ACS Work Tips

[Metalman]

GOLD ART CLAY - 4/26/2004
The Art Clay Gold can be used in thin layers on the Silver.  Thin the Art Clay Gold down with water and use it as a thin paste on the surface of the Art Clay Silver.  This works pretty well but use a thin layer, if you make it too thick, it kind of forms a crusty surface [kind of cool but may not be your first choice]. The problem is that Art Clay Gold fires at 1800°F for an hour.  That's lots hotter then the silver clay fires at.  Thin layers on the surface of the silver will bind in fine.
It has been asked if you can mix the 2, I think you will 'lose' the gold into the silver but a small experiment might be in order.  With the thin layering you can do little accents on you silver - the gold won't oxidize so it will show well if you patina your piece

[Metalman]

5/26/2004 USING SCRAP SILVER
 Okay, so you have been working for a while now and you are starting to have a pile of fired silver pieces that didn't really work out.  What to do?
There are a number of low level casting techniques which you could work out. Carve a design in a charcoal block, put your scrap in, melt it and press a second piece of charcoal down on it to press the molten metal out into your low relief carving - this will give you a relief piece in silver. There are a number of other methods and approaches including cuttlefish molds, sand casting and water casting.  A great reference for further info and details is the TIm McCreight book: The Complete Metalsmith [R&T cat # 62-010].  I highly recommend this book to any one working with jewelry and metals, its a great source of help and inspiration.

[Metalman]

tip for 2/28/03  Empty syringe use
Okay - you bought a syringe and had a great time using it up and now it's empty.  

[Metalman]

Work tip for 5/5/03 - Finishing Metal Clay
Okay, you’ve started with your ACS and that first project is dry but not fired yet. At this point, I do a round of finish work before I fire, then I fire and touch up my finish work and do the polishing – I have found I can get a very satisfactory with just a polish cloth [like R&T cat #63-537].
You can sand, carve and burnish your Art Clay work before you fire it.  I'ts much easier to do it now when it is in this sort of dry, plasticky state than it is to do it after it has been fired and is metal. You can burnish the surface, especially if you are thinking to have a high polish in certain areas.  Burnishing and sanding out to about 1500 grit will give you a good finish.  You can get sanding sticks at your local cosmetics supply. A good store will be able to tell you the grits.  I don’t use anything much coarser than 400 grit because the clay in its unfired state is soft and somewhat brittle.  If you like carving you can use wood cut tools on the clay – I have made some really nice rings this way. When you are carving or burnishing, make sure that the piece is well supported, it can crack or break at this stage.

To get a good finish you will want to sand in successively finer grits, making sure that all of the marks from the previous grit are sanded out with the finer grit.  There is no more efficient way to do the finish work then going carefully through the grit stages. So I start at 320, then go to 400, 600, 1000, 1200 or 1500 – I can usually hand polish at this point.

The most important thing about a well-finished piece is consistency of the finish.  This means that it could be a scratchy looking finish but it should have a deliberate, intended surface quality.

[Metalman]

Tip for 7/15/2003 - Firming up your work.  
When you make a piece you can burnish it before you fire it.  This refines the surface and a couple of rounds of burnishing and sanding will refine the surface and allow you to get a higher polish. After you fire, burnishing will continue to refine the surface but will have the added effect of hardening your piece abit - this can be important for pieces which will be under stress.  Another way to strengthen a piece is to tumble it in an tumbler with stainless steel shot.  You probably won't want to use abrasives on Art Clay because there is a good chance they will grind the piece away.  

What are we doing with all this burnishing and tumbling?  Art Clay Silver is made up of 1 to 20 micron size grains of fine silver.  When it fires, it is microscopically like a suger cube, with all that air and space between the granules.  When we burnish, we are pushing those grains closer together which adds strength as well as making them closer together so that the finish is more refined.  Tumbling with the shot is like a zillion small hammers all over the piece. Again, this strengthens the piece by 'work hardening' it.

[Metalman]

Work tip for 9/10/03  Combining silver with Art Clay Silver.
If you want to strengthen aspects of your work when you are using ACS, you can add wire and other parts like jump rings.  When you are using regular ACS [firing at 1470 for 1/2 hr] you need to use fine silver parts, pieces or wire.  Fine silver differs from sterling silver.  Sterling has 7.5% copper in it. When this is fired without flux, it oxidizes causing an effect metalsmiths call firescale. So you need to use pure silver which is called Fine Silver.
Now to complicate things. If you use the Art Clay 650, [firing at 1200 for 1/2 hr], the manufacturer says you can use sterling silver instead of fine silver.   I have done this and its works but you still get firescale on the silver[black oxidation on the copper content].  One thing I do is carefully coat the entire surface of the silver with a thin layer of Art Clay paste - this keeps it from silver from oxidizing in the firing. It also helps it match the rest of the art clay piece.

 

[Metalman]

Bezel Work tip   9/22/03
I have received inquiries about silver solder which lead to this discussion on bezels. The temperature ranges for silver solder are from 1270 F [681 C] to 1490 F [809 C]. These temperatures are too high to use with glass.  The traditional way to set stones or the glass object].  Once the base and the bezel are fitted up and finished out, you would place your stone or glass in and careful push the bezel over around what your are mounting.  In mounting process, there is the possible hazard of cracking the inset piece.  This bezel method is workable, but will take some skill and practice to get to the point where you can do it reliably. If you have jeweler friends you may want to discuss this with them.
Another approach is to use Art Clay Silver.  You would be able to build a base for your piece and mount the bezel with out doing any silver soldering [which is a skill in itself.] You take fine silver bezel wire and fit it slightly larger then the piece you wish to inset.  Oil Paste is best for firing the ends of the bezel wire together. Then you clean up and finish the bezel after firing it and set it into your ACS piece. After you have fried and checked and finished out your piece, you mount your inset by carefully pushing the bezel over the inset. If you have or get Art Clay Project Book 2, project four on page 19 shows you the bezel work. { Art Clay Book 2, R&Tcat # 62-329]
To fire the Art Clay products you would need a small butane torch or a gas stove burner or a gas powered barbecue or a computer controlled kiln. For silver soldering you need a torch and the type is driven by the size of the work you are doing There is further info regarding bezels in the 'Jewel Setting', 'PMC' and 'Torch Firing' strings of the Art Clay Forum.

