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| FIRING
As mentioned
earlier, the clay can be fired with a handheld gas torch, on
a kitchen or camping gas stove, or in a kiln, depending on the
size and shape of your piece.
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DRYING
Before firing,
the clay piece needs to be completely dried out, either leave
it to dry at room temperature overnight, the actual time will depend
on size and thickness, or, for a smaller piece, you can use a hair
dryer or heat gun to speed it up. Don't try to rush a thick piece,
the surface will dry out quicker than the inside and the trapped moisture
can then cause explosions or cracks on the surface when firing.
When bone dry, you need to carefully shape, file and sand your piece
so all the edges are smooth and all little burrs or nicks are removed.
These would be very uncomfortable against the skin, and are much more
difficult to remove after firing.. The clay is brittle at this stage,
so be careful to not put too much pressure on it, and support the
piece well. A supporting rubber block is extremely handy for this.
This is one of the most important stages in working with metal clay
if you want to produce a professional looking piece so don't hurry
it, and when you think you have finished, go back and look again just
to make sure it is as perfect as possible.
FIRING
You can fire your piece in three different ways; on
a gas hob, with a
gas torch, or in a kiln. All three are absolutely fine for metal clay
as long as they are used correctly.
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GAS
STOVE
Most kitchen gas cook tops should be ok but if you don't have
gas in your kitchen you can buy a gas camping burner. Place a
stainless steel firing mesh over the flame to put your piece on.This
method is quick and cheap, but not suitable for pieces larger
than a 50c coin. |
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TORCH
Most kitchen or creme brulee torches are perfect for metal clay,
just make sure it has a nice large-ish, quite bushy, flame. Before
you start, fire your torch in a dimmed room so you can see the
glow as it requires a little practice to control the flame. To
fire, put your piece on a ceramic fibre brick, which in turn you
place on a fireproof surface (just in case you drop your hot piece).
This method is suitable for pieces under 25g, and is also quick,
cheap and easy. |
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KILN
Any kiln that can hold 650C - 800C reliably will be fine for firing
clay. Kilns with cone sitters, those that are made for firing
ceramic, enamelling, glass fusing, digitally controlled kilns,
as long as the temperature can be held reliably for the needed
firing time, and you don't get very hot or cold spots will be
fine. You don't need to use kiln wash for metal clay, and you
can fire safely on a soft fibre shelf. This is obviously the most
expensive method, but allows you to make larger pieces and fire
several items all at the same time. We use and sell Paragon Kilns,
please contact us
for details. |
AFTER FIRING
After the firing is done, you can either leave your pieces to cool
where they are, or, if you're in a rush and they are made with only
silver, you can quench them by dipping them in cool water to crash
cool them.
The pieces do come out white,
not looking like the silver you expected, but this is the natural
surface of rough, un-burnished silver and this will change as you
finish your piece, read more about ways to do this on the Finishing
page.
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