Hi! I recently made some charms out of fine silver clay, and fired them over a propane flame for around 5 min, after polishing, I realized I was able to easily break off the little hoops I made on the charms, have you had this problem before? I re-fired the pieces and was still able to snap off the loops I made, if you can help that would be great, thank you!
Hi, which clay did you use? Although the packages sometimes say 5 minutes is enough, it often isn't. It sounds like either the clay wasn't fully sintered, or the pieces weren't thoroughly attached. The short answer is it needs to be fired for longer, or pieces more securely attached. (For you or anyone else with questions like this, I have a course that goes into the nuance of what it means to thoroughly fire and how to properly join elements together for a secure hold: bluedotjewelrystudio.podia.com/working-with-silver-clay-101-introductory-course)
A kiln will always give you the strongest results because you can fire for the maximum recommended time of 2 hours. You can begin exploring with a torch, and make personal jewelry, but I recommend a kiln for selling work. Thicker, sturdier designs do better with a torch than delicate ones.
I don’t. The small amount of smoke doesn’t bother me, but if it does you, you could add a goggle style eye protection that forms a seal on your face. I’d say it’s more important to ventilate and keep face, hair, clothing and other flammables out of the way.
Does sterling silver clay always need a kiln? on the back of the “art clay silver” bag, the directions says it’s torch fireable and it’s sterling silver.
The bag is definitely sterling silver? Torch firing is not recommended for Art Clay sterling, as far as I know. You can definitely torch fire Art Clay Silver (not sterling) which is .999 purity.
Hi! I recently made some charms out of fine silver clay, and fired them over a propane flame for around 5 min, after polishing, I realized I was able to easily break off the little hoops I made on the charms, have you had this problem before? I re-fired the pieces and was still able to snap off the loops I made, if you can help that would be great, thank you!
Hi, which clay did you use? Although the packages sometimes say 5 minutes is enough, it often isn't. It sounds like either the clay wasn't fully sintered, or the pieces weren't thoroughly attached. The short answer is it needs to be fired for longer, or pieces more securely attached. (For you or anyone else with questions like this, I have a course that goes into the nuance of what it means to thoroughly fire and how to properly join elements together for a secure hold: bluedotjewelrystudio.podia.com/working-with-silver-clay-101-introductory-course)
I had no idea you couldn't torch fire sterling silver! Omg thank you, you saved me from making a huge mistake!
Phew! I'm so glad!
Is there a reason why we can’t torch sterling silver?
Such a great succinct video that answered so many questions I had. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!
Love your process videos and your work!
That’s so helpful! Thanks so much! What is the blanket material again please? X
I'm glad! I linked to it in the description!
Thank you for making the video. What is the white material under the items being "fired". Thanks
That is a superwool fiber blanket. I have it linked in the video caption. Not all fiber firing blankets are safe - the superwool one is!
Thank you for this! I want to start using metal clay. Is a kiln your preferred method, or in the end is the torch create the same end result?
A kiln will always give you the strongest results because you can fire for the maximum recommended time of 2 hours. You can begin exploring with a torch, and make personal jewelry, but I recommend a kiln for selling work. Thicker, sturdier designs do better with a torch than delicate ones.
@@BlueDotJewelry thank you-- I thought you might say that!
A really useful video. Do you wear goggles when you fire? If so what type. Thanks.
I don’t. The small amount of smoke doesn’t bother me, but if it does you, you could add a goggle style eye protection that forms a seal on your face. I’d say it’s more important to ventilate and keep face, hair, clothing and other flammables out of the way.
How long do you find the pieces take to cool? And do you just allow the time, or quench?
Under five minutes. Much less if the piece is tiny. I just allow the time, but fine silver can be quenched if it contains no stones.
Does sterling silver clay always need a kiln? on the back of the “art clay silver” bag, the directions says it’s torch fireable and it’s sterling silver.
The bag is definitely sterling silver? Torch firing is not recommended for Art Clay sterling, as far as I know. You can definitely torch fire Art Clay Silver (not sterling) which is .999 purity.
Part 2? ✨👀✨