When the price of
silver clay rose dramatically a number of years ago, it spurred the development
of base metal clays—bronze, copper and steel, then later sterling silver—which was
only somewhat less expensive.
Although I love Hadar’s Clays and they are always my
first preference, I simply can’t be monogamous when it comes to metal
clay! Because of its silvery colour, I’m
a fan of white bronze but I found Hadar’s too brittle. When her White Satin
arrived, that problem was solved as it includes some steel, so now strength is
no longer an issue. But rust is, and although it finishes beautifully, it’s
hard to keep it highly polished. I’m still searching for a sealant that doesn’t
dull the surface or turn yellowish. Plus,
some people just don’t like mixing clay from powder.
I’ve played around a
bit with Goldie Snow Bronze (another
white bronze) and find it, too, has a distinctly yellowish cast.

The only adjustment
that I’ve made to the printed firing instructions is slowing down the ramp to
1400F from Full on larger pieces. It is immediately obvious when a piece is
over-fired as the surface will have a scattering of little silver balls, marring the surface—much like the ball-up a
piece of silver wire. It seems that this is the tin pulling out through the
surface from too much heat, and also possibly, by not surrounded by enough carbon
in Phase 2. I’ve sometimes been successful in breaking off these little balls, if
only on the edge of a piece, with pliers and smoothing the surface with the
Jool Tool magic eraser.


Then, of course, you can always make your
own metal clay… more about that in a future edition.
Tools
Jool
Tool
You’ve undoubtedly heard of this relatively new polisher. it’s
everything promised and more. I can no longer imagine polishing with only a Dremel, or worse, by hand! Not only is it much faster, it also does a much better job and I am so much happier with my results. Beadfx has one set up in the metals studio so if you’re taking a class, give it a try. The JoolTool website has a video showing this little powerhouse in action… and the machine is quiet, except of course, when grinding! http://jooltool.com/
You’ve undoubtedly heard of this relatively new polisher. it’s
everything promised and more. I can no longer imagine polishing with only a Dremel, or worse, by hand! Not only is it much faster, it also does a much better job and I am so much happier with my results. Beadfx has one set up in the metals studio so if you’re taking a class, give it a try. The JoolTool website has a video showing this little powerhouse in action… and the machine is quiet, except of course, when grinding! http://jooltool.com/
The cost of
this machine may seem high, but then I look at what I’ve been spending on
polishing tools and supplies (4 Dremels, only 2 still functional, about a
million radial brushes, sand paper – on its own, wound on a mandrel, in many grits, including
sanding sponges) and on and on. The JT radial brushes (I use only 3) are much
bigger and last a really long time. I could go on, but you get the idea. The
JoolTool also has a lapidary kit in case you want to make your own cabs. I
purchased mine from BeadFX and if you want one just let them know and they’ll
order it in. They do have some of the kits in stock.

Anyone who has ever worked with metal clay knows the frustration of trying to keep slip moist and useful as “glue” to attach clay to clay. I have tried nearly every kind of container on the market with varying degrees of dissatisfaction. Recently, while reading the blog for Jewelry Artist Supply, I learned about something that sounded promising: it seems that anyone familiar with the “vaping” community and its many and varied substances, knows that some products come in a paste form and need to be kept moist in order to be useful. For that purpose, small silicone lidded jars have been developed… and they seriously work! So much so that Jewelry Artist Supply now carries them (and perhaps BeadFX will, too), avoiding the need for metal clay enthusiasts to travel to their nearest smoke-able medical substances outlet! Also, they only come in swirly, trippy colours!
Silhouette
Cutter
I’ve recently purchased the Silhouette Portrait Cutter as well as taken a couple of classes on cutting out intricate designs in metal clay to be used as overlay. To go along with it, Hadar Jacobson has recently launched a line of Flex Clays for use with this cutter (or anywhere else flexibility is desired, e.g. braiding). Carefully adding glycerin to clay will also provide greater flexibility. More to report on this as I get more experience under my belt! For more information, you can go to: http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/shop
I’ve recently purchased the Silhouette Portrait Cutter as well as taken a couple of classes on cutting out intricate designs in metal clay to be used as overlay. To go along with it, Hadar Jacobson has recently launched a line of Flex Clays for use with this cutter (or anywhere else flexibility is desired, e.g. braiding). Carefully adding glycerin to clay will also provide greater flexibility. More to report on this as I get more experience under my belt! For more information, you can go to: http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/shop
This is an exciting brand new tool created by Bill Struve.
The name Bill Struve should be familiar to anyone who has worked with Bronz or Coppr clays as they were developed by Bill. Not long ago, he was
working with another fellow on the development of a 3-D printer (Mini Metal
Maker) that uses metal clay as well as plastic and other materials. It’s quite
a pricy little machine (at $2,000+ to purchase) with a steep learning curve
using CAD software. Bill’s role was to adjust the clay formula to allow easy
extrusion through very small nozzles. As Bill was working on this, he wondered
if there might be a low-tech, more affordable option. The result is his version—the 3D Metal Creator,
composed of a CO2 tank connected to 2 tubes—one running to a foot
petal and the other to a clay filled syringe with a wide selection of nozzles. You
can see it in action here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1795659330/3dmetalcreator
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1795659330/3dmetalcreator
I am in the
process of developing metal clay classes using the Silhouette Cutter and the 3-D
Metal Creator for the coming year.
1 comment:
Great Blog article Liz! Very informative! Looking forward to your adventures with the Silhouette Cutter. Thanks for sharing.
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