Names
(Names in Bold are the commonly used Terms) |
Fine Silver ***,
.999 Fine Silver*/*** |
Sterling Silver */**/*** |
Copper
*/***/***** |
Commercial Bronze**
[This is a BRASS even if it's labeled as 'bronze' it is not a bronze since it is Cu + Zn.]
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Jewelry Bronze
[This is a BRASS even if it's labeled as 'bronze' it is not a bronze since it is Cu + Zn.]
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Red Brass*/***,
Rich Low Brass**,
Brass***,
Jeweler's Brass***,
NuGold***,
Nu Gold*****,
Nu-Gold,
Jeweler's Bronze*/***,
Craft Gold*,
Merlin's Gold***/***** |
Cartridge Brass***/****,
Yellow Brass*/***,
Yellow High Brass**,
Brass**/*****,
30/70 Brass |
Bronze***,
Grade "C" Phosphor Bronze****
[This is a BRONZE since it is Cu + Sn.]
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Nickel Silver*/**/***/****/*****,
German Silver*/**/***,
Nickel Alloy*** |
Enameling
Quoted from this excelent article:
Metals Suitable for Enameling^
by Woodrow Carpenter
© Glass On Metal
Vol. 5, No. 6, June 1986
[All underligned and bold text were done by me and do not appear in the article that way.]
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"Fine silver is a popular metal with enamelers. There is no fire scale to contaminate the working area. The white color does not appreciably affect the true colors of transparent enamels which appears very clean and brilliant when properly fired. Transparent reds are normally fired over silver flux while other transparents are fired directly on the silver surface. Caution should be taken not to over fire transparent enamels on silver. Over fired fluxes may have a yellow tint. Other transparent colors may appear as though they were applied over a yellow base coat. The coefficient of expansion of silver is quite high and enamels with expansions less than 290 should be carefully observed for cracking. Fortunately its modulus of elasticity is quite low, otherwise it would not be possible to use enamels normally used on copper. As pointed out in Vol. 2 No. 3, P. 30, enameled silver articles grow considerable with each fire, because of silver’s high expansion and low modulus of elasticity. As a result it is difficult to construct and enamel silver boxes where a lid must fit a base, or other items which are to be fitted together." ^ |
"The thermal expansion is lower than that of silver, and we suspect the modulus of elasticity is somewhat higher. This suspicion is based on reports that some lower expansion enamels which are barely suitable for fine silver are not compatible with sterling. It is far safer to use the high end of the expansion range of enamels normally used on copper. Due to the copper content the alloy will oxidize when heated, thus transparent enamels may lack some brightness and be less clear than when applied over fine silver. Frequently more desirable results are obtained by first applying a flux made especially for silver. Opaque enamels can be applied directly on sterling silver. See “Silver Alloy” under PREPARATION OF THE METAL, Thompson Enamel Workbook, pg. 16. We recommend this procedure for enameling silver alloys." ^ |
"The most popular metal used by Art Enamelers is copper. It is compatible with enamels having expansions of about 250 to 375. Its melting point permits the use of enamels which fire as high as 1650°F, however adequate supporting fixtures are a major design problem to prevent warpage at temperatures in excess of 1500°F. A wide range of enamels, both transparent and opaque, with desirable properties are compatible with copper." ^ |
"COMMERCIAL BRONZE (90 Cu, 10 Zn) (89 Cu, 9.25 Zn, 1.75 Pb) and RED BRASS (85 Cu, 15 Zn) can be enameled with enamels normally used on copper if those with expansions of 300-350 are selected. Thompson’s Low Temperature - High Expansion enamels, firing at 1050°F for approximately 10 minutes have an excellent potential for enameling these two metals." ^ |
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"COMMERCIAL BRONZE (90 Cu, 10 Zn) (89 Cu, 9.25 Zn, 1.75 Pb) and RED BRASS (85 Cu, 15 Zn) can be enameled with enamels normally used on copper if those with expansions of 300-350 are selected. Thompson’s Low Temperature - High Expansion enamels, firing at 1050°F for approximately 10 minutes have an excellent potential for enameling these two metals." ^ |
"LOW BRASS (80 Cu, 20 Zn), CARTRIDGE BRASS (70 Cu, 30 Zn), MUNTZ (60 Cu, 40 Zn) and FORGING BRASS (60 Cu, 38 Zn, 2 Pb) can all be enameled with Thompson’s Low Temperature - High Expansion enamels. In some instances the transparents will not be the standard experienced on pure copper, due to the dissolved metal oxides. When the scale adherence test is run on these metals the oxide flakes off both when water quenched or air cooled. The oxide is grayish black." ^ |
"Obviously there is a problem enameling the lower melting alloys with enamels normally used on copper. Thompson’s Low Temperature - High Expansion enamels having expansions of about 450 and firing at 1050°F are compatible. Various alloys of silver, copper, zinc, cadmium, tin and nickel can also be enameled with these enamels providing the solidus point of the alloy is not below about 1230°F." ^ |
"NICKEL SILVER (65 Cu, 18 Ni, 17 Zn) enamels well with both regular and low fire enamels.
A second nickel silver (55 Cu, 18 Ni, 27 Zn) is not compatible with enamels normally used for copper, while the low fire series work very well." ^ |