Thanks Andrew ! You are perfect ! My English is not so good and however I can understand every explanation because you speak very clearly. Best teacher never met before !
Quick tip: instead of using size as the measurement for matching silver scrap pieces, use weight to measure them. :-) If you measure by weight on a scale it is easier to snip odd-sized pieces down to matching size, and you can be certain the ball sizes will be the same with much better accuracy. Thank you for your amazing tutorials, I appreciate all the incredible work you do! Your enthusiasm for goldsmithing is inspiring.
A quality tutorial, covers what you need to know and covers it without extraneous chit-chat, which I appreciate (your mileage, of course, may vary!). Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Andrew Berry!
Thank you for the wonderful videos you share with us. You do an exceptional job. I also apologize for an email I sent you a few years ago that was unfounded. I am always very impressed with your presentations
Really appreciate you making these type of videos and sharing your knowledge. Wanted to know if I use this technique to make 5mm diameter perfectly round 9ct balls for stud earrings.
Hi Andrew, anyone? Would you polish these small solid gold balls in a tumbler? how would I polish them if I don't own a tumbler? mine look like sandpaper surface!
I thought I'd be smart and use a very small graphite brickette 2"x 2" x 0.5". The burr cuts were beautifully smooth. It took 5 mins. to melt a batch of 20 balls (with a MAP torch going flat out. I had to wait for the Graphite block to redden before the blobs turned to balls. Big waste of MAP gas but I'm lernin'.
Hi Andrew. Thank you for your generosity of showing us so many interesting things. I do have a question. Each time I am making a sterling silver ball, while is red hot is looking very nice but when gets cold is like collapsing in itself. And the result is very ugly. I am using a charcoal block as surface and a air/propane torch. I make coils of 0,8 mm silver wire and then I cut them into jump rings. These jump rings I am melting in balls. Also when I am making silver ball pins many times the balls are nice but sometimes, again, when cools down the ball is like is collapsing in itself. The result is same no matter if I flux or not. Very unreliable. Can you provide some advice? Thank you again. Wish you a Happy New Year.
Blue Line What happens if you just melt the silver on a flat surface? How deep are the holes in the charcoal? They only need to be slightly hollowed out.
Hi. Thank you for your answer. I see how late it is. Sorry for keeping you busy. I know how precious is your time. I really appreciate your help. The holes are shallow. I was using a round bur to make them.Deep like a third of the diameter of the ball. The problem is same on flat surface. While is red hot the ball is round and nice and is spinning fast. When it starts cooling the ball is "deflating" in a very ugly way and the surface is all crinkled with deep holes. Is like the Moon surface. I realizing now that this is happening if the diameter of the ball is bigger then 1 mm. is same if I am making a ball for granulation or a ball pin. If the diameter is bigger then 1 mm the result is very ugly. If I flux or I do not flux, is same. No difference. All my silver come from Cookson as well as all my tools. Cookson and Cousins are my main suppliers. I bought EZ Torch after I watched your review. I also bought Durston mill and many tools, most after your explanations and review. I am very happy with my purchase. :) What is shame is that I am able to make rings, pendants, to mount stones and such...with no problem but I still have issues with granulation and I do not know why. Is a bit ironic I know ;) Thank you for your time. You are a true teacher.
Blue Line it may be that the silver is getting too hot and 'boiling'. Try just gently heating until it is just molten and then try remove the flame slowly away.
Yes I will do this Andrew. Thank you. Maybe I am waiting too much to see the balls perfectly round. I was planning to try some Bali style bead caps and granulation is a must. I hope it will be fine now. Thank you again for your support and for your time.
OK, I did it. Works perfect. :) I do remove the flame much faster now. I do not wait to see the ball spinning. The result is great each time. And consistent. I did 20 pcs is no time. Thank you Andrew :)
Enough! ;) That would be too traumatic to watch. But seriously, as usual make sure all the parts are clean and flux/solder the same as soldering any other small part. Have your pick at the ready and heat very gently so until the flux has set. Experiment, you'll learn a lot. Good luck!
HiCould you please recommend the right surface that keeps the temperatures while melting silver and doesn’t brake?I bought two boards ( ceramic) specially for that purpose and both simply cracked when I heated silver placed on them.Thank you
It even works on alloys like bronze or nickel silver. You need to be more careful about oxidation, and melting point is higher, but the principle is the same: surface tension.
Thanks Andrew ! You are perfect ! My English is not so good and however I can understand every explanation because you speak very clearly. Best teacher never met before !
Andrew you are one of my favourite tutors. Thanks ❤😊
You are my favorite youtube teacher , thank you for all the knowledge, really appreciate it
Quick tip: instead of using size as the measurement for matching silver scrap pieces, use weight to measure them. :-) If you measure by weight on a scale it is easier to snip odd-sized pieces down to matching size, and you can be certain the ball sizes will be the same with much better accuracy. Thank you for your amazing tutorials, I appreciate all the incredible work you do! Your enthusiasm for goldsmithing is inspiring.
A quality tutorial, covers what you need to know and covers it without extraneous chit-chat, which I appreciate (your mileage, of course, may vary!). Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Andrew Berry!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! of all the impossibilities of finding unusual topics on UA-cam, I found EXACTLY what I was looking for!
