Silver

Hi all.
I have been with the forum for a few weeks now. It seems to be
baised towards the jewellery/gem trade. Are there any folks out
there that are involved with silver/ silversmithing or makers of
jewellery not using percious stones. Personally there are a lot
of things I would like to discuss in relation to silver such as
finishing silver and people’s ideas for dealing fire strain on
silver.

Richard
UK

In a message dated 97-01-05 09:38:49 EST, you write:

Hi all.
I have been with the forum for a few weeks now. It seems to be
baised towards the jewellery/gem trade. Are there any folks out
there that are involved with silver/ silversmithing or makers of
jewellery not using percious stones. Personally there are a lot
of things I would like to discuss in relation to silver such as
finishing silver and people’s ideas for dealing fire strain on
silver.

Richard
UK

You ust described my work. But I am a novice in the learning stages.
Check out the Orchid Archives for a great discussion on fire scale.

Candy

Richard,

Guess I’m at a minority here since all I work is holloware and
flatware. Perhaps any expertise I might have is not relevant to
the postings here.

Jim Waggener

Hi, my name is Lloyd, I do silversmithing, mostly making chain
and pendents, using a lot of turquoise. Am real aquented with
fire scale. I live in AZ. and do a lot of craft shows. Where are
you from. Lloyd

It is my guess that there are probably alot of silversmiths
"lurking" here - I myself am one of them. If you have a
question, just ask! :slight_smile: We’ll come out of the woodwork if we can
help!

Amy Hale
@Amy_Hale

I have been with the forum for a few weeks now. It seems to be
baised towards the jewellery/gem trade. Are there any folks out
there that are involved with silver/ silversmithing or makers of
jewellery not using percious stones. Personally there are a lot
of things I would like to discuss in relation to silver such as
finishing silver and people’s ideas for dealing fire strain on
silver.

Richard I find boracic acid good mix with water to a paste then
brush over any surfaces that could get to hot. Its also a great
flux sulpheric acid 1 to 6 will remove any residue. This is all I
use for flux now its also great for protecting diamonds best
wishes Gerald

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  • Arrowtown    Opals & Jewellery 
    
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  • Ph 64 3 4421288 Fax 64 3 4421488   
    
  • http://www.netprophet.co.nz/nzsi/opals.htm
    

Hi Richard,

Welcome to the forum!

Are there any folks out there that are involved with silver/
silversmithing or makers of
jewellery not using percious stones.<<

I’d bet the majority of folks here where in your position at one
time or another, a lot of us still are. Don’t let that bother
you, we’re all here to learn & help one another. The only ‘dumb’
question (no guarentee there won’t be dumb answers (bg)) is the
one you don’t ask.

Dave

Hi, Richard:

There are a lot of us that work in silver. Ask any questions you
want and we’ll get a discussion going.

Welcome. Gayle

Hi Richard,
Yes, there are those of us who work only in metals and have to
deal with firescale and polishing. I myself, don’t work with
many stones, and often my pieces are more of a social statement
than a “pretty piece of jewelry”. I do make that kind too. I
like to use a brass brush finish on my sterling - also patination
using liver of sulphur. If you have any questions , would be
glad to help, as much as I can— There are lots of very
talented and masterful people on this list.

Joan,

   There are a lot of us that work in silver. Ask any
questions you want and we'll get a discussion going.

Though I mostly use sterling to make casting master models (don’t
have to worry about fire scale <) I did have some early
training in hammer forming and raising, so I’d be interested in
any sil I do occasional pieces in sterling for my wholesale line
(I found a caster in RI that gets them bombed for me) and every
so often get roped into a commission piece in sterling.

Rick Hamilton

Richard D. Hamilton Jr.
Goldsmith
<http://rick-hamilton.com
@rick_hamilton

Candyce05@aol.com wrote:

Hi all.
I have been with the forum for a few weeks now. It seems to be
baised towards the jewellery/gem trade. Are there any folks out
there that are involved with silver/ silversmithing or makers of
jewellery not using percious stones. Personally there are a lot
of things I would like to discuss in relation to silver such as
finishing silver and people’s ideas for dealing fire strain on
silver.

Hi Candyce,
I don’t use a lot of stones. I like metal to be important by
itself. I can and do use stones as accents and there are always
the stones that I fall in love with and do design around but I
don’t feel as if the stones are the reason for making a piece of
jewelry.
Marilyn Smith

Richard,

I see you’re a New Englander. I’m a goldsmith located in New
Hampshire and just opened a retail store. Where are you and
what is your wholesale line like? I’d like to visit sometime.

