How to Fuse Silver Wire for Jewelry Making
Jewelry making can be a hobby or a profession. If you enjoy making silver jewelry and want to fuse silver wire, you can learn the process without taking a professional jewelry-making course. Silver wire is most commonly fused to form rings, which are used in chains and interlinking silver jewelry pieces. You can make the rings any size that you or your client desires. Make a few extra rings the first time because you might overheat them while you're learning the fusing process.
Instructions
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1
Place two bricks on a flat surface. These bricks will support your fusing plate, so place them far enough apart so that the fusing plate is balanced and won't tip over easily in the next step.
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2
Lay your fusing plate on top of the bricks. This will ensure that the heat under the board won't start a fire.
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3
Use pliers to adjust your wire rings. The ends should line up evenly since you will be fusing them together and you'll want them to look neat and presentable.
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4
Line up your silver rings on the fusing plate. Space each wire ring about 1 inch apart. The spot where the two ends of each ring meet should be facing toward you. This will allow you to quickly see where you need to fuse the silver since all of the rings will be in the same position.
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5
Slide an Optivisor over your eyes. The light from the torch in later steps will be very bright. The Optivisor will allow you to look at the rings as you're fusing them.
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6
Pick up your jewelers torch, and press down on the igniter button. Hold the button down and hold the torch flame over one of the wire rings. You'll want to focus on the open section of the ring with the flame. Hold the torch about 2 inches above the ring. Once you see it fuse, move on to the next ring. Continue until all of the rings are fused.
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7
Fill a bowel with water and slide the rings into the water to cool them down. This will ensure that you won't burn yourself on a hot ring.
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Tips & Warnings
Turn off the lights when you're fusing the silver so you can see the fusion clearer.
Be careful not to burn your fingers with the flame of the torch.
References
- Photo Credit hand held torch image by Tammy Mobley from Fotolia.com
