[Jewelry making - Article 01219] - Re: [Orchid] Tarnishing Argentium

[Trevor F]

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>     ... I have been dipping it in borax/alcohol before soldering, which
>     appears to be a no-no. 

    Well, it's not really a no-no it's just not helping you much, as
    you've surmised. 

    Contrary to what we've all learned about heating regular sterling
    silver my understanding and hands-on experience is that Argentium
    Sterling (AS) should be allowed to suck up all the oxygen it wants. In
    other words forget the firecoat (your borax dip). For that matter
    forget about reducing flames and charcoal blocks too.  Our
    oxygen-rich atmosphere is _good_ for AS, especially if there is heat
    involved. 

    From what I can tell you guys have been getting oxy-starved AS stock
    and grain so my recommendation is heat that AS, let it breath! 

    If you have no other choice then yes, the oven trick may help your
    situation.  But if it were me and I could possibly swing it I'd torch
    anneal just to be on the safe side.  My guess is that your AS is in
    bad need of some heat and oxygen and the torch annealing will
    certainly give it that. 

    Don't forget that you can precip harden the stuff to stiffen it up so
    the torching shouldn't be a problem if you're concerned about
    softness. 

Cheers,
Trevor F.
in The City of Light
www.touchmetal.com

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