overheated (fused but distorted). I’ll probably resort
to soldering the links, but any tips on fusing silver will be
appreciated!
Janet