Sharon Ziemek
GoldStones, Inc.
Stratham, NH
e-mail: austones@ultranet.com

Dear Candyce,
I’m mainly a goldsmith, but I work alot in silver as well.
Unless you really like to polish on a big machine with lots of
tripoli, firescale is a losing battle, especially if you’re in
it to make money. I finally broke down and bought a flow-through
tumbler and it gives the silver a pretty decent finish above the
firescale layer.

Richard wrote:

I have been with the forum for a few weeks now. It seems to be
baised towards the jewellery/gem trade. Are there any folks out
there that are involved with silver/ silversmithing or makers of
jewellery not using percious stones. Personally there are a lot of
things I would like to discuss in relation to silver such as
finishing silver and people’s ideas for dealing fire strain on
silver.

Richard:

Appearances can be deceiving. I think there has been a lot of
lurking around here. I work almost exclusively with sterling,
brass / bronze and semi-precious stones. To deal with firescale I
use deoxidized sterling casting grain for cast pieces. For
constructed pieces I buff the firescale off (yeach). I am
considering using fine silver for some of the constructed work we
do. I am not sure if it will be strong enough, I’ll have to
experiment and see. Eventually I think there will be a deoxidized
sterling sheet and wire available, but I am not aware of any
source for that yet.

“All that glitters isn’t gold”

There is usually quite a bit of discussion about silver on this
list. I think many of us have been suffering from the
HOLIDAYS” which causes a sort of “firescale” to form on the
brain. Don’t give up on the list, todays solutions give rise to
tomorrow’s problems.

Kenneth Gastineau
@Kenneth_Gastineau1

   A Eventually I think there will be a deoxidized sterling
sheet and wire available, but I am not aware of any source for
that yet.

There is a 1% beryllium silver alloy That would be great for
fabrication. No firescale- designed for containers, you form it,
and solder allowing it to air cool at each stage. After you are
finished, heating it and quenching hardens it. If memory serves
it was made by a supplier in Great Britain.

Rick Hamilton

Rick wrote:

There is a 1% beryllium silver alloy That would be great for
fabrication. No firescale- designed for containers, you form it,
and solder allowing it to air cool at each stage. After you are
finished, heating it and quenching hardens it. If memory serves
it was made by a supplier in Great Britain.

Rick Hamilton

Rick:

Do you know if there is a supplier in the U.S.? Have you ever
worked with it?

Kenneth Gastineau
@Kenneth_Gastineau1

   A Eventually I think there will be a deoxidized sterling
sheet and wire available, but I am not aware of any source for
that yet.

:-o!!! Hi Everyone! I’ve been lurking for so long I don’t
remember if I introduced myself–but with all this talk about the
dreaded FIRESCALE I had to delurk! I’ve been working with silver
for about 3 years now and LOVE IT! I usually work with metal
only, occasional I accent with stones. Recently, I’ve been doing
some small sculpture work so reading the list has been very
interesting. But back to the “F” word–the only thing I’ve ever
used when soldering is Handy Flux which I think is Borax. Is this
similar to Boracic Acid? If not can they be used together? I
file and sand and polish and polish(and sometimes make more work
for myself in the process)and I’ve been told that this "IS THE
ONLY WAY " to get rid of firescale. Still, I keep hoping that
there is a “BETTER” way(I never believe everything I hear!). BTW,
this is a great list! I’m looking forward to being a part of it .
Kathie

The only dumb question is the one you don’t ask!

925 on silver is the numerical way to say Sterling. The 925
indicates 925 parts of silver per 1000 parts of finished product
weight. In other words, 92.5 % silver.

If you see the same numbering scheme on gold, it’s the gold
content of the finished piece. 417, 10K; 500, 12K; 584, 14K; 750,
18K; 917, 22K; 1000, 24K.

Generally the number system is used on items madde outside the
US.

Dave

Thanks to all about the silver stamping!

Sharon

Somehow I knew you would say that! I have always worked in gold
and am familiar with the stampings involved their but I usually
avoid silver. It tarnishes if I even look at it. I was trying
to fix a necklace (simple job) which was stamped 925 and even the
slightest bending of a link to open it up and they broke. Do you
always have to anneal silver that has been formed into chain
before working on it? > Sharon