How To Torch Fire Silver Clay

[@Nytrouse]

For base metal (bronze etc.) clays, the flame is what keeps the oxygen (and oxidation) away. So don't take the flame off the piece, and quench it in water as soon as you take the flame off.

[@cooksongold]

Thanks for the tip :)

[@alltaira5922]

Many thanks for taking the time to do this!

[@cooksongold]

Glad it was helpful!

[@shellymorris3462]

How do you get the melted silver off a firing disc? I think I have ruined the disc.

[@cooksongold]

Sian says: "When you say firing disc do you mean soldering block? For example: www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Soldering-Block-150-X-100-X-25mm-prcode-999-968 When firing silver clay the silver shouldn't ever get to a temperature that it melts as this would mean that the shape you've made would be ruined. If anything silver ever sticks to my soldering block I just wait until it cools and use tweezers to pull it off. Sometimes a bit of the block breaks away but the block is still fine to use."

[@wendyannh]

Great tutorial! It’s so good to learn what it really looks like to go too far. About the size of the piece, though. Can you actually successfully fully torch fire something that thick? Will it actually sinter all the way through? Would you need to turn it over to apply the flame to the other side?

[@SEHjewellery]

Thanks so much! Yes you can really easily fire something this size with a blowtorch ☺️ no need to turn it over just hold the heat for 3 mins once the binder has burnt off

[@justaperson1144]

Well, the melted ball of silver can be cast in a mold or hammered. It isn't a total loss for sure

[@cooksongold]

Great ideas

[@_j3nL]

What blowtorch do you use and what material/block can you fire the clay on?

[@cooksongold]

Sian says: "I just used a hand held blowtorch on a soldering/heatproof brick, I'll link to the page" www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Beginners-Jewellers-Soldering-Kit-With-Blow-Torch,-Borax,-Tweezers,--Soldering-Block,-And-Picklean-prcode-1VP-013 www.cooksongold.com/Precious-Metal-Clay/

[@flyingcheff]

I'm so glad to find this tutorial. Thank you. I have a question: What does it mean when (at :17 you say you "haven't fioed it"? What step is that? I've only just begun learning about PMC.

[@cooksongold]

When you have shaped your clay and let it fully dry you can file it and smooth it, the clay is brittle but easy to file. If there are parts you are unhappy with you can file these into a different shape for example. It is much easier to file and sand the clay at this stage as once fired and solid silver it is solid metal. Find silver clay tools here: www.cooksongold.com/Precious-Metal-Clay/-Range=Tools_%5E_Accessories/-Alloy=0/-Type=0/&prdsearch=y

[@flyingcheff]

@@cooksongold thank you. So, you meant "filed". Ok.

[@YeenBenji]

just a quick reccomendation. could we see more than 1 second of the overmelted. the hard cut after took away from the learning expierience

[@cooksongold]

Yes, we'll do this in future :)

[@holikk]

You said "Not rescuable" but people may get rid of it. It is absolutely rescuable, just not in clay form. It can be casted.

[@cooksongold]

It can be recycled as all precious metals can but not reused in clay form.

[@ernstsaturno]

¡Muchas gracias por los consejos !

[@Trystannenoire]

How to proceed with larger pieces? One spot at a time?

[@cooksongold]

For larger pieces you would need to kiln fire

[@mollymiller3720]

What flame setting are you using? Does it need to be the blue flame?

[@cooksongold]

Yes a blue flame, the hottest part is a bit further away from the actual flame.

[@zakwharton9712]

Hi, I have just purchased some of this and I am wondering about shrinkage, I am trying to do precise friction fit jewellery. Is shrinkage a serious issue, or are there techniques to mitigate this? Thanks in advance.

[@cooksongold]

Sian says: " The general rule I have read is 1 size bigger however this will really depend on the shrinkage of the clay and also the width of the band. You could gently tap the size up on a ring mandrel after firing. If you are going to be making lots of rings I would recommend making some sample pieces that you label with the pre firing size and dimensions plus how long you fired it for and then you can constantly refer back to these when making new time consuming pieces. You could also make your own shrinkage ruler. There is a ruler we sell but again I would create samples from this to double check shrinkage specific to your designs." www.cooksongold.com/Precious-Metal-Clay/PMC-Shrinkage-Ruler-prcode-700-60

[@melissa1077]

hello! for start can i use a kitchen torch?

