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Lavender Blue
10-04-2011, 10:41 AM
Hi, First post here, so hello all!

I've made some earrings from Art Clay, and in the dry stage I made a small hole, popped in some paste & stuck in a sterling silver ear post, then a little more paste around the outside of the hole/post and fired.

However one post has come out! I did read somewhere that when it's at this stage the only way to stick it back is to superglue it (probably you'll tell me a bad thing to do!) but this hasn't worked either.

Any suggestions for what I should do would be gratefully received!

Jane

Joe
10-04-2011, 10:52 AM
Welcome Jane!

I'm not an Art Clay user I'm afraid so can't offer advice - I'm one of the crowd that would recommend soldering!

Lavender Blue
10-04-2011, 11:38 AM
Hi Joe, I don't mind soldering, just don't know whether this is the best option or not!

MuranoSilver
10-04-2011, 11:42 AM
Firstly you shouldn't really be firing sterling silver in with the silver clay...
The 850 temp needed for strength combined with the length of time for proper firing weakens the sterling structure :(
Generally I make all the earring fronts seperately and then solder on the posts once the components have been fired and tumble polished,
here's a video (http://pmctips.blogspot.com/2010/05/soldering-silver-clay-onto-sterling.html) of just that (hopefully you could rescue the earring by soldering the post back on.)

Lavender Blue
10-04-2011, 05:01 PM
Hi MuranoSilver,
Ok, so if I take a new post and solder it on to the fired earring front I should be ok. Thanks for your help.
Jane

Dennis
10-04-2011, 06:46 PM
Hi MuranoSilver,
Ok, so if I take a new post and solder it on to the fired earring front I should be ok. Thanks for your help.
Jane

Hi Jane,
I don't know whether Nic will agree, but if there is any glue left in your earring it might interfere with soldering, so make sure you scrape it away well, or remove it with a fine drill.
Secondly silver clay can absorb a lot of solder, so melt some onto the end of the post first. Dennis.

Lavender Blue
22-04-2011, 10:16 AM
Hi All,
Thanks for all your tips. I filed away the glue, burnished the back and then soldered a flat pad post to the back with lots of solder. I then had to cut off, file down and do the same to the other so they matched. But it worked. So thank you very much :0)

Dennis
22-04-2011, 01:50 PM
Well done Jane and thanks for your feedback. that's what makes the forum tick. Dennis.

Charley261
09-09-2011, 09:32 AM
Hi all, I was after a little advice on this topic, I'm also attempting to solder some sterling silver ear posts to fine silver but I'm new to soldering with sterling silver and not sure how to do it, I was going to use the paste in the syringe, should I use easy solder for all sterling to fine silver jobs or is it just the pieces with fine detail in need to use easy solder. Also once I have attached the pieces do I need to use pickle to clean it up - sorry I really am a beginner! and don't want to use anything that may damage the fine silver. Finally does anyone have any tips on how to prepare the ear posts so that a silver butterfly can be attached and won't slip off. Thanks so much to you all, this forum has been very helpful to me. Charlotte

Kwant
09-09-2011, 10:39 AM
Hi Charlotte for this kind of job I would use easy as it means less heat and therefore reduces the need for pickling.

I have read that the clay is ever so slightly porous and so any way of reducing the need for it to be dunked in chemicals is a plus.

I also tend to drill a little hole to take the end of the wire for added security preferably when the clay is not fired but I have done it in the fired clay too. A little bit of oxidisation on the sterling wire can usually be cleaned off with some micromesh or one of those little rubbery radial discs for your flexshaft or dremmel.

I cannot help with the butterfly as I use the little rubber ones which are secure and grip the post very well.

ps_bond
09-09-2011, 10:40 AM
Does this help?

http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/earpost.htm

mizgeorge
09-09-2011, 10:45 AM
Give the surface of the metal clay a really good burnish before you start - it helps compact the silver before soldering. With metal clay, it's worth neutralising in a solution of bicarb after pickling to be sure there's none left in the piece. As Kwant says, though, you can often get away without pickling at all.

I usually notch my earwires with a pair of slightly modified round nosed pliers. You need to use far less pressure than you might think as you are looking to just create a tiny groove without weakening a fairly thin piece of wire.

Melanie De Castro Pugh
09-09-2011, 01:18 PM
Even after burnishing, it will still soak up solder like a sponge, I usually use two or three times what the job looks like it will need...

Dennis
09-09-2011, 01:28 PM
Even after burnishing, it will still soak up solder like a sponge, I usually use two or three times what the job looks like it will need...

Sweat soldering, no more soaking up.
If you melt a small blob of solder onto the end of the ear post first, Then put it in place and re-melt, you will succeed without the solder vanishing. However you will need a little extra flux for the second stage. Dennis.

Charley261
10-09-2011, 03:37 PM
Thanks very much to you all, I'll give it a go although I think I may buy the earpins from cooksons, I hadn't realised they were so cheap and making them does look a bit complicated!

Cheers, Charlotte