Silver Bee

Silver Bee fights bloom - part two

Welcome back! I know I’m a bad bee for taking so long to write Part 2: “All about polishing”. No excuses. Instead, back to that blooming firestain and how to rid your silver of it. 

In the previous post I wrote about finding firestain/scale on a ring already set with a stone. The stone, an aquamarine, will crack if I try to use depletion gilding to remove the firestain/scale. I had set the ring aside with other projects that hadn’t quite worked out. It would have sat there for some time, except that someone asked about removing firestain/scale after a stone was already set. How serendipitous that I had a ring with that same problem! Is it weird to be excited? I felt compelled to find a solution.

While researching for a solution I discovered much more than just the answer to removing firestain/scale. I found out that not all cutting or polishing compounds are made equal. Manufacturers’ recipes differ so it’s not a simple matter of choosing a colour for the compound.

I decided to try bobbing compound first. I had read and heard it was excellent for removing firestain/scale. But it didn’t work which had me puzzled until I read about the variations of different formulas among what looked like similar types of compounds. The bobbing compound I used was yellow while the compound I heard about is more of a mustard/ochre colour.

Undeterred I tried another compound called XXX White Diamond with a yellow chemkote  (treated muslin) buff. It worked! I then used bristle brushes to get into the area around the bezel setting. Regardless of how much firestain/scale you are dealing with patience is key here. It works but it takes time.

Be mindful of the stone. Cover it with masking tape or a waxy type lubricant. If the silver starts to get warm back off a little. Heat is not a stone’s best friend unless you are trying to change the colour. But that is another subject.

The ring did look good but could it look better? Not really knowing the answer, another  experiment was in order. Using a muslin brush I tried rouge next. It was still looking good. But I had to keep testing having had such success with removing the firestain/scale. Using a chamois brush I tried ZAM, another final polish safe for most stones. The shine was even better.

One thing I noticed during this process were the fine lines left behind by the last sanding of the ring shank. No matter how fine the sandpaper, the fine lines wouldn’t disappear. Asking my instructor, Bryan Taylor, about it brought to light that it doesn’t matter how many times you try to finish the surface, if you keep using the same direction you are only polishing the fine lines rather than removing them. His suggestion was to hold the ring at a 45 degree angle to the brush, polish the entire shank, turn it and continue to polish the shank again. The result was amazing! The fine lines were gone and the ring was left with a jewellery store polish.

This concludes the saga of firestain and the ring. Make sure to wear protection for your eyes and a mask while polishing. Compounds create a lot of dust and you need to keep your lungs safe.

Happy polishing and as always, stay safe!

Silver Bee fights bloom - part one

I took my first soldering class a few years ago. It excited me, and it has become one of the things I love to explore. (I've already mentioned its possibilities several times in previous posts.) The instructor for that first class taught the basics of soldering and concluded with a demonstration of polishing machine technique. The machine was large and intimidating (I was new at it all) so I never took the opportunity to use it. Many times  since I've wished I'd had asked more questions. 

My next instructor, Barrie Edwards, doesn't use polishing compounds as a rule -- "too  messy" -- so I didn't use them either. Everything went into the tumbler. Much of Barrie's jewellery is textured and what isn't...well, she has the touch because it seems to come out just fine and nicely polished. She also has 16 years of experience compared to which I'm a newbie.

Not long ago I was making a ring using a beautiful faceted aquamarine. I had finished setting a stone into the completed ring and felt quite good about it...until the next morning when, under natural light and with rested eyes, I saw firestain on the band. Because I didn't know how to remove firestain from a ring with a stone already set I left it sitting on my bench for a couple of weeks...and weeks.

A bit of explanation: Firestain/firescale is sometimes described as a "reddish purple-toned bloom". Odd description for something that is also referred to as the bain of silversmithing. You might also have heard it described as a light grey or purplish stain. Sterling silver, a copper bearing alloy, oxidizes when heated in the presence of oxygen. If you sustain the  heat for too long after the solder flows you risk turning the oxidation into firestain, not to mention melting the piece. This is why it is important to remove the flame quickly when the solder flows. It is also advisable to flux the entire piece so it will attract oxygen. The flux will get spent if you continue to heat the piece and that's when firestain can happen. However, in my experience if you're making a quick join like a chain link or jump ring total fluxing is not necessary.

