[Jewelry making - Article 00470] - Re: [Orchid] Article: Minimal Metalsmithing

[Helen Hill]

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>     After metal clay has been properly fired, any binders in the clay
>     have burned off and the remainder is 100% fine silver. I do not see
>     any difficulty with identifying a piece of fired metal clay as fine
>     silver. 

    Sorry to go on about things on a molecular lever, which some will
    say is irrelevant, but I guess the difference between properly fired
    PMC or ArtClay and cast fine silver is the molecular structure. Yes,
    it is true that if it is properly fired and the binder has "left" the
    material, then all that's left is fine silver and can be marked as
    such. BUT, it cannot be the same metallic crystalline structure as a
    normal piece of fine silver and therefore will have different
    properties. 

    In responding to this issue the other day, I stood up for Elaine and
    others as it sounded like they knew what they were talking about. But
    I must say, I've changed my mind after thinking about it more. Now
    I'm NOT saying that they don't know what they are talking about, just
    that they were ill informed, as Jim said. Think about it. You have a
    material made up of powdered metal with a binder. You create your
    piece and then fire it. If fired properly, the binder will "leave"
    the material. There will inevitably be spaces left in the material
    afterwards, from where the binder used to be. The remaining silver
    particles will fuse to a certain extent but it will be porous by its
    very nature, just like a sponge. 

    However, I am still open to trying metal clay and intend to do so
    but my favourite part of making jewellery is fabricating and
    soldering the old fashioned way and I can't imagine metal clay taking
    the place of that. But I must applaud the work of some very talented
    metalsmiths who have embraced metal clay as another tool in their
    toolbox. 

Helen
Sitting on the fence in Preston, UK
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