Granulation Question

To all of you how answered my question about fine silver
granulation, THANK YOU!! I appreciated the response, time and
Nina

Hello all,

In addition to my interest in jewelry making, I’m also a Viking-era
re-enactor. I have seen a number of granulated pieces attributed to
the Vikings.

One piece, from Birka, Sweden (and thought to be of Eastern European
origin) is a granulated/filligreed tip for a hat. The hat resembles
a “Santa Claus” hat and the tip is cone-shaped and was attached to
the end of the point of the hat. In essence it is a
filligreed/granulated cone. I have just started to play around a bit
with granulation and can’t figure out how the granules are held to
the curved surfaces until fused since there is nothing holding them
on when the glue/flux solution burns off. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Chris
In Rainy Ketchikan

    can't figure out how the granules are held to the  curved
surfaces until fused since there is nothing holding them on when
the glue/flux solution burns off. 

Chris, I’ve wondered the same thing. The Orchidian to ask is Randy
Smith, because a large part of his website is all about granulation.
Check out this clasp made by Jean Stark:

Randy has taken her classes, so he may know how it’s done. I don’t
know how to contact Randy directly, though.

Janet

If you coat the granules in copper first, the fine layer of copper
will actually assist in hanging on to the curved surface.

Make a solution of pickle, and throw a piece of steel. Steel wool
works nicely. Arrange your little granules with the “glue”, I use
15 drops of distilled water, 3 drops of Hide Rabbit Glue and 2 drops
of Batterns Flux. The copper coating is called a eutectic bonding.

The copper coating is very important, or those little granules hop
off like frogs on a hot plate.

Look at our own Ganoksin Library,

Good luck!

Karen Christians
M E T A L W E R X
50 Guinan St.
Waltham, MA 02451
Ph. 781/891-3854 Fax 3857
http://www.metalwerx.com/
Jewelry/Metalarts School & Cooperative Studio

Hi All: I’ve done some vertical granulation (there is a pair of
Gold Earrings on my Gold Granulation page --(www.elegantinsects.com
) as well as on curved surfaces. The trick is to work on very
small areas at a time and to work quickly, and be very careful not
to move the piece in any way. I don’t know the scientific
explanation, but I do know that the granules don’t just fly off once
the hide glue burns off. I suspect that some kind of surface tension
remains. It is difficult and can require many repeat applications
of the granules before it is all complete. A real challenge! But
very satisfying once it is done.

Sandra
elegantbee@aol.com

When granulating on a curved surface, the flux takes over holding
the granules as the glue burns off. If your mixture is not correct,
it can cause problems. Usually I use 10 drops distilled water, 2
drops batterns flux, 1 drop hide glue. I will increase the glue to 2
drops if the granules are large.

Ronda Coryell
Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts