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Thread: Art Clay earrings & sterling silver post

  1. #1
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    Default Art Clay earrings & sterling silver post

    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

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
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    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!

  3. #3
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    Hi Joe, I don't mind soldering, just don't know whether this is the best option or not!

  4. #4
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    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 of just that (hopefully you could rescue the earring by soldering the post back on.)
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  5. #5
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    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
    Last edited by Lavender Blue; 10-04-2011 at 05:06 PM.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lavender Blue View Post
    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.

  7. #7
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    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)

  8. #8
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    Well done Jane and thanks for your feedback. that's what makes the forum tick. Dennis.

  9. #9
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    Jun 2011
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    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

  10. #10
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    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.

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