Here's to 2009 and the political month of January:
Crest
Culmination
Coronation
These delicate, sterling circlets measure less than 3mm tall. Again, these are still oxidized and firescaled from the flame. I ordered my polishing compound today. Of course I'll post them again when they are all shiny and new.
Did you know that Sterling silver is marked .925 because the silver is combined with another .075 of any other alloy? Often the other alloy is copper. (When it's nickel your skin might tell you. This is why you are baffled when one Sterling ring irritates you but another one doesnt.) When the oxygen heats the metal it changes at the molecular level and the draw is often reflected on the surface. Firescale is not loved by perfectionists, however, that same process if useful when metal is overworked and becomes too brittle. When you stress it at same place over and over, it eventually breaks. Melt those two pieces of metal back together, and the molecular structure becomes strong once again. At this point the metal can be reworked. (This is called annealing---and yes, it happens in the glass world, too.)
I like the irregular, natural look of firescale and will likely keep it on some pieces for aesthetic reasons. Here is the ultimate example of firescale. I almost melted this thick sterling ring into a pile at 3 this morning. Frustrated, I couldn't get the hard silver solder to run. I did get to see melted silver skate across the surface, so that was cool. Guess I'll have to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I'm using a different gas at home and a different solder so there's much to work out yet. I still think it's pretty.
Crest
Culmination
Coronation
These delicate, sterling circlets measure less than 3mm tall. Again, these are still oxidized and firescaled from the flame. I ordered my polishing compound today. Of course I'll post them again when they are all shiny and new.
Did you know that Sterling silver is marked .925 because the silver is combined with another .075 of any other alloy? Often the other alloy is copper. (When it's nickel your skin might tell you. This is why you are baffled when one Sterling ring irritates you but another one doesnt.) When the oxygen heats the metal it changes at the molecular level and the draw is often reflected on the surface. Firescale is not loved by perfectionists, however, that same process if useful when metal is overworked and becomes too brittle. When you stress it at same place over and over, it eventually breaks. Melt those two pieces of metal back together, and the molecular structure becomes strong once again. At this point the metal can be reworked. (This is called annealing---and yes, it happens in the glass world, too.)
I like the irregular, natural look of firescale and will likely keep it on some pieces for aesthetic reasons. Here is the ultimate example of firescale. I almost melted this thick sterling ring into a pile at 3 this morning. Frustrated, I couldn't get the hard silver solder to run. I did get to see melted silver skate across the surface, so that was cool. Guess I'll have to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I'm using a different gas at home and a different solder so there's much to work out yet. I still think it's pretty.
1 comment:
I was just catching up on all of my blogs. It's been a long time since I've read them all. You never cease to amaze me with your creativity and talent. You're gonna be famous some day....and I'll get to say that I'm your friend. :o)
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