Silver bracelet

[steichman]

Something i did for fun. had more troublr taking pic's then engraveing. All this was done with a push graver. Maby three hours?

Steve

 

[webad2006]

Steve,

That's a fine lookink bracelet! What gauge/material did you use? Great job, especially for being pushed in such a short time.

 

[Abigail]

I like it! Very pretty!
Abigail

 

[monk]

photographing shiney things, esp that are curved, brings one to a near state of a fit. that's nearly as tricky as engraving. anyway your cuts look consistently good and smooth as far as i can see. borders look even. how long you been at this ? looks like you have had a good deal of practice that has paid its reward. what's your favorite things to engrave ? if you have other goodies, let us all see them.

 

[Tomyboy]

excellent work for 3 hours! wish i could work that fast, how did you cold forge it?

Its not anticlastic, i use a rawhide mallet that i groove one side concave and cold forge it over a trailer hitch that i polished it makes the bracelet fit over the bones of the wrist nicely.
.
just like to know how you forged it, cause id like to make some.


anyway you did a ten times better job than i did photoing my bracelet

http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=eaglespk4.jpg

 

[steichman]

Tomboy, this was cut from a flat sheet of sterling, fairly heavy stock. All the engraving was done when this is flat glued to a block. Forming was done cold. the bracelett was protected with thick clear tape then formed over the horn of an anvil with a raw hide malet. I use a highly polished bender i made to make final adj.
steve

 

[steichman]

Tomboy, lost my post. this was made from heavy stock. all engraving was done in the flat glued to a block. Froming was done cold over the horn of an anvil, the sterling was protected with heavy clear tape on both sides. finish adjustments are done on a highly polished bender i made wich fits in my vise. when i get a chance i will post this is a simple and usefull tool.

Steve

 

[Bill Tokyo]

General question on bending bracelets

I'm thinking of taking my first baby steps in engraving, and I want to try bracelets.

My understanding is that silver has to be heated to relieve stress when bending it, otherwise it risks
fracturing . However, it sounds like you have managed to bend it just fine without having to heat.

I also notice that GRS has a bracelt former, which seems like a nice gizmo, but why spend the money if not
necessary.

Hints, guidance and general comments by anyone at all would be welcome, as I have utterly no
experience in working silver.

Bill

 

[steichman]

Bill, I do aneal my silver after it is cut. a small propane torch will work just fine. The type of bending you will be doing will not realy work harden the silver. Their are better places to spend your money.
Steve

 

[Tomyboy]

i aneal before i begin engraving because 1, it makes the cuts easier 2, i buy my sliver in sheets thats cut from giant rolls of silver some place in the states.
I found through trial and frustration that sometimes the silver has hard and soft pockets and you can ruin a piece with one slip. I have found that if i heat it unevenly this can cause even more problems so.. make sure its glowing a nice even orangeish color and when you quench it in your acid pot make sure you drop it strait in on its side evenly!! other wise it will cause problems again.

anyways i use 20 gauge

 

[RoycroftRon]

I buy half soft material and do not anneal. I use 16 ga or thicker and have not had a cracking problem from the forming. I did get one repair job from a girl who bent a cuff wider and then bent it closed to put it on - not understanding how cuffs are supposed to work. Thicker material tends to help (14 ga) but can look bulky.

 

[Tomyboy]

just messing around with silver i've beat the crap outta it with my rawhide mallet over my trailer hitch ... not annealed just to see the stress it can withstand and i was surprised
it depends on how many hits you make and you make and and the pressure of the the hits .. i've even wailed on a 40 gauge bracelet double the size.. 20 what i work with, and nothing happened its only when i started sawing cut out designs that i had cracks in my bracelets but now i saw them after forgeing . even when i used a dapping block to round my pendants i've only had a few problems...but i still anneal to be safe.

i allways anneal my silver just because it cuts nicer ... only problem ive had is reversing the method... anyone got any suggestions on how to harden work thats to soft???? even my master gave me an iffy answer.

my whole point is ... i've found jewelery not to be a science but an art and art is not categorized into function and form its free. Countless times my Master whos a very accomplished goldsmith and silversmith said no you cant do certain things and i have showed up with the work as proof, not to be a jerk but to prove a point that art is free and not set into method, still he would say "get out". lol


oyea you cannot anneal rings enough lol ive snapped a few very important pieces on ring bending plyers because of
just forgetting to do it ... and another reason i've got the worst luck sizing rings... the guy you sized last week may have went on a beer binge and the ring don't fit and you gotta stretch it lol.

