Getting To Know Your Wire Before Making Jewelry Part II

Practicing is the key to becoming familiar with different types of
wire. The more you use them and try different types, the more you
will learn the qualities of each type. This will Also allow you to
gain knowledge of which type works best for different projects.

The first type of wire is copper. This is a great choice to practice
with. It is easy to find, especially at hardware stores and is
affordable. It also looks great with earth tone beads.

Galvanized is also a good type to practice with. It is a dull silver
color. You often are able to find it also at your local hardware
store.

Sterling silver, which by the way is one of my favorites, is 92.50
percent pure silver. The word sterling is what indicates the amount
of silver there is. The other part is a mixture of metal alloys.
This part of the make up is what adds strength to the wire. Sterling
makes beautiful jewelry, however it does tarnish.

Fine silver is almost 100 percent pure silver. The actual percentage
is 99.9. Since fine silver does not have as many alloys a sterling it
is softer. The lack of alloys allows pieces made with fine silver to
tarnish sliver.

Keep in mind once you get in to the sterling silver and fine silver
the cost goes up. Make sure you practice until you are comfortable
working with wire before moving up. It is definitely less costly to
make mistakes on the copper or galvanized wire.


Amy
The Painted House and More
www.amyspaintedhouseandmore.com
www.picturetrail.com/photos/aressa

Hi Amy;

While it's nice that you're sharing information with us, it's a little
difficult to figure out what you're trying to say. What exactly are we
supposed to be "practicing" with these different kinds of wire? I hope
nobody gets too discouraged (or sick) trying to silver-solder galvanized
(steel) wire. And when you tell us "The lack of alloys allows pieces made
with fine silver to tarnish sliver." I get totally lost. A little
proof-reading, as well as some more depth and specificity, would help these
little articles a lot...

Andrew Werby
www.unitedartworks.com


wrote in message
...
Practicing is the key to becoming familiar with different types of
wire. The more you use them and try different types, the more you
will learn the qualities of each type. This will Also allow you to
gain knowledge of which type works best for different projects.

The first type of wire is copper. This is a great choice to practice
with. It is easy to find, especially at hardware stores and is
affordable. It also looks great with earth tone beads.

Galvanized is also a good type to practice with. It is a dull silver
color. You often are able to find it also at your local hardware
store.

Sterling silver, which by the way is one of my favorites, is 92.50
percent pure silver. The word sterling is what indicates the amount
of silver there is. The other part is a mixture of metal alloys.
This part of the make up is what adds strength to the wire. Sterling
makes beautiful jewelry, however it does tarnish.

Fine silver is almost 100 percent pure silver. The actual percentage
is 99.9. Since fine silver does not have as many alloys a sterling it
is softer. The lack of alloys allows pieces made with fine silver to
tarnish sliver.

Keep in mind once you get in to the sterling silver and fine silver
the cost goes up. Make sure you practice until you are comfortable
working with wire before moving up. It is definitely less costly to
make mistakes on the copper or galvanized wire.


Amy
The Painted House and More
www.amyspaintedhouseandmore.com
www.picturetrail.com/photos/aressa

On Tue, 08 Jan 2008 22:20:19 -0800, in rec.crafts.jewelry "Andrew Werby"
wrote:

While it's nice that you're sharing information with us,

Agreed. Always good when people share decent info with the group.

... it's a little
difficult to figure out what you're trying to say.

I'm guessing it's a choice of:

1. " have fun with wire. Here's some helpful info wherein I share my
experience and enthousiasm for wire"

or
2. " Visit my website please" (which suspicion is why I added a sort of
tentative "Advert" tag to her subject lines to conform with the group charter)

What exactly are we
supposed to be "practicing" with these different kinds of wire? I hope
nobody gets too discouraged (or sick) trying to silver-solder galvanized
(steel) wire. And when you tell us "The lack of alloys allows pieces made
with fine silver to tarnish sliver." I get totally lost.

I'm betting on a simple typo, with "sliver" having been intended to be "slower".
Make that substitution, and it makes more sense. Unfortunately, I only
realized that after I approved and posted it, or I would have taken the liberty
of doing her the favor of making the correction before posting it.

A little
proof-reading, as well as some more depth and specificity, would help these
little articles a lot...

Agreed.

Peter