[Jewelry making - Article 00041] - [Orchid] S88 Sterling Alloy

[Jay Whaley]

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Orchidians,

    Through a recent Orchid posting, I was turned onto United Precious
    Metal's S88 Fire-scale free, tarnish resistant sterling silver
    alloy. I am really impressed with it. For the past month, I have been
    alloying my own S88 sterling wire and sheet, and fabricating a number
    of sterling projects with it. Marvelous stuff! Absolutely no
    fire-scale, even when annealed with no flux barriers, and can be
    quenched quickly after annealing, with no fears of breaking. 

    It is quite easy to form, and takes a beautiful finish. Although I
    haven't had much experience casting with it yet, a few of my students
    cast with it last night, and the castings came out very clean and
    bright, with a very smooth surface. So far, so good. I know there has
    been a lot of interest in the new Argentium sterling out on the
    market, and I have experimented with it. My experience with the
    Argentium was that it was a bit quirky to use, and the long cooling
    period required after heating or soldering to avoid breaking was
    annoying for me personally. (I'm moving pretty fast when I'm
    working, I guess, and I hate to slow down to watch metal cool.) The
    S88 Sterling, on the other hand, was a pure joy to use, and I hope
    more metalsmiths will start using it. 

    I plan to be at the Orchid Dinner, and would be happy to discuss
    this alloy with anyone who is interested in it. (Oh, by the way, I
    don't work for United, I just happen to like their alloy!) 

---Jay Whaley UCSD Craft Center

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