Silver wire - soft or hard???

[Milomade]

I thin the silver wire I've got at the moment is Soft as it marks really easily and I'm trying to make jump rings out f it at the moment and it's bending a lot when I'm trying to saw through it. So thinking of ordering some different stuff today and benefit from the free P&P this w/e

Any advice of what to get to make jump rings?

The stuff I have is HSA 080 - 0.80mm
Should I go for HSA 469 - 0.80mm instead [described as Sterling Silver Round Wire]
Or this HSA 408 - 0.80mm [described as Sterling Silver: Hard]

All on page 37 of the catalogue

[The Bijou Dragon]

Hi

Soft wire won't hold any weight, you're better off making jump rings out of half hard wire as it's still easily workable but will hold alot more weight.

Also, it won't mark quite as easily

[Solunar Silver Studio]

There doesn't seem to be many people logged in today...perhaps they are all having a lie in!
I'm not a lot of help I'm afraid as I use fine silver wire - and I buy in 1mm and draw it down to the thickness I need when I need it....so I anneal it to soften it before I draw it...which then hardens it up again.... and so on...

You could always tumble your 'coil' of jumprings before you cut them to harden them up a bit or alternatively, I wrap a little strip of masking tape around my coiled jumpring 'tubes' and tuck the ends in...I then cut the rings from the inside out - if you see what I mean - it makes it a bit fiddly getting the blade down the middle but the tape holds everything together beautifully, so it is just like cutting a tube. I posted a description of this (with piccies) on my blog months ago...I don't know if any of this helps!! http://solunarsilverstudio.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/
Barbara

[bustagasket]

I love your chains!! I can only hope that i end up being able to make somethig so lovely in the years that come.

I love the toggle on the end of the featured chain, and i just wondered whether that had been "fused" as i heard this term used at the college by someone who has been going a long time, but its not something i have been introduced to yet. I know i am impatient to learn everything, but my thirst is great :-s

[julie]

i use half hard & hard for ear wires ... lovely bracelet & toggle

[Solunar Silver Studio]

Thanks for your lovely comments. I only use fine silver in my chains because I hate soldering and fine silver is so pure that it fuses to itself without the need for flux and solder. It also doesn't get blackened with firescale so it doesn't need pickling. Fine silver is a bit weaker than sterling silver though, which is why I tend to twist a lot of my links, and this also gives me a lot of decorative potential! The toggle is a bit of a fiddle to make and is mainly twisted but I ball up the ends - again to improve the strength...and the ring is just twisted wire made into jumprings and then fused.
As I am self taught, with the help at the beginning of 'Silver Wire Fusing' by Liz Jones, I have had to make up a lot of the techniqes as I went along...but then I have always enjoyed experimenting and asking myself 'What would happen if I....', so I have had enormous fun!!...and at the end of the day that's what matters, isn't it?
Barbara

[Milomade]

I'm thinking of getting either this:
Sterling Silver Round Wire 0.80mm Diameter Fully Hard, In 30 Gram Coils
Product Code: HSA 408

or this:
Sterling Silver Round Wire 0.8mm 30gm Half Hrd, 30 Gram Coils
Product Code: HSA 469

Not sure which is best for jump rings.

Also the soft wire is supplied in reels - what's the difference between a reel and a coil???

[Solunar Silver Studio]

Also the soft wire is supplied in reels - what's the difference between a reel and a coil???

I have bought silver wire before that comes on a little black reel rather like the reels that coloured craft wire comes on. Perhaps the soft wire is wound on these to protect it and prevent kinks developing in the wire. The 1mm fine silver wire I get comes in a simple coil about 15cm across, held together with some of those plastic tie thingies and wrapped in a plastic bag...and it does tend to tangle a bit as you try to measure lengths of it but as it is fairly thick that doesn't matter so much. These are not so easy to store as the little black reels if space is an issue for you.....
Sorry I can't help you with the technical stuff!
Barbara

[Di Sandland]

I'm thinking of getting either this:
Sterling Silver Round Wire 0.80mm Diameter Fully Hard, In 30 Gram Coils
Product Code: HSA 408

or this:
Sterling Silver Round Wire 0.8mm 30gm Half Hrd, 30 Gram Coils
Product Code: HSA 469

Not sure which is best for jump rings.

Also the soft wire is supplied in reels - what's the difference between a reel and a coil???

What Barbara said about the coils and reels.

As for the jump rings - I use half-hard. I tried fully hard and it was a bugger to manipulate! Mine have all been 'fit for purpose.'

Di x

[mizgeorge]

I make literally thousands of jump rings, and as a simple rule I use half hard temper for anything made from 1.0 mm wire or less with an internal diameter of under 4mm (ie an aspect ratio of 4). Soft is fine for everything else, especially wrapping, and I wouldn't use anything else once I get over a gauge of 1.2mm.

I find Cookson's 'standard' (which is supposed to be soft) a bit harder than some other suppliers. It only takes a couple of minutes to anneal if necessary though