Fusing fine silver beads

If you work with PMC, you probably have pieces of failed jewelry collected in a box or drawer. On my bench, I have a special drawer for all scrap silver. Eventually, I will accumulate enough to justify sending it off to Rio Grande for a credit against future purchases. Occasionally, when I need silver balls to decorate a new creation, I will snip off pieces and fuse them into fine silver balls, but the majority of the pieces are stuck in the limbo known as my scrap silver drawer.
This lens will show you how to use thin pieces of this scrap (or fine silver wire if you have no scrap), wrap it around fine silver tubing, and fuse wonderful and original beads.
Why use fine silver instead of sterling? Several reasons. First, fine silver does not develop fire scale when heated with a torch. Sterling does, and it is reeeealy hard to remove. Also, fine silver is softer, so it is easier to modify the shape of the tube bead to meet your taste. And lastly, fine silver melts at a lower temp than sterling - perfect for butane torches.

To begin your tube bead, choose a diameter of tube that will allow your chain to pass through. Cut a piece to the length you want for your bead. You can use a jewelry saw, or a standard pipe cutter from the local hardware store.Sand the both ends of the bead with 320 grit sandpaper so they don't catch on clothing. I prefer the ends of the tube to be a little larger than the tube - just for the sake of appearance, Since this is fine silver, you can ream out the end with anything from a table knife, a screwdriver, or the peen end of a dappling peen - as I have.

If you don't have scrap fine silver, you can use 16 gauge fine silver wire. I would flatten it first so that you have more surface area to fuse to the tube, then wrap the flat wire around the tube decoratively and as tight to the tube as possible.

I had a variety of scrap to choose from. Some was wide enough that I clipped narrower pieces. I also had some leftover fine silver bezel wire that I wrapped around one of my beads, then added some more scraps on top. Use your imagination.

Now place your bead on a fireproof surface. A kiln brick is best since it is made to withstand high temps. A plain brick will do in a pinch, just don't try to do what a friend did, and use an upturned pyrex pan!

Turn on your torch and move the flame over the entire surface of the tube. Remember that you want to heat up the tube and the scrap silver surrounding it. When the bead gets red, watch very carefully. Very quickly the silver will get shiny and start to fuse. This all happens quickly. If you keep the flame on too long, the fine silver will not fuse, but will draw up on itself instead. This pic is what it looks like just before you should remove the flame. It's best to work with a torch in lower lights, so you can tell when the metal begins to get red.

Turn off your torch and quench the bead in water Your bead is done! You can add whatever patina you would like.

And here is what you end up with - a beautiful necklace made from three lovely fused fine silver tube beads.

Have fun, and check out my blog and etsy page below!

Feel free to email me at barkingdoggallery@yahoo.com if you have any questions.