Thermite type of fusing capability

hello all,

I’m still looking for a thermite Type of fusing capability for .999
Silver. I want to make a moldable paste and use point appropriate
amounts of it to fuse tack sculptural fineSilver together.

my current flame is to big and cold to get fire where I want it, as
I want it.

soldering is not an option.

fusion is essentially a matter of site temperature. the rest is the
Art.

I’m thinking magnesium filings might do the trick.

much safer and predictable than thermites.

I’m researching now for notes, and plan on experiments by this
weekend.

I’ve used magnesium in the past, and here in Alaska, it is a
necessary and effective survival item for starting wet fires in the
bush.

do not even try thermites in studio!

they will burn you down or worse.

thanks,
Jim

Hi Jim,

A guy I used to work for used a smallish oxy-acet welding tip to
weld thick (.200") sections of sterling presentation sculptures
together.

Tricky, but it worked. The trick was to get the flame hot as hell,
get a lot of thick paste flux into the area, and then get in, melt
your target, and get back out again fast, before the heat had time to
migrate anywhere. As I recall it, he didn’t do running seams, just
spots. If he needed a running weld, he’d do it in chunks.

As I said, it was tricky, but I can’t imagine a silver thermite
would be any less tricky. (Orders of magnitude more tricky, at a
guess.)

The tip was something like a 0 or a 00. A for-real steel tip, not a
jeweler’s tip.

FWIW,
Brian