PMC ( for your info only)

Awhile back, I asked about experiences with PMC. Not many had
used it. I want to describe my first and only try!

I would begin by establishing that I am a complete novice at
jewelry making and my skills, if any, are limited. I watched the
Rio two hour video on using PMC twice. I then made a simple
cross. It was cut out and thus had no seams to contend with. I
waited two days to cast it and found that It had dried and
crumbled! I reconstituted the clay and made the cross again. I
fired the model with a supposedly accurate kiln for 2.3 hours.
I found:

  1. There were cracks through out the piece.

  2. The cross had not shrunk proportionately. The cross was
    distorted.

  3. I had called Rio and they had assured me that garnets could be
    fired in the clay. Mine had been burned severely.

I am sure all of these errors were of my own doing but I will
not try the stuff again. My point is that it is not as easy to
use as one would believe! I.m back to wax modeling again.
Incidentally, the try cost $27 for an ounce of the silver clay.

Bob B

I tried PMC with a group of people. My pieces in PMC were
mostly flower designs. Since we had limited time we did not let
the PMC pieces dry at all. Two minutes after they were in the
Kiln you could see the vapor coming out. Since we were using a
kiln which was used for enameling the owner of the kiln had
warned all of us not to use any paper mache or foam to make
beads, so all of our pieces were just flat designed pieces.

For my pieces, I used synthetic simulated alexandrites(synthetic
corundum). Some of the other people did use garnet cabs. My
pieces after the firing did turn out to be just great, but the
people who had used garnets did not look good at all(the garnets
turned black).

The second time we tried the PMC material, the PMC pieces got
overheated and some of us got melted PMC(not a pretty sight).
The kiln was not a computerized kiln, and you could not tell what
the exact temperature was.

While modeling the PMC pieces our group kept asking one
question: “If our pieces work out, and we have paid $25.00 per
ounce, at what price should you sell it?”

Since I never sold my piece, I wonder if anyone out there has
any pricing ideas about PMC.

I do plan to use the PMC again, since I am a happy owner of a
computerized kiln. I feel that PMC material would also be great
for people who have never made jewelry, so I am planning to have
a “PMC party”.(start with the relatives first and see how they
react).