How to Make Findings with Silver Clay

After you have created your silver clay piece, it is important to think about how you are going to turn those pieces of silver clay into pieces of jewellery. This can be done using findings. In this article, we will discuss four options on how to make or attach findings to your silver clay piece, so you are able to pick which one works the best.

Adding a Silver Jump Ring

The first option we are going to discuss is putting findings into silver clay, an example of this could be a silver jump ring. Jump rings are an easy way to make your silver clay pieces into pendants. This can be done by inserting the long end of the jump ring into your silver clay piece, leaving the ring end sticking out the end, essentially anchored into your silver clay. Be sure that your silver clay is big enough to accommodate the size of the jump ring as it will need to be pushed in quite far due to silver clay shrinking after firing.

Making Findings with Silver Clay

The next method is attaching silver clay to your piece to create the finding. This can be done by rolling a smaller piece of silver clay and attaching it to your existing piece, in turn creating a hook for a chain to go through. The best time to attached additional pieces of silver clay would be when it is still soft, however you can apply it when it is dry but not fired. To attach your silver clay finding, you will need either a bit of water or slip so that it will stick to your piece. Ensure that all attached pieces are secure with no cracks or gaps as your finding could come off when firing.

Adding Holes to a Silver Clay Piece

Adding holes to your silver clay pieces is another way to create findings in it. If you add holes to your pieces after they have dried, you have to be aware that your silver clay piece is quite brittle, risking it breaking when trying to create the holes. If you add holes to your silver clay after it has been fired, be aware that it will be harder to get a drill bit through your piece as it is a lot stronger. Create the holes using drill bits but gently twisting it into your piece where you would like the hole until you have gone all the way through. Be sure that you leave enough room either side of your hole as your piece will shrink when fired.

Integrating a Hole in your Design

The final way to get findings into your silver clay piece is by integrating them into your designs. This method is probably the easiest as you don’t have to do anything with your piece after making it. Having integrated holes in your pieces, enables you to put chains through them, creating a pendant.

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