Silver hooks

[aercraft]

Hi,

I'm looking to make some big fine silver hooks for a couple of large fused pieces using 2.0mm wire.  Is there any reason why this shouldn't work okay?  I'm going to do some weight testing, but meanwhile, has anybody else tried this, or know of failure/success stories?

Thanks for any help/info.

Anne.

[Mand]

Mizgeorge may be able to advise you on this.

[mizgeorge]

Or not!
Are these to be fused into the glass, or added afterwards? If afterwards, I think I'd use sterling rather than fine just for the strength. Even with a lot of hardening, fine silver is a lot more malleable. Though if you want to ball the ends, you'd need to use fine or Argentium. Can't quite picture what it is you're doing though!

[aercraft]

I'm going to make hooks in this sort of style -



- about 2" tall to fuse into the back of pieces already made (so the hooks will be put in a glass sandwich).  One inch in the piece and an inch protruding.   Two hooks per 12" wide piece.

I'd like to use fine silver if possible but knowing it's soft, is it up to the job?

Thanks for your help.

[mizgeorge]

If they're to go into the glass, then definitely fine silver - sterling doesn't like being fired and will discolour. My only word of caution would be that it's a pretty expensive mistake if for any reason it doesn't work!

If they're to be hung onto any sort of hook, it might be worth adding some sort of cushion between the silver and any other metal to avoid it cutting into it.

[bluefairy]

Also, if you're fusing them into the glass, you might need to hammer/flatten the end that is going into the glass - 2mm wire is pretty thick and you might find it causes too much stress in the glass and it cracks.  When I'm making my wall hangings, I use 1mm thick copper wire, in exactly that same shape, but I hammer the curly ends to make them thinner, glass doesn't like inclusions that are too thick, hth   

[aercraft]

If they're to go into the glass, then definitely fine silver - sterling doesn't like being fired and will discolour. My only word of caution would be that it's a pretty expensive mistake if for any reason it doesn't work!

If they're to be hung onto any sort of hook, it might be worth adding some sort of cushion between the silver and any other metal to avoid it cutting into it.

Well quite - and especially as they're not my pieces... would hate for it to go wrong so am trying to think ahead.

It's a good point about protecting the hooks once they're in, so will recommend that if all goes well.  Thanks.

[aercraft]

Also, if you're fusing them into the glass, you might need to hammer/flatten the end that is going into the glass - 2mm wire is pretty thick and you might find it causes too much stress in the glass and it cracks.  When I'm making my wall hangings, I use 1mm thick copper wire, in exactly that same shape, but I hammer the curly ends to make them thinner, glass doesn't like inclusions that are too thick, hth   

True - I was thinking of going for the thicker wire purely for the strength factor and I guess that is really my question - what is the minimum thickness of fine silver wire that I can use for this project? 

What size are the wall hangings that you use the 1mm copper for? 

Thanks!

[Zeldazog]

Another word of caution, I believe silver can cause glass to discolour, depending on what glass you're using?

[aercraft]

Another word of caution, I believe silver can cause glass to discolour, depending on what glass you're using?

Ah yes, I've just been reading about that.  It's Bullseye and I did a small pendant with fine silver inclusions and bail recently that worked okay.  Did I get lucky or is Bullseye a safe option?

Thanks.

[Zeldazog]

Bullseye do a special Crystal Clear designed for silver work - could it have been that?

I don't know that it ALWAYS happens anyway.... but at least you have a choice 

[mizgeorge]

I think fine silver is OK on the discolouration thing. Sterling certainly isn't.

If you forge the wire, or put it through a mill, it's surprisingly strong even at quite small gauges. I think my biggest worry would be the wear at the hanging point. Could you wrap it (perhaps with sterling) after fusing?

[aercraft]

I think fine silver is OK on the discolouration thing. Sterling certainly isn't.

If you forge the wire, or put it through a mill, it's surprisingly strong even at quite small gauges. I think my biggest worry would be the wear at the hanging point. Could you wrap it (perhaps with sterling) after fusing?

Could offer to do that - or would something else be just as good - rubber tubing, bit of thick felt?

Next question - what does the firing process do to fine silver?  Haven't been able to find out the annealing temperature of fine silver (google head not in gear today) - I think the pieces will be fired at around 800C - is that enough to anneal it?

Thanks!

[mizgeorge]

Silver anneals at around 650 degrees. Fine silver is not noticeably different when annealed though. It's always going to be soft!

I think clear rubber/silicon tubing would be a very neat solution.

[aercraft]

Excellent - thanks for all your help with this!