Silver Fuming

[loco]

It's silly question time!!! :rolleyes:

I have tried silver fuming (yes good vent). I have a 3 oz bar of 999+ I have tried nipping off small bits and punty it up, drop, punty up, drop... Can I just hold that bar with plyers and stick the corner of it in the flame? Waste is not a concern at this point as I keep losing those little nips anyways...

[Cosmo]

I heat a boro punty and stick it to the silver. I've never had a problem dropping it. Perhaps the pieces are too large?

[kimberly]

I use boro punties, too. If you use a LOT of silver it will ball up and roll off of your punty when it gets really hot. Seems to have lap radar, too. I make a maria on the end of my boro punty, heat it really hot, then mash it down on the ball of silver (or chunk, whatever) and pick it up. Sometimes, it doesn't want to be picked up. Usually this means the punty wans't hot enough. Keep at it. When it works, the boro will kind of squish down and around the silver ball. Makes kind of a cup and tends to hold the silver in. Then, when you go to fume with it, hold the punty UNDERNEATH the flame, right in the candles. This means the end of the punty with the silver is pointed up so that the silver can't roll off and the boro kind of cups it in place. Clear as mud??? Sorry, this is the only way I can think of to explain it.

[loco]

Maybe the piece of silver I'm nipping off is to big! I do use a boro punty and sorta make a bowl out of it to gently cup and caress the silver. Yet I still blow it and drop the damn ball of silver. Ooo I wish my eyes were "normal" but what I see in one place is always up and to the right, compesation with little things is impossible and even galsses can't correct it!!!!! GGGGRRRRRRand fuckety fuck fuck fuck......

The kiln is up to temp I'll try again!

[Mr. Smiley]

Try drilling a hole in the bar with a drill. Use the shavings... just pick them up with molten ball of pyrex. Works great. I hope this helps. :)

[loco]

Brent Kwell I'll try that too!

[kimberly]

Something else you might try if the above suggestions don't work is to roll the end of a hot boro punty over silver foil. Use a whole sheet. This way, you won't have one big ball of silver, but a whole lot of little ones. They won't want to pop off as much, and if one does jump off, big whoop. You have a whole bunch more!! One leaf of silver foil should be enough to fume quite a few beads. Gold leaf works the same way!!

[MikeAurelius]

If all else fails, get a piece of quartz rod, about 4 mm diameter, 6" long. It will last forever (provided you don't drop it).

FYI - gold is worse than silver for balling up and falling off the punty. The only material that will keep it in place is quartz.

[loco]

Falling balls and more falling balls!!! I refused (and still do) to clean my work bench so I tried holding the whole hunk of silver with plyers..... NO go! I think this is gonna be one of those projects to put aside for a while and try later. I know it was stupid... But I just had to touch that hunk of silver at the bottom, no scaring but it was hot.

Yes, I'm loco for a reason.

[HomeBlownGlassArt]

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the answer to this problem is so simple your gonna be mad. silver and glass wont stick to each other if they are stacked in a box right? why? cause theyre COLD! silver is just like all other metals on earth they get sticky when they are heated to just below theyre melting point. all you have to do is preheat your silver just put it on a paddle just on the outside edge of your flame while you heat your punty up. i have to say this cause someone will be mad if i dont. turn your flame down so your running a nuetral flame just with less PSI (pressure). the silver will melt before the glass so keep it in the back of the fire a bit as not to over cook it. i make sure to cut a chunk of silver thats kinda sharp so i can tell when its hot by watching the sharp edges round out. then just mash down like usual and continue to heat in the back of the fire to flame anneal the silver or it will crack your punty if your chunk is big enough. hope this helps