Depletion gilding is way of dealing with firestain. Heat the piece to bring the oxides to the surface and then pickle it. Do this several times taking care not to overheat it. Eventually you are left with a thin coating of fine silver on the surface, and as long as you don't vigorously file and polish it the firestain will be taken care of. I have now used this process before and it works well. My discovery of polishing compounds has changed the way I deal with the "bloom". 

This is a serial post. Stay tuned for Part 2: "All about polishing" in a couple of days. I promise. :)

If you have questions I would love to see them posted in the comments. Then we all get to share the answers.

Happy soldering, and stay safe!

Snow casting - another word for fun!

Just when the snow was beginning to get me down it gave me an idea. Snow casting?!?!

What would happen if...? This is a favourite question. All sorts of ideas and possibilities tumble out of it. It's the reason I love working with silver -- it offers so many possibilities!

A 6-litre plastic container packed with snow was brought inside. I had a towel and fire resistant tray set up on the floor but quickly realized it would be awkward. Awkwardness with molten silver is not good. So instead I cleared most of my bench and set the snow packed container on a safe 12" x 12" solderite pad. I decided to use less silver than I would for, say, water casting so I didn't need the largest torch tip either and I didn’t need as much heat. After all it was just an experiment so I intended to try it only a couple of times.

I melted a small amount of scrap silver. It takes time because you are also heating up the crucible, much like pre-heating but with the silver. When it had transformed into a hypnotically beautiful ball of molten silver I moved it over to the bucket as I followed it with the torch.  Still making sure the torch was directed at the silver I poured it from the crucible into the hard-packed snow.

The first pour was disappointing -- just lumps of silver. Hmmm. Maybe the snow was too hard packed. I poked around in it to loosen it up. That made the second pour was much better. But it was the third try that yielded some pretty cool pieces. I wasn't going to stop now. Whoever said that once was enough, or even three times?

I kept melting and pouring silver until much of the snow melted. I added some hot water to speed the melting but not enough to raise the temperature too much. That resulted in snow clumps floating around like little ice bergs, more solid than the snow had been. They made a perfect target for the next pour. The results were very different though it may be difficult to see in the photo. I think that the first drop of the molten silver hit the snow and went as far as it could and all that followed dropped in almost the exact same spot.  My hands must have been very steady! You can see how each bit of silver hardened at different points. I can't imagine just yet if these pieces and the others will be used but until I need the silver for something else they are fun to look at.

If you are going to try this please, please, please, make sure your space is free of any  encumbrances so you can move with the molten silver smoothly. Do the work on a heat-safe base, wear an apron, make sure your clothes are natural fibres and wear full shoes. Much the same safety requirements as the water casting post, in other words.

Of course I can't leave out the photos of the snow casts. The first one is from the third pour and on. The second is a photo is of the trapped-in-ice pieces. The last and my favourite looks like, a Middle Earth creature or a Gila monster or a dinosaur!

Use your imagination!!

Water Casting - According to this Silver Bee

This is a long post...grab a cup of tea, coffee or whatever and relax.

Okay so I've been wearing my earrings made from pieces of silver that I've heated into a molten puddle and poured into a large pail of water and I can't believe the response. I've been asked over and over about how to do it. This is my best guess...maybe not the right word...my best...what the heck...my best guess!

However, first a little lecture on safety. When you are doing any sort of work with a torch wearing natural fibers and close toed shoes is strongly recommended for what I hope are obvious reasons. Next make sure that your hair is tied back, burnt hair is not a pretty smell or look. And while you are outfitting yourself throw in a pair of safety glasses…to actually use. A well ventilated area...oh like...the outdoors… is a must. A safe surface to set the crucible while you are melting the silver. A cookie sheet from the dollar store is not a safe surface! Unfortunately I learned that one the hard way. In the photos you will see I was using a cookie sheet but I've since mended my ways. I would suggest a fire brick or solderite pad. After all this...common sense...which you have to have if you've gotten this far with a torch...I hope. :-)

So you have your torch, it must be hotter than a butane micro torch. I use a propane torch with the largest tip I have. It's often referred to as a Shark torch because I use a disposable propane cylinder but the manufacturer calls it a Whale Torch and you can get a connection for use with a refillable propane tank. Consider your working space first before doing this.