Thank you for the wonderful videos you share with us. You do an exceptional job. I also apologize for an email I sent you a few years ago that was unfounded. I am always very impressed with your presentations
Invaluable Andrew!!!! Thank you!!!!❤
Great technique thank you, ordering my charcoal soldering block now!
You can also make a coil of jump rings to use to make consistently sized granules!
You can also use a tiny hole-punch on thinly milled sheets of gold!
Please please show me how to solder multiples of these on already rounded ring. Thank youuuu
Great video, so helpful,
. I am finding that the balls stay silver on the bottom where they are in the hole, but are very black on top. Any ideas?
Are you using sterling silver if so it's fire scale. You are better using fine silver then you won't get fire scale and the ball will be silver.
Really appreciate you making these type of videos and sharing your knowledge. Wanted to know if I use this technique to make 5mm diameter perfectly round 9ct balls for stud earrings.
Fantastic. Thanks!
one question, was the charcoal block you used to drill into, a "hard' or 'soft' block?
Great video, thanks so much!!!
Thanks Andrew! Great tip!
Thank you
Hia, can you do the same with brass?
Very good ideas, thank you.
Hi Andrew, anyone? Would you polish these small solid gold balls in a tumbler? how would I polish them if I don't own a tumbler? mine look like sandpaper surface!
A Dremel, flex shaft or just use progressively finer Emery paper until you get a shine
Can you melt 925 silver using a regular butane torch? or do you need an oxygen setup?
I thought I'd be smart and use a very small graphite brickette 2"x 2" x 0.5". The burr cuts were beautifully smooth. It took 5 mins. to melt a batch of 20 balls (with a MAP torch going flat out. I had to wait for the Graphite block to redden before the blobs turned to balls.
Big waste of MAP gas but I'm lernin'.
Hi Andrew. Thank you for your generosity of showing us so many interesting things.
I do have a question. Each time I am making a sterling silver ball, while is red hot is looking very nice but when gets cold is like collapsing in itself. And the result is very ugly.
I am using a charcoal block as surface and a air/propane torch. I make coils of 0,8 mm silver wire and then I cut them into jump rings. These jump rings I am melting in balls.
Also when I am making silver ball pins many times the balls are nice but sometimes, again, when cools down the ball is like is collapsing in itself. The result is same no matter if I flux or not. Very unreliable. Can you provide some advice?
Thank you again. Wish you a Happy New Year.
Blue Line What happens if you just melt the silver on a flat surface? How deep are the holes in the charcoal? They only need to be slightly hollowed out.
Hi. Thank you for your answer. I see how late it is. Sorry for keeping you busy. I know how precious is your time. I really appreciate your help.
The holes are shallow. I was using a round bur to make them.Deep like a third of the diameter of the ball. The problem is same on flat surface. While is red hot the ball is round and nice and is spinning fast. When it starts cooling the ball is "deflating" in a very ugly way and the surface is all crinkled with deep holes. Is like the Moon surface. I realizing now that this is happening if the diameter of the ball is bigger then 1 mm. is same if I am making a ball for granulation or a ball pin. If the diameter is bigger then 1 mm the result is very ugly.
If I flux or I do not flux, is same. No difference.
All my silver come from Cookson as well as all my tools. Cookson and Cousins are my main suppliers. I bought EZ Torch after I watched your review. I also bought Durston mill and many tools, most after your explanations and review. I am very happy with my purchase. :) What is shame is that I am able to make rings, pendants, to mount stones and such...with no problem but I still have issues with granulation and I do not know why. Is a bit ironic I know ;)
Thank you for your time. You are a true teacher.
Blue Line it may be that the silver is getting too hot and 'boiling'. Try just gently heating until it is just molten and then try remove the flame slowly away.
Yes I will do this Andrew. Thank you. Maybe I am waiting too much to see the balls perfectly round. I was planning to try some Bali style bead caps and granulation is a must. I hope it will be fine now.
Thank you again for your support and for your time.
OK, I did it. Works perfect. :) I do remove the flame much faster now. I do not wait to see the ball spinning. The result is great each time. And consistent. I did 20 pcs is no time.
Thank you Andrew :)
Can I use this technique with Argentium Silver?
I think I’ve asked before but the magnifiers brand is?¿. Please
Optivisor is one brand. There may be others that are cheaper but not as good quality.
Do you know how to solder a small silver ball on top of a rounded ring? I've tried every way I can think of. No luck.
Make the balls smaller so they won’t be dragged off by gravity
WHAT IS THE NAME OF PICKLING SOLUTION ❓❓❓
Is there a video you've done on soldering the balls? Thankyou!
Enough! ;) That would be too traumatic to watch.
But seriously, as usual make sure all the parts are clean and flux/solder the same as soldering any other small part. Have your pick at the ready and heat very gently so until the flux has set. Experiment, you'll learn a lot. Good luck!
Is there a limit on diameter eg 3 cm? Thanks.
HiCould you please recommend the right surface that keeps the temperatures while melting silver and doesn’t brake?I bought two boards ( ceramic) specially for that purpose and both simply cracked when I heated silver placed on them.Thank you
A charcoal block is the best
Thank you so much ;-) !!!
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Thank you :))))
💫💯
Does any metal turn into a ball? Say copper or zinc...
It even works on alloys like bronze or nickel silver. You need to be more careful about oxidation, and melting point is higher, but the principle is the same: surface tension.
lost me with puk welding video
perfect!
Thank you