Here are some tips for purchasing silver SHEET METAL from @riogrande. All the choices can be overwhelming, so I thought I’d break down what some of the options are and how they differ. The most common is sterling silver (.925) It is stronger than fine silver, more prone to fire scale and tarnishes more easily. The other main option is fine silver (.999) It’s significantly softer than sterling, has a whiter appearance and is way less prone to tarnishing. The next consideration is gauge. Most of the sheet options come in a range of 6 gauge (4.11mm) to 30 gauge (0.26mm). You then have the options for dead soft (annealed), ¼ hard (a bit resistant to bending but readily takes shape) , ½ hard (has been worked a bit, tightening the grain at the molecular level. You can still bend the metal a bit, with force), and spring hard (thoroughly hardened and has basically no malleability.) So with those options in mind, here are a few questions you can ask yourself: Is the project I’m making going to get a lot of wear and tear (like a ring or a bracelet?) If the answer is yes, sterling is your best choice (since fine silver is softer). Next you need to choose a gauge heavy enough to experience the wear and tear but light enough to be comfortably. Heavy earrings for example can be uncomfortable and a very delicate ring can get squished in our hands. On average 20-14 gauge are well within that range, but that depends on the size and specifics of your design. Lastly which hardness should we buy? In most applications you will want to order dead soft. If you will be soldering on the piece you’re making, you may as well start with dead soft because it’s easy to work with and any hardness the metal may have will be lost when you apply heat to solder. Here is an example of when to order a harder sheet: Let’s say all I’m doing is sawing out a design and cold connecting it, a harder option gives strength to my piece, and that strength will be maintained since i’m not soldering. Would love to hear insights from all of you!
@riogrande is offering our community a discount on custom cuts, save 50% off CTO cutting fees with code: MTLSMITH3 through 5/1/19
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