Hello

[Dennis]

It's very sophisticated and a long way from treating it like plasticine, but not really what I would enjoy doing.
When you create things from just sheet and wire they appear as if by magic.

[Dennis]

Like this:

[ajda]

Horses for courses, I guess - or perhaps rabbits for hats...

[Patstone]

I tried it once and got very sticky - yuk. Gave it up and concentrated making jewellery with silver sheet and wire.

[metalsmith]

Like this:

Ok ... "Like"

[metalsmith]

It is the price of the stuff that really gets me (a true Yorkshire man - "like a Scotsman with the generosity squeezed out of him", the saying goes) ... and then it 'shrinks' i.e. weight loss on burning the 'organic' complex.

I have some powdered (maybe not atomised) fine silver extracted from the pickle jar, washed and drying. Xantham gum is now in the post courtesy of ebay. I'll let you know how I get on - or anyone with relevant experience could shortcut this tragic tale and I'll add the xantham to some icing (or something!)

[ajda]

I think some traditional metalsmiths are suspicious, even scornful, of innovations like PMC. Then again, traditional magicians might find your hat a bit suspect, Dennis - it looks more like a WW1 helmet or a lady's hat from the 1930s than the trad topper... But it suits your design beautifully, just as PMC suits some people's creative style or offers another dimension to work in for those who want to mix it with traditional techniques.

Alan

PS - thanks for the links Sandra and metalsmith - the latter made me think of Marc Bolan, so off to YouTube next... ah, the joys of that new-fangled interweb... I'll be very interested to see how you get on with the powder and gum, metalsmith!

[Sandra]

Did it get sticky? That sounds very odd, it tends to dry out so fast which is what I find the most difficult part about handling it.
Regarding the shrinking - yes it does lose about 10% during the sintering process, but does also it lose weight? The air molecules are becoming more condensed as it sinters but I didn't think it lost weight as well. I'll have to test that out the next time I get around to using PMC.

[metalsmith]

Regarding the shrinking - yes it does lose about 10% during the sintering process, but does also it lose weight? The air molecules are becoming more condensed as it sinters but I didn't think it lost weight as well.

As I understand things (which could be completely wrong) metal clay is composed of finely powdered metal, complex sugars / starch & water. Yes, it will include air - probably in limited quantities at the outset, but with steam created by vapourising the water.

The air molecules will become less dense on heating, but I think what you are really meaning is that sintering reduces the interstitial porosity, which I'd agree with - hence the shrinkage. Since sintering drives off water and burns the complex sugars to carbon then to CO / CO2 I suspect that there is a loss of weight during sintering - but I'm always happy to hear suggestions to the contrary, particularly those backed with some numbers, so if anyone runs this with PMC or other commercial products, that would be good info to know.

Clay recipe Linky

[metalsmith]

Ok, My Preciousss metalsmith clay experiment began this evening.

10g fine silver powder (moist)
1g xanthan gum powder
0.5g cornflour (or custard as I had) powder

All mixed up well together to a consistency just a little softer than blu-tac. I'll try to do something (productive) with it tomorrow. I have some pics of the process I've used which I can post up, but I've had it for now.