Silver?

[Hillbillysmith]

I need some help. I have a 1 troy ounce piece of .999% pure silver that was bought in the shape of a heart with a space for someone's name. I don't know if I want to just make this into a pendant for my friend, or if I want to make it into a little ring or a couple of little rings for her. What should I do? If I decide to make it into some rings, how would I go about melting this down and casting it without messing it all up? I'd like to make it into something else but don't know how silver acts. Any comments on how it acts/reacts or ideas whether I should just make it into a pendant or not?? Every comment will be appreciated.

Here's the pics:




The top picture says "I Love You" and the bottom picture says "For Someone Special" with a blank for a name to be punched.

[Finnr]

My self, I'd pick up some other silverfor rings. That's a real pretty piece and it's a shame to melt it down.

There are several great sites on Jewlery work. (Which I don't have on this comp) that should be a big help with casting.
Finnr

[Ice Czar]

Id say dare to make a ring, lost wax is likely the way to go, and if you screw up, gather up all the pieces and start again.


Jewelry making, Tips from The Jeweler's bench - Jewelry making information center - Instructions on making jewelry
(search query = lost wax ring)

Id also beg to differ on the "beauty" of that particular chuck of metal, no offense Finnr ;)

[bipolarandy]

Hillbilly, if you've never worked silver, you may not want to mess with your troy ounce's. Silver is very different than steel, you need a very clean setup, you must be OCD about cleaning all the scale off the metal each and every time its annealed, it has a low melting temp too, so the ol'e forge is not an option for heating,,,,, and its soft,, so any marks in your tools will mark your silver. Thats just the basics.
Now, your question about rings, fine silver is too soft for a ring, it will deform very quickly. Sterling is whats used for most jewerly because its much harder than fine silver.

I would try engraving your friends name into that troy ounce and making a bezel setting to hold it, like these. slides and pendants , than you can put it on a leather cord or something.

-Andrei

[Rich Hale]

Go to a place that sells lost wax materials and talk to them about your ideas..buy some wax and form whatever it is you want to cast. take your wax and your silver to them or someone they recommend and have it cast, they can alloy it to sterling while they are at it. I had some things done and they did a wonderful job with my design. I had gold and silver pieces made from the same mold, they made rubber molds from my wax....

[ThomasPowers]

I have penannular brooches and belt buckles I made from fine silver that I wear camping at LH events and have not had any trouvle with them deforming---of course some of them are only 20+ years old so far...

In general I hot forge the silver into things; charcoal or gas forge (a one firebrick forge is great for this) and be very careful not to melt it! If it melts than save the bits and use them for casting.

[Phil Dwyer]

Hey Hillbillysmith,

What did you end up doing with your silver? I'd be pleased to further discuss some of the possibilities, but thought I'd see if you were still pondering before I started pontificating. (I was a silversmith for about 15 years.)

Would love to hear of your progress.

Phil

[ornametalsmith]

My self, I'd pick up some other silverfor rings. That's a real pretty piece and it's a shame to melt it down.

There are several great sites on Jewlery work. (Which I don't have on this comp) that should be a big help with casting.
Finnr

hmmmmmm I have to agree with Finnr....... seems a shame to melt that down. AND.......I also agree....you really want Sterling, and not Pure Silver for rings. The first thing that comes to mind.......is what kind of ring did you want to make? By that I mean what type design? Plain band? or elaborately detailed design? That could help determine the best process.

you can make simple designs by melting it, or other scrap sterling, into a carved negative in a charcoal block. I've done many items in this way...... Nuggets pendants and such are popular..... I'd be happy to take some pix of my charcoal block with a bunch of different "carved negatives" in it....if it might help get your creative juices goin.

For the more detailed designs.... lost wax casting is the best option. Much more involved, requiring much more equipment.

[steve2]

I made very nice serviceable wedding bands out of old silver quarters. I held them between my thumb and forefinger against my leg and struck them repetitively with the bowl of a teaspoon or a smooth butter knife handle. They turned slightly with each blow, and I worked my way around and around until I achieved the proper diameter for my beloved's finger. I then drilled out the center and filed it with a rat tail file. Voila, a nice silver band! One of the really cool things about them was that you could read the words "In God We Trust" and Quarter Dollar that were around the rim of the coins on the inside of the rings. One note tho, you have to work with the old silver coins not the sandwich coins of today.

Later, Steve2

[Nick]

Both my and my wife's wedding band I made out of a piece of .999 silver which had special significance to us. Mine is fairly heavy, but her's is quite fine, and there's been no problem with deformation. Scratching, yes, they're no longer a mirror polish. But it is much softer, and I only used my jewelry setup while making them. They were forged and soldered, using a microtorch for heat.