[@cooksongold]

Hi! Yes you can as long as the torch will go up to around 800 degrees Celsius. Follow the instructions on the pack and make sure you have a safe environment

[@royuu6551]

Are the accessories resistant to perfumes and water like these?

[@cooksongold]

Silver clay is made from fine silver, there are some silver clays made from sterling silver. Tarnishing occurs due to a chemical reaction between the metal surface and substances in the environment, such as oxygen, sulfur, or moisture, resulting in a thin layer of corrosion or discoloration. Whether an alloy tarnishes depends on its composition and the environment it is exposed to.

[@MarciIomeris]

What is the block you are firing on?

[@cooksongold]

Any of these: www.cooksongold.com/category_select.jsp?channel=uk&query=solder+block

[@jayme6189]

Just curious, but what did you do with the blob of melted silver clay? If it's real silver, then there must be something you can do with the melted blob of silver.

[@cooksongold]

Sian says: "I love making blobs into little pebbles as well as hammering them flat and then adding an impressart stamp to the surface. You could also roll the blob out flat using a rolling mill into a piece of sheet silver. You can even draw the silver into wire. Ultimately any silver fine or sterling you can make into anything you like, it's fully recyclable."

[@jeanriley2669]

do you know if you can solder after it's fired as in like 925 silver etc?

[@cooksongold]

Yes you can!

[@borg9355]

What is the heat block/ piece your heating the clay on called?

[@cooksongold]

There's a few to choose from on the website. This is the most popular: www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Soldering-Block-150-X-100-X-25mm-prcode-999-968&query=soldering&channel=uk

[@nopityfac8609]

Do this outside or with great ventilation, silver fumes are toxic

[@cooksongold]

Great advice :) we use a fume extraction unit. Lots of options for these are available on the website: www.cooksongold.com/

[@buttmonkiesdotcom]

Any time your working with melting/smelting, you should wear a respirator and in an open area. Heavy metal poisoning is no fun.

[@mauraronda1265]

What can you do if you really don’t like the finished piece. Can you melt it! What do you do with that blab of silver?

[@cooksongold]

You can melt it and rolling it flat using a rolling mill

[@avaleifson5170]

What is the brick underneath?

[@cooksongold]

www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Soldering-Block-150-X-100-X-25mm-prcode-999-968

[@oxfordmud7268]

Hi I was thinking of melting PMC onto fired stoneware , will it stick like a glaze ? I had the idea that it might be good to fill in cracks or areas on round pieces that I couldn’t glaze because they were resting on the kiln shelf.

[@cooksongold]

Sian says: "Interesting questions and not something I've tried! PMC or silver clay before firing is made up of silver particles with an organic binder, when heated the organic binder burns off and the silver particles sinter together so in this sense it wouldn't melt (unless you heated it to make it melt as silver). When fired the silver clay will shrink so this could mean it wouldn't fill the gap. I think it could be helpful to ask this question on a ceramics forum as there might be someone who has tried this or would have the ceramics knowledge to provide a bit more insight."

[@simplymindgames]

So what can you use that blob of silver for now please ?

[@cooksongold]

You can hammer the silver blob to shape it or use a rolling mill to roll the blob down into sheet silver. Another idea is to make a simple charm: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJK0aKOpj9l-jZY

[@Musikministeren]

what kind of brick are you using...??

[@cooksongold]

www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Soldering-Block-150-X-100-X-25mm-prcode-999-968

[@stephencoster9532]

Hiya, Very good, thank you. But what is Ted's name? Stay safe, Steve...

[@warclassics]

where did you buy your torch?

[@cooksongold]

www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Jewellers-Soldering-Blow-Torch,---Electronic-Ignition,-Max-1,300c---Includes-1x-300ml-Butane-prcode-1VP-054

[@warclassics]

@@cooksongold thank you!

[@R.E.A.L.I.T.Y]

Ceramic clay doesn’t burn. So the “clay” is a synthetic polymer of some kind and Toxic to inhale

[@marcusward7099]

Nope, it's made of silver particles, 'non-toxic organic binder and water' - have you tried Google?