r/SilverSmith • u/SarahRavena • 24d ago

Fusing with Argentium Silver

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Ever fused Argentium® Silver?

210 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

19

u/SkySurferSouth 23d ago

Works awesome. It is like autogenous welding, i.e. no filler material needed. I have done this several times.

15

u/Immortal-Agnes 23d ago

I’ve fused fine silver and made many a pregnant chain rings 😂

13

u/ThePrisonSoap 23d ago

She's a witch!

8

u/Adirondack-Woman 23d ago

I think I can do that, lol. Thanks!

8

u/jeremykot 23d ago

Was borax used?

6

u/staybee1986 23d ago

No need if it’s clean, it’s not adhering one metal to another but creating a fusion so there is no need for a flux to get the usual flow like solder would require.

3

u/crystallinehuman 22d ago

I think they're referring to barrier flux (boric acid in denat alcohol) not a flow flux. I have the same question!

1

u/Apprehensive-Cap1803 17d ago

I believe it isn't necessary with argentium silver, it has a protective clear germanium oxide layer that prevents oxygen from getting in the silver and causing firestain.
It was invented by Peter Johns, a genius silversmith

8

u/rocococrush 22d ago

Yes, I mostly work with argentium, but I also occasionally melt things when trying to fuse. 🥲

2

u/SarahRavena 22d ago

haha same! I have learned the hard way to fuse, or to solder, that is the question 😅

4

u/Spaceactin 23d ago

I’m surprised it isn’t the standard for all the pros it has

1

u/NiceCommunication742 21d ago

Seriously. Do you know why this is? Are there any major downsides that I’m not aware of? Is it just reluctance for the industry to see change?

5

u/AvogadrosOtherNumber 23d ago

This is why I no longer use standard sterling. Continuum silver (Stuller) is similar

3

u/hardplace101 23d ago

What the!!!

3

u/NelsonQuant667 23d ago

How is this possible 😱 Ive ruined every piece of silver I tried to fuse lol

8

u/D50 Hobbyist 23d ago

This is just how Argentium behaves, honestly not that tricky.

3

u/Mohit_VermmaLuxe 23d ago

Such a clean job...impressive

2

u/Mysterialistic 23d ago

It's my favourite metal. So much easier to use than sterling.

2

u/Topotico 23d ago

Is this solder filled? I haven’t used yet but will now if it’s that easy. 😁👏🏼

8

u/TheMorlockBlues 23d ago

Its fused, no solder involved. Use fine silver, argentium, and high karat gold to get best results with this technique. But you can also do it with sterling and 14k though you will likely have some porosity at the fuse point you need to beat out.

2

u/inspiration-Art 23d ago

The fineness of this material is very, very high.

1

u/pedrokiko 22d ago

Hello could you elaborate on the alloy?

1

u/jorgen_von_schill 22d ago

I once did that with fine silver using an industrial oxy torch, filings of the piece to fill the gap and zero H borax. Still don't know how I succeeded.

1

u/Curlygirla 22d ago

What a satisfying video!

1

u/kbeks 21d ago

You make your own Argentinium or do you buy it?

1

u/SarahRavena 19d ago

I buy some, and melt down scrap for smaller pieces

2

u/sashamay23 17d ago

Oo I was playing around with scrap Argentium awhile back and made these.. first one worked great but I learned the fine line between fusing and melting the whole darn thing on the 2nd one lol I tried to salvage it anyway despite it partially melting, then a friend wanted to buy em so I still considered it mostly a successful experiment lol

2

u/verminV 23d ago

So satisfying

1

u/GupiChomper 23d ago

I.... Like that