 

[steichman]

to harden pure silver try heating to six hundred degrees for fiveteen min. then let cool. some toster ovens will work. this will not work with aloys.
steve

 

[gail.m]

Hello all,
Silver in its pure form will not harden. That is why it does not make good rings, or bracelets. 925 will harden by forgeing, twisting. or stretching. Also, if you have a rotary tumbler, running it with a couple pounds of stainless mixed shot and a little Dawn detergent as a burnishing aid will do a fair job and burnish the work, too. 925 will also harden by heat soaking around 600F for 15 min or so, and will also 'age' harden in time as the molecules will re-arrange themselves over a period of time although I have never seen a formula that gives a time schedule. Hope this helps. Gail

 

[steichman]

General info:
Hardening Sterling Silver by Heat-Treatment
To harden sterling silver, heat it to 600°F (316°C) for 30 to 50 minutes in a kiln or furnace. Air-cool the sterling silver before pickling it. The hardness will then be equal to the hardness achieved by cold-working it to a 50% reduction (or 3/4-hard). If you want to make your sterling silver harder than 3/4-hard, you must physically reduce the cross-sectional area.

Hardening Sterling Silver by Physical Reduction


Rockwell Hardness Reduction in
Cross-Sectional Area
Fine Silver Sterling Silver Common Term Wire Sheet
43 70 Soft (annealed) 0% 0%
65 80 1/4-hard 21% 11%
72 82 1/2-hard 37% 21%
74 83 3/4-hard 50% 29%
76 85 Hard 60% 37%
80 87 Spring 84% 60%


How to Harden Metal
To harden karat gold, fine and sterling silver, gold-filled, brass and copper, set your oven to 600°F for hard temper, 900°F for 1/2-hard and 1200°F for dead soft. Place your metal in the oven for 1/2 to 1 hour. You may want to experiment with the length of time to achieve the desired hardness. Remember that different metals have different

 

[John B.]

Hi Gail.
A little word of correction if you don't mind.
Just don't want some of the newer folks misled.
Pure .999 silver will harden quickly by applied hammering or any cold working.
It will work harden very quickly, much more than 24k gold when being hammered into an inlay or when being pulled through a drawplate to reduce it into wire.
Not nearly as fast as Sterling, but it sure does get hard with being worked.

No disrespect intended, John B.

 

[gail.m]

Hello John B,
No offense taken by your comment. I have never done any wire inlay, but I do want to try it sometime! I would imagine that with the type of fine inlay work that you do, you would find any amount of springiness almost intolerable. :>)
However, the addition of the relatively small percent of copper used to make sterling almost more than doubles pure silver's tensile strength and hardness. I have done a bit of sinking and raising with both fine silver and sterling and I have had to anneal the fine silver far less often than the sterling, maybe three heats to the sterling to one of the fine silver.
My error for saying that pure silver does not harden, it just does not harden enough to be of practical use for rings or other objects that are subject to daily use and wear, much as 24kt gold does not get hard enough for the same types of use, and will quickly deform and wear off detail if not protected.
It is nice to know in advance what to expect whenever I do try to do a line of silver inlay!
Thanks John B, Gail

 

[John B.]

Thank you for understanding my intention, Gail.
As you say, Sterling will harden much quicker than .999 silver given the same amount of cold working.
But life is too short to do fine line inlay into steel with Sterling....... unless you are really mad at youself and feel a serious need to be punished!
Best regards, John B.

 

[monk]

i bought the grs metal former. works great, but i'm now addicted to spending money. but the old hand tools certainly get the job done. pounding on silver repeatedly will work harden it. but for forming a bracelet, the degree of hardning that takes place might just be desirable.it will leave the silver with just the right amount of stiffness you would want in a bracelet.

 

[Ron Smith]

You will pull your hair out trying to inlay sterling wire unless you get your undercutting right. If it doesn't stick with the first whack of the hammer, you are wasting your time. Extra work on your channels and undercutting will allow you to do alloyed metals, but you better practice it first and get your techniques down solid. You just can't go about it like 24k gold. Inlaying work hardening metals is a whole different ball of wax.................... Just a little input to prepare those who wish to try it.........Ron S