[Metalman]

Moisture Concerns 5/21/2004
Art Clay, as with all metal clays and any water-based clay, dries out as you are working.  
Ahhh..!.!  yes the moisture considerations. Where you live can really effect the clay.  If you live in an area of low humidity, this can have significant effects on your clay workability. at least temporarily] the clay.  Keeping the oil on you fingers maintained, you should be able to work with the clay now.  

Miscellaneous notes: a] Plan your work before you get the clay out, this will help you work quickly when you unwrap the clay and it starts drying. b] We have seen the occasional artist whos skin nature is such, that the clay dries very quickly when in contact with their skin, use of more olive oil should aliviate this problem if that is the situation.
Lastly: Here at Rings and Things we sell Art Clay Silver.  We have a product called Slo Dry Art Clay Silver which is specially formulated to dry slower then the regular clay.  You may find that a help.

[Metalman]

7/20/04 Art Clay 650 Overlay Paste
THis works great on glass, glazed ceramics and fired ceramics.  Thin the paste down to about the consistency of skim milk, flow a thin layer on to the surface of your piece.  Let this dry and then you can lightly scratch off the unfired clay to make your design.  Then fire this according to the firing instructions and you can buff up the silver.  Do a couple of experiments before you work on your show stopper

[Metalman]

7/26/04 - Cork Clay tip
When you build armatures for beads or pieces out of cork clay, make sure the cork clay is completely dry before you fire.  THis is because the moisture can boil/steam out of the piece and damage/distort your clay work.  The cork clay is dry when it is hard.  If you squeeze your armature pieces and it is still 'squeezy', then it is not dry yet.  What I do is air dry until the piece is dry enough not to warp, then I put it in my dryer [in my case, a cheap food dehydrator].  If your armature design/plan has a thin profile - it may warp, I have found that using the teflon sheet is a help here just as it is when I am building with the Art Clay.
 

[Metalman]

CLAY CONTAINERS 7/29/04
If you are just starting out with Silver Clay, the foil packs work good for storing your art clay. As you start to have more clay or buy in bigger quantities you may get some cosmetic travel containers [or other small containers]. You will want ones that seal well - get the cosmetic ones have a perforated upper compartment which you can put a damp sponge in. Then when you open your clay packet you can put the portion you aren't using in this container to keep it moist. - the clay will store this way until your next work session, you may need to 'top up' the moisture in the sponge.

[Metalman]

Slow Dry ACS - 8/24/04
Now Art Clay 650 slow dry
If you have been working on celtic knots or braids or small clay pieces that take some time to make up. Try using the Slow Dry product. Â

[Metalman]

Tip for 11/2/2004

If you are experimenting with new ways to use Art Clay Silver, two things to do.
Make up a piece using the method you are trying out and wear it  for a  while to 'road test' your work and your new method.  This will help refine the method so you can figure out how to do it faster, better cooler!
Also, keep some notes, how did you do it, this will help you do it again.

[Metalman]

Work tip for 1/3/05  
Fine silver, Sterling and Art Clay Constructions - further details
If you want to strengthen aspects of your work, make findings or combine silver with Art Clay Silver here are some hints and techniques. You will want to have clay, paste [not reconstituted either] syringe form and especially 650 overlay paste.
  Take your silver and sand, file or otherwise abraid the joining area.  It is best if there is some level of mechanical connection as well. You then need to apply one or two thin layers of overlay paste to the area.  Let that dry and then build your embellishment over this footing. If you are joining something together make sure it is well filled using the paste and syringe. Frequently it takes several firings to get the piece completed the way you want.
For findings - it is good to 'roadtest' your inventions abit before you put them into pieces for sale.

 If your piece is all ACS, you can add wire and other parts like jump rings.  When you are using regular ACS [firing at 1470 for 1/2 hr] you need to use fine silver parts, pieces or wire.  Fine silver differs from sterling silver.  Sterling has 7% copper in it. When this is fired without flux, it oxidizes causeing an effect metalsmiths call firescale. So you need to use pure silver which is called Fine Silver.
Now to complicate things. If you use the Art Clay 650, [firing at 1200 for 1/2 hr], the manufacturer says you can use sterling silver instead of fine silver.   I have done this and its works but you still get firescale on the silver[black oxidation on the copper content].  One thing I do is carefully coat the entire surface of the silver with a thin layer of Art Clay paste - this keeps it from silver from oxidizing in the firing. It also helps it match the rest of the art clay piece.

[Metalman]

Old tip New tip - 2/7/05  '>

The Deck of Cards Trick
Okay, the ‘deck of cards trick’ is a method for determining the thickness of your metal clay when you are rolling out a sheet to work with. I like this method because it gives me selective control of thickness’ of the clay when I roll it out. I just use a deck of old cards. I measured my cards and they were roughly .25mm each. When I stack them, they measure a bit differently, so for 6 cards I get around 1.69mm. I like this good thickness for the backdrop layer of my work, the layer I build up on. For hollow beads over Cork Clay, I use 3 cards, or roughly .75mm. As you can see, this gives me a variable usage of layers of clay and thickness’. Remember the thickness of the cards will vary so take that into account.  With a little experimenting, you will have the details fine-tuned to your work method.