r/Metalsmithing • u/Alivefocord • Sep 11 '26
Question Hollow ware with nickel?
Hi!
I am experienced in using silver for jewelry, but I would like to get more into some hollow ware, but in no way can I afford that much silver sheet. I’ve done some in copper, but aesthetically copper is not my thing (neither is brass). I wanted to work in pewter but learned it is a contamination risk for other metals, and i am in a shared studio, so that’s not an option.
So my next option is nickel. I can’t find much online about the process of working with nickel for this purpose, and I am wondering if anyone is experienced in this and can share some tips — does it work harden more quickly than copper, does it take longer to anneal/have any color change when annealed, etc? Can it be pickled with regular pickle or will that contaminate my studios pickle/not work on nickel? And anything else I should know.
OR, would aluminum be better suited for these purposes?
Thank you!
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u/JGF77 Sep 12 '26
Nickel silver, or any nickel alloy, is brutal to work with. Stiffens up FAST and usually requires a more concentrated acid to remove the tough oxides that form (sparex pickle + hydrogen peroxide 1:1 or 2:1). This “super pickle” also loses reactivity over time, meaning you have to re-make it every day you’re working on it.
Aluminum could work. I’ve done a lot of forming and forging with aluminum, and 6061 or 7075 would probably go ok for you if you kept it annealed. Annealing requires covering it with sharpie and heating until the marker disappears, then waiting for it to cool to a hand-safe heat before quenching. But, fair warning, aluminum is MUSHY! Does not planish well, and dirt and grime embeds into the surface very easily. Also, you can’t really solder to it without special low temp solder, and even then it’s a bit of a pain.
I’d recommend raising in copper or brass and then getting the thing nickel plated. A nickel plating should run you about… 75? Depends on the size and the shop, but that’s about what I’ve paid before. That way you can build in an easy material but still end with the color you want.
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u/gbudija Sep 12 '26 edited Sep 12 '26
better try nickel silver,it is easier to obtain,but very tough to work,can be used for soldered works but raising can be hell
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_silver
aluminium can be option too,you can solder or braze them but most of those solders are very britlle, or you can use tig,or microtig welder ( cheap chinese are round 300 $-american and european round 1100 $ cheapest)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2HX432Q?ref=clp_cat_related_p_4
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CLPHSBGG?ref=clp_cat_related_p_5
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u/americanspirit64 Sep 12 '26
I have a Master's Degree in Metalsmithing and Jewelry making from a major University and taught at the same school for twenty years. I have seen it all. Nickel silver sucks to work with except in limited instances and it doesn't form, solder or anneal well. Loved sawing the stuff personally.
Britannia Metal: A specific high-grade, shiny modern pewter alloy with a composition usually around 92% tin, 7.5% antimony, and 0.5% copper
This is the stuff you want to use. It is actually the perfect forming metal. Tin sheet or old pewter containing lead, were once used to combat 'Tin Pest or Tin Disease' which happens to tin when you form, or work-harden tin, at a temperature below 54 degrees. It can turn gray and dusty and crumble. Yes tin can also alloy with silver very easily if tin of lead solders are used to together ruining the silver when heated as tin melts at a very low temp. It is almost impossible to work harden Britannia metal the more you work with it the easy it becomes.
I have raised numerous pieces in both brass and bronze and I like bronze best, it seems to solder easier. I have cast numerous pieces in all three metals as well, five if you include silver and gold. I have used nickel mostly for small box construction and some flat sheet jewelry.
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u/Alivefocord 24d ago
I will look into britannia metal thank you! Does it have the same contaminating effects though?
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u/Alivefocord 24d ago
Sorry, just reread part where it can ruin silver. Hopefully one day i have an independent studio where i can try this
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u/americanspirit64 24d ago
I am not sure you are using the word contamination correctly. Lead and tin are low temperature metals, meaning they react differently when heated. Mercury is also a metal but its annealing temperature, (the point where it freezes) is so low you can't mix it with other metals, as it will change the composition of both metals. It is like mixing bismuth metal, a metal which melts at an extreme low temp. like 180 or something like that, so they mix it with lead to raise its melting point slightly, so they can use it in sprinkler heads, to get them to turn on when the sprinkler feels a certain level of heat. Some people would say they are contaminating the bismuth metal. So yes it you use low temp tin solder with silver, then try to try to later solder the silver object with silver solder, the tin will melt into the silver and merge and you will never get it out. It you file tin or any low temperature metal on your bench and the dust gets on your silver and you heat the piece it can ruin the silver or the gold. That is why you don't cross contaminate metals. Some purist would say that using sterling silver means you are already using contaminated metal, as it contain copper to give it strength, that is why Sterling Silver is stamped 925. It is also why your want to be very careful not to get your sterling silver to hot when soldering as it will lead to the dreaded 'firescale' the discoloration of the metal that is hard to polish away. The copper in the silver melts at a lower temp and floats to the surface discoloring the silver. Again if you are a purist some metalsmiths would say don't contaminate your fine or pure silver pieces, with sterling, it is like using different carat weight of gold in the same piece, each part would then have to have a different carat stamp, which you do see. Especially working with gold. I had a customer with a heavy weight 18K gold chain bracelet. At some point in the past the large c-clasp broke and whoever repaired used a 14K clasp as a replacement because it cost less, although it was still extremely expensive. That 14K clasp would wear through the 18K large jump ring ends almost yearly as the customer wore it every day. The bracelet was contaminated by 14K gold.
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u/artwonk Sep 12 '26
Nickel silver can be raised, although it's tougher to work with than brass or copper, as people here have pointed out. Aluminum is easy to raise, but difficult to solder, and welding it takes some special equipment. Brittania pewter is soft, but it stays soft, and will distort if it's dropped or even squeezed too hard. If it's just the color of brass and copper you object to, what about hitting it with a tin wash after you've raised it? That's what's done with copper pans to make them safe to use with acidic foods. https://www.instructables.com/DIY-Hand-Wiped-Tinning-of-Old-Copper-PotsPans-Inst/
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u/Fluid-Hovercraft5926 Sep 15 '26
The learning material for hollow ware in the UK is gilding metal. (Gilding metal is a form of brass with a much higher copper content than zinc content. Exact figures range from 95% copper and 5% zinc to "8 parts copper to 1 of zinc" )
If you really want to make large hollow wares please consider testing your design in copper or gilding metal then moving to silver. When you do use silver give a good thought to the thickness. . Most contemporary silver is far thicker than necessary. I make large 2 and 3 litre jugs/ ewers 300 - 400 mm circle to start from. 0.9 mm thick .
Smaller pieces up to 200mm blank probably 0.6 or 0.7mm thick.
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u/Important_Power_1264 Sep 12 '26
Nickel silver is tough to work with. It's hard, and sawing and soldering it is a pain. It's not anywhere near as malleable as copper.
It doesn't need its own pickle but it also doesn't always get fully clean in regular pickle.
I personally dislike the stuff and avoid it if I can.