Jewelry Making & Lapidary TipsSilver Melting PointWhen creating jewelry it is important to know what temperature silver and silver solder melt.
How to tell the difference between Fine & Sterling SilverWhen working with sliver it is easy to mix up your fine and sterling silver. To find out if a wire is fine silver or sterling silver, heat one end to red hot. As it cools, sterling silver will change color & become dull and grayish. Fine silver remains clean & lustrous. Cutting & Cleaning Geodes (non-Calcite)When sawing geodes or agate-filled nodules, first look for the largest dome on the specimen. This dome is in the upright position when the specimen is forming. If you saw through this dome you should expose the best "picture" or surface. If the specimen is elongated or egg-shaped saw through it lengthwise in order to obtain the best exposure. Source: South Bay Lapidary Society After you have cut the geode it may require cleaning. Simply soak in white distilled vinegar for a few hours to remove any lose material. Then rinse and scrub with soap, water and a soft toothbrush. Important: If your geode contains calcite do not use vinegar, it will dissolve the crystal. Note: Some people call the dome the "button." Slabbing to Save MaterialMany people have problems slabbing a piece of good quality material down to the last 1/4" slab. One way to do this requires a solution called "water glass" (Sodium silicate;egg preservative). This can be purchased from any drugstore. To cut the stone, take a block of wood that will sit in the saw vise without getting in the way of your stone. Then, place some water glass on the wood and stick on your material. Let it set for 12 to 24 hours. Now put the wood block in the saw vise and cut the slab material down to the last possible slab. To release the material from the wood, soak it in hot soapy water until the slab falls off. Note: If you leave the stone on the wood too long the water glass will turn white and your stone may fall off. Because of this, some people use dop wax or silicone instead. However, water glass is very inexpensive to use. Specialty Abrasives & GritFor grinding or tumbling hard materials (ie: star sapphire with a Mohs hardness of 9) black silicon carbide (wheels or grit) with a Mohs hardness of 9.1 is not very effective. Harder grits are available. SoCal Nevada, Inc. (socal403@earthlink.net) has boron carbide (Mohs 9.5), cubic boron nitride, aluminum oxide and diamond powder. They can be contacted at: Argos Abrasive Division of SoCAL NEVADA Incorporated SoCal will send you a micron to mesh conversion chart (no purchase necessary) Email them your name and address, the cart is emailed in Word Perfect 7.0. If your computer does not read Word Perfect 7.0, then send a self-address, stamped envelope and they will send one out to you. Send your request to... SoCal Nevada, Inc Industrial Supply, Inc. has black and green silicon carbide with a Mohs hardness of 9.1 and 9.4 respectively. Also aluminum oxide, boron carbide, synthetic diamond powder, steel grit, walnut shell and corn cob. Contact Christian Reinke at: Industrial Supply, Inc. |
