Glossary of terms

Bail

A loop, ring, or section of tube that allows a piece to be hung, or suspended from a chain or wire.

Bezel

A setting that encircles a stone or ornament to secure it in place. Often formed of fine silver for use with metal clay, from bezel wire, but can be made of anything that enables encirclement of a solid piece.

Cold join

A type of connection that does not rely on heat; for example, rivets, staples and jump rings

Fine Silver

A precious metal that is almost pure (99.9%) with no other element or substance added or alloyed. Can be fused without solder and flux and does not discolour (firescale) when heated, unlike sterling (925) silver, it will only produce a fine white coating of silver oxide, easily removed with a wire brush.

Fusing (and fusing temperature)

Fusing is the process of melting metal particles together to combine in one. For fine silver, the term relates to joining without solder, by heating the metal until it flows; easily achieved using a hand-held torch.

The fusing temperature for fine silver begins at approx. 1750F, just above that the metal will begin to melt and flow. Firing fine silver should always be done at 1650F or below to prevent the loss of surface texture and detail through accidental melting.

Patina

Colour or stain on the surface of the metal. Fine silver can be stained with a variety of chemicals; Liver of sulphur being one. This produces a fabulous array of colours. Colour can also be achieved using pigment pencils, plant stains, paint and a variety of other materials. The advantage with LoS (Liver of Sulphur) is it can be left unsealed or temporarily sealed to stop colour process evolving with spray sealant or hard wax.

Rivet

A cold join made by placing a nail or piece of wire through the holes in two or more pieces and subsequently flaring or doming the tips to increase the size over the holes’.

Slip Join

The area of a join of two metal clay pieces created with slip, a slurry of dry clay and water.

Bone Dry

A completely dry piece of clay; devoid of moisture and is room temp. to the touch.

Firing

The process of heating clay pieces to burn out binders an sinter them together, can be done with a torch, an open flame, or kiln. The strongest results are achieved using an electric kiln with a digital, controllable thermometer (set at idealistic 1650F for 2 hrs)

Greenware

Dry, unfired clay pieces. In this state pieces can stay patiently on a shelf until ready for firing.

Leather-hard and Hard-leather-hard

Terms used to describe the amount of moisture in the clay through the drying process.

When clay is fresh it is described at fresh, wet or soft. When the surface begins to dy on the outer the inside will still be moist. Leather-hard clay will literally feel like leather; a cool surface and flexible. Hard-leather-hard is drier than the previous state, although still moisture is present. At this point flexing the clay will break it.

Wet clay

This is not literal. Wet clay merely means fresh from the packet, soft and pliable in state. You should never let your clay actually become ‘wet’ as it will render it unusable until drier.