Granulated Earrings

Today's Technique

Forming Silver Granules

page 210

"Granulation is an ancient technique that involves the application of tiny balls, or granules, to a piece. The granules may be fused or soldered." pg. 210

Materials

Charcoal Block

Flex Shaft*

Round Burr Bit

Silver Wire Pieces

Flux

Pickle & Rinses*

Torch

Solder Paste

Tweezers

Silver Base

Steps to Success

1. Using your flex shaft, drill holes into your charcoal block. I used a 2.5mm round burr bit.

2. Flux your silver pieces and add them to your holes.

3. Heat these pieces with your torch (I used a #3 tip on my Little Smith Torch) until they form into balls.

4. Remove from the charcoal block - pickle and rinse.

5. With your tweezers, place your granules with a bit of easy silver solder paste onto the silver piece on which you wish to solder them.

6. With your torch heat the piece evenly, being careful not to melt the granules, until the solder flows. I used a #4 tip with my Little Smith Torch and heated the piece from underneath while resting on a birds nest of stainless steel wire. You can see that there was some movement of the balls during heating as this is a curved surface.

7. Pickle

I really liked this one - I have never created granules before and I can imagine many different applications for their use. I hope you enjoyed this one too!!

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