I am interested in the ability of fine silver to fuse to itself. What joints would have to soldered and not fused however? If you were to attach a small component such as a bezel, how would you fuse that without ruining it or would you have to solder? Could I roll a sheet of .999 silver very thing and fuse it with that hoping the small snippet melts first or is it impossible?
You can fuse small or large components without the use of solder. I use larger snippets
of fine silver. Preheat the piece and put the snippet on the area where you want to fuse
it and concentrate the heat on the snippet. Look at my website (johngiovannigoldsmiths.com) and all my pieces are fused, both the fine silver and 24K.
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Lovely pieces and incredibly helpful!
The idea of using a snippet like you’d use solder… How did that never occur to me? Whenever I have fused, I just had the pieces touching, and have not been happy with the resulting mishaping or shrinking. I shall give this another shot with renewed interest!
I have been browsing your website and you mention that there are two ways to harden metals, alloying them or work hardening them. What techniques do you use to harden your rings and pendants? Hammer and then burnish away the hammer marks? I am assuming you then must make the piece thicker then you originally intended to account for the work hardening?
Is the work hardening required for these soft metals? Or is it only necessary for the 24K gold?
When I work Harden my rings, I will make the shank thicker and a little wider than
the finished piece. If I am needing a size 7 ring, I will make the ring a size 4 with the thicker shank, if it is going to be a smooth finish I use my leather mallet to bring the size up.
Thanks!
Love the richness of color in your work. How well do your rings–in particular the fine silver ones–hold up to extended wear?
This is something I’ve been wondering aswell. Which holds up better, fine gold or fine silver? On the one hand, fine silver is harder but on the other fine gold is denser?