You'll need a crucible with a handle. A little aside...I just found out that the crucibles are made from clay bonded fused silica...well I had been wondering! I use a 7 1/2 oz melting dish with a handle which looks like this...only bigger. Mine doesn't have a pouring lip but I'm sure it would be great if it did.

Next a large bucket of water...the taller the better. I fill it to the top with cold water.

Oh and I guess you'll be needing silver...preferably scrap. I never get upset when a project that I'm experimenting with goes awry because in my books it's just more for the scrap pile. I know not an especially thrifty viewpoint but I have to put a positive spin on my boo boos.

I also use Borax powder which is a component of most fluxes to sprinkle on the silver after it has melted.

One last little safety thing...please make sure that you have enough room to maneuver with the torch, brick, crucible and handle and large bucket of water.

Take a deep breath because we are about to start project "melt down".

Add a small amount of silver to the crucible. You can increase the amount in subsequent melting processes. The crucible will need to heat up before any melting can happen so be patient because the first time will take much longer that you think it should. Don't point the flame directly into the dish, as I found out, you'll starve it of oxygen and poof it's out.

By the way you can click on the thumbnail images and see a larger one...I just discovered this...yes I'm embarrassed.

Keep heating until the silver becomes a round rolling angry ball of bright silver, move the direct flame off the silver for a moment and add some borax powder. Focus the flame again on the silver and when it is molten use a carbon stirring rod or clean solder pick to stir it in. Technically I understand the use of the Borax but I just can't quite think my way entirely through this particular process but that's what I read to do...so I do it! So now you have that round rolling angry ball of silver again. Keep the flame concentrated on it while you move the crucible over the bucket of water. You want to keep the silver molten when you pour. Keeping the flame concentrated on the silver, pour it into the bucket. Voila you have created your first water castings! Congratulations.

Now you can collect your little treasures from the bottom of the bucket. You'll be excited to get at them so remember not to put your arm with the watch into the water or forget how deep the bucket is and have your sleeves go into the water...with the watch. No...not a good idea.

Sort through the pieces and put the rejects back into the crucible...remember it's hot...and add some more silver and you are good to go again. Because the crucible is hot you'll find the melting process with the silver much faster this time.

You will notice that a there appears to be two liquids in the crucible and there are. One of course is the silver and the other is the copper that has separated from what was an alloy. When you pour I've noticed the copper won't interfere and stays behind and coats the crucible. I'm sure that there is a very technical explanation to explain all this but the one I'm going with is...copper comes to the surface of sterling silver when you heat it creating oxidation. I'm guessing that prolonged exposure to the heat brings the most of the copper to the surface.

A few others observations about water casting:

1. If you don't keep the torch concentrated on the silver when pouring you will end up with a big ugly, in my opinion, lump of silver.
2. If you hold the crucible very close to the surface of the water and pour quickly you are more likely to get the 'splats' and the 'water bubbles'. This is what I'm looking for...anything else goes back into the melting pot.
3. If you hold the crucible a bit above the water you will most likely see long needle like pieces of silver. Attractive and useful for some designs...but not mine.
4. The ambient temperature makes a difference as well...so a warm day brings different results than a cold day.
5. Some people have suggested using Ice cubes in the water...maybe I did not add enough but all it did for me was to make for very cold water when retrieving the silver.

All of these photos are in the photo album but I thought that it would be nice to have a visual as you were reading.

One last note...I can't guarantee the results and these instructions are derived from my own experience with water casting not a formal source. Have fun with it and bee safe! :-)

I'd love to hear your questions or hear about your experience with the process, so post a comment or email me...with photos would be great, but not necessary. I'll do collective post of the results!