[Milt]

If you have not made your ring(s) yet,,,,,,,,Plain sterling silver rings are fairly easily made by buying round or half-round or other shaped sterling wire of the appropriate weight. Cut length, bend around ring mandral or item of correct size, silver solder & finish. Some fancy patterned ring wires are available too.

Remember that to anneal copper, silver, sterling, gold, etc., you heat & quench, opposite of steel. Also, as said by someone earlier, keep silver stuff clean and solder joints tight or they will not solder.

Try Tripps or Rio Grand or Indian Supply, etc. for supplies.

Have fun.

[Nick]

I'd also suggest Kingsley North, they have a wide range of supplies and I've always had good dealings with them.

[TreeHouse]

Silver is very easy to work with, first remember to polish your hammers and working surfaces, clean tools make for clean work. Second get some pickle, a crock-pot or old coffee maker (either one can be used to keep your pickle warm) soap, water and a toothbrush for cleaning flux off the silver from casting or soldering. If you're looking to refine the silver melt it in a crusible with a pinch or two of borax for flux... if your worried about serious impurities: for example say you are using left over casting pieces and bench scraps mixed with filings... then stir the molten silver with a graphite rod and pour it in a steady stream into a steel pot filled with clean cold water, this will give you a fairly refined and workable casting grain, this can then be re-melted and cast as an ingit or into a lost wax mold. If the silver is fairly clean and pure to start then just pour into an ingit mold or lost wax mold. You can make a simple ingit mold by drilling a 1" thick leftover slab of gaphite three-quarters of the way through it's length with a 3/8" drill bit, (it's easier to pour your casting if you counter sink the top of the hole with a 1/2" bit) then cut the graphite slab lengthwise with a bandsaw splitting your drill hole into two equal channels that will create the 2 halves of your ingit mold. Make sure the mold fits together clean without gaps if it has some minor gaps you can carefully sand the pieces so they fit properly. Clamp the mold with C-clamps and pre-heat it with a torch to a few hundred degrees. Flux and melt your silver in a crucible (don't over-flux) then pour it into your mold. Let it cool, release the clamps and check out your ingit (should be a pretty sweet looking piece of silver now.) Pickle it in your crock pot for 10 or 15 minutes then rinse in cold water and clean with your soap and toothbrush, look for pitting or seams that indicate weak areas that may separate during forging. If there are small impurities don't worry you can begin hammering it out into sheet or wire. If it looks bad... or you want another try then re-melt and pour again. When you've got an ingit ready to hammer remember that silver work hardens quickly (much faster than copper) so anneal often, and play it safe to avoid cracking (don't over heat during annealing as it will cause fire-scale in your silver) To anneal silver keep the temperature low: in a perfectly dark room it should just barely glow dark-red at annealing temp, you can quench or air cool silver after reaching annealing temp, air cooling seems to give a little better anneal. Please note that you should never work silver hot unless you want it to crack. At annealing temp or higher silver becomes very brittle it is only soft and maliable when allowed to cool. Ok so that should cover some basics if you have questions send me a message and I'll see if I can help you out. Good luck... I think you should use that piece of silver to make something else... it'll be 100% better when you've made it yourself.

-Eric

[GeeDub]

If you're looking to refine the silver melt it in a crusible with a pinch or two of borax for flux... if your worried about serious impurities: for example say you are using left over casting pieces and bench scraps mixed with filings... then stir the molten silver with a graphite rod and pour it in a steady stream into a steel pot filled with clean cold water, this will give you a fairly refined and workable casting grain,

Well, not really... .999 silver is already refined. You will not get it any cleaner with Borax. In fact no chemical or heat treatment will make it purer. That can only be done electrolytically.
Bench scraps and filings should be fluxed with Soda Ash. If there is iron dust you couldn't get out, add a pinch of Salt Peter (Sodium Nitrate) to the flux. However, you should have first gone over the lot with a strong magnet to remove all the ferrous stuff.

I was a manufacturing jeweler and a precious metals refiner. But when I started out, one of my first experiments was with a steam casting (lost wax) setup I got at a gem and mineral show. That is an ideal setup for trials 'cause it's cheap. Used an electric "fifth burner" hot plate from a discount store as the burnout heat source, a flower pot for the oven, and a hand held MAPP gas torch to melt. Try that. I'm sure some hobby shop should have them.

BTW: the reason Sterling was invented was because pure silver is too soft. I would say practice with cheap old sterling, don't waste the fine silver. When the time comes to sell, Fine silver can be sold almost at spot price. Sterling always has a considerable discount.

[triw]

My self, I'd pick up some other silverfor rings. That's a real pretty piece and it's a shame to melt it down.
Finnr

I agree with Finnr don't melt this heart down it is a very nice piece. Get some silver and melt that down for a ring. I don't know how old the heart is but it looks well made. I think you will end up regretting melting it down.