7 Top Tips for Perfect Hand Firing Silver Clay
When you are a beginner, you might find that hand firing Silver Clay is the most daunting part of the process. But the truth is, it’s the fun bit. I love hearing what my students say when they fire for the first time… because when they see how easy it is, they are empowered and delighted! In this blog I am sharing my 7 Top Tips to ensure that your silver clay is handfired perfectly, every single time.
Tip One – Your Firing Setup
Your firing setup will determine how easy the firing process will be for you. If you follow these guidelines and you’ll be firing like a pro in no time!
Fire in a dimly lit room
Firstly, and probably most importantly, you need to make sure that you are firing in a place where you can see the changes in the firing process clearly. This means in a dimly lighted space. A lot of my students are understandably nervous about firing in the initial stages and want to fire outside. This is NOT a good idea.
Your firing space should be dim – not in front of a window, or in full light and not outside.
Ventilation
Although the organic binder in Silver Clay is not toxic, you want to make sure, that you minimise breathing in anything that’s not clean air. Make sure that you have a door or a window open to ensure that the air is moving freely.
Protect your Surfaces
When I hand-fire I always place the firing block a granite block which I picked up from my local supermarket. I also stand a kiln shelf at the back of my block to make sure the flames do not catch anything behind the block I am firing on. You can buy soldering boards for this purpose quite inexpensively. It is important to make sure you protect the surfaces around where you’re firing because it can become very hot and singe your worktop. House bricks are a good alternative to granite blocks!
Your equipment
Apart from the protection I’ve just mentioned to fire your pieces, you’ll need a butane torch and a soldering block. Don’t skimp on the soldering block – it’s needed because as I mentioned before, temperatures get quite high (the minimum temperatures needed is 650oC / 1200oF) and these blocks are designed to withstand that temperature.
As for the torch, I’ve found that you get what you pay for as far as this is concerned. You can buy a kitchen torch for a small amount of cash, but that will not last for very long and you may have to replace it quite quickly. That’s fine if you’re just trying silver clay for the first time and you want to know if you like it. I would suggest that you invest in a small jeweller’s butane torch designed for soldering. It’ll last you longer and you will be able to use it for another jewellery jobs too.
Tip 2 – Learn How to Control your torch
Your torch matters!
Firstly, I always say to my beginners in Silver Clay – don’t buy a big, massive torch – go for a small butane torch. Why? Because if you’re not familiar with the firing process and the stages that occur – then you have more room for error with a smaller torch, just because it burns less fiercely than a larger one.
Control your Torch
There is an air inlet on the side of your torch which controls the flow of air mixing with the butane. If it’s closed you will get a cooler, softer yellow flame and if it’s fully open, your flame will be hot and sharp. Vary this inlet until you have something in between. This the sweet spot for firing silver clay.
Tip 3 – Know the Stages of Firing
There are three distinct stages of firing (and if you’re firing in a dim room, you’ll be able to see them clearly).
Smoke
The smoke is the first part of the firing process and can happen quite quickly once you apply the heat to your piece. Depending on how thick or large your piece is, will depend on the amount of smoke that you see. A smaller piece will produce less smoke. This is why you want to fire in somewhere well ventilated.
Flame
The flame comes either at the same time as the smoke but usually it’s a second or two later. This (along with the smoke) is the organic binder which holds all the silver particles together in the clay form, burning away. Again, the flame size will depend on the size of your piece. Don’t be alarmed, it’s normal and doesn’t last very long. Keep moving your flame. If your torch goes out which it sometimes can with the smoke, then just relight and continue.
Peachy Orange Glow
Once the smoke and the flame have gone, keep moving your torch and keep heating up your piece. It will change colour, from grey to white and it will start to heat up. Keep going until your piece is a peachy orange glow. This is called SINTERING, and this is when all the little silver particles are running together and forming the silver metal. It’s important that this colour (temperature) is maintained for a MINIMUM of two minutes (although some silver clays say longer so refer to the manufacturer’s guidelines) for a good sinter.
Tip 4 – Make Sure your piece is dry before you start
It’s very important to make sure your silver clay piece is completely dry before you fire it.
Why? Because if it’s not, then the little water particles within the Silver Clay will pop to the surface of your piece. This will most likely form in an ugly bubble that will spoil the look of it altogether. If your piece has been left for days and days before firing, it’s most likely dry and you can go ahead. But if it’s been left drying in cold place, or somewhere with a lot of moisture, then it may not be.
And if you’re like me and just want to get your pieces fired in the quickest amount of time, you can test to see if your piece is dry.
How to test
All you need is a warm piece (if you need to, heat it up with a hairdryer or similar until it’s warm) and a reflective surface – like a mirror or shiny surface. Put your warm piece on the reflective surface and pick it up. If you see a condensation mark, it’s not dry and ready for firing.
Thank me later 😉
Tip 5 – Practise before you start firing for real
If you’re feeling really nervous, then practise first.
My suggestions for practise
Try firing with some small offcuts of dried silver clay.
Keep going until the silver melts and goes into a ball.
This will give you a visual indication of what colour to look out for when your clay is approaching a dangerously high temperature. It will also give you an idea of just how far you must go to melt the silver.
Don’t worry – the little balls you make can be used for projects later on.
Tip 6 – Make sure you cover the entire piece whilst firing. Keep your torch moving
Maintaining the peachy orange glow in the firing stage is really important – see Tip 3.
To do this, you must keep your torch moving the while time you’re firing.
Make sure you’re comfortable during firing. You can sit down and if you need to, support your arm with your other hand or some sort of rest. Keep your torch moving all the time by moving in a circular motion or back and forth.
Do NOT concentrate on any one part of your piece and make sure that the entire piece is included by your movements. This ensures a constant heat and this means good sintering which means a stronger piece.
Tip 7 – Know when to Quench
When you’ve stopped firing, you can quench your silver piece in cold water.
Make sure that you have some reverse lock tweezers and a bowl nearby. Pick up your piece carefully and drop it in the water. You should hear a distinctive sound like a sharp woosh.
After that, it should be safe to handle.
Do you need to quench?
No. You can wait for the piece to cool down naturally.
Quenching just means that your piece cools down very quickly and you can then get to polishing your beautiful silver.
But there are times when you DON’T quench.
This is when you have any stone or glass set in with your silver clay. If you quench in these situations, your inclusions will most likely fracture and spoil your piece completely.
If you’re ever in doubt, don’t quench. Your silver clay piece will cool down naturally given some time.
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