Applying to join this forum, you HAVE to activate your membership in YOUR email in the notice you recieve after completing application process. No activation on your part, no membership.

Lapidaryforum.net

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

News:

Welcome new members & old from the Lapidary/Gemstone Community Forum. Please join up. You will be approved after spam check & you must manually activate your acct with the link in your email

Congratulations to Bobby1 and his Brazilian Agate Cab!

 www.lapidaryforum.net

Another cabochon contest coming soon!

Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Silver guages I need  (Read 2022 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Bluetangclan

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 120
Silver guages I need
« on: September 22, 2017, 10:06:45 AM »

Looking to make an order for some silver to make mostly pendants, earings, and rings. I have taken classes on it but its been awhile and for some reason I didn't take good notes on that in particular. I am trying to remember gauges of silver and sizes. Very poor at the whole metric thing so looking at mm measurements doesn't help me visualize what I need(I hate it when people put stones in mm online). I swam 2 miles today instead of one for example because I did the meter conversion wrong, math is hard :P.

Anyway rather than buying a mix of gauges and spending a butt load to figure out what I actually need I figured I would ask the silver folks here. Mostly just commonly used sizes for soldering. Back plates for pendants, bezels for holding stones, both tall stones and tiny stones. Common gauged wire used for various soldering projects, I like double half rounds for easy rings.
Logged

Phishisgroovin

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2967
  • I am here by addiction
Re: Silver guages I need
« Reply #1 on: September 22, 2017, 01:15:28 PM »

I'm the same way with metrics.
Just remember,  larger gauges on  metals and wire mean thinner
Logged

Bluetangclan

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 120
Re: Silver guages I need
« Reply #2 on: September 23, 2017, 05:52:04 PM »

I know. Its like shotgun ammo, the smaller it is the bigger it is. I am trying to get a baseline pile of silver to start making things and needing to know the particular gauges I should pick up in a bulk buy to make some fairly uncomplicated rings and pendants.
Logged

bilquest

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 83
    • Rocks and Stuff
Re: Silver guages I need
« Reply #3 on: September 24, 2017, 04:39:49 PM »

I'm a relative novice to the silver smithing world as well. I also don't have money to blow on all sorts of experimental sizes of base metal. If I were to recommend the essentials, I would suggest:

24 ga. sterling sheet for backing (I used 26 ga. as well but found the 24 didn't warp as much when heated.)
1/8 in. silver bezel, 28 ga.
18 ga. sterling round wire for loops

You can do a lot with just this and some imagination.

I also do a lot with nickel silver sheet for back plate. It's hella cheaper when you're experimenting, and silver bezel solders to it nicely. Granted, it doesn't have the luster of sterling, but for backing who cares? I do all my bola's with 18 ga. nickel for backing.
Logged

Bluetangclan

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 120
Re: Silver guages I need
« Reply #4 on: September 25, 2017, 11:03:55 AM »

That's what I was looking for, thanks. I can work from there as a baseline. Neat nickel trick.
Logged

MurphyStone

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 143
Re: Silver guages I need
« Reply #5 on: October 10, 2017, 12:13:39 PM »

I use 22g for all my pendants in fine silver. 

I am betting you can go thinner in sterling as it will harden better, but i like my clients to have less tarnish issues. 

Logged

ileney

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 639
Re: Silver guages I need
« Reply #6 on: November 16, 2017, 06:54:01 AM »

I use 22 gauge sterling for back plates and may even go thicker if I do piercing. I might do as light as 24 or 26  gauge for earring backs due to the desire for less weight. My cuff bracelets are usually 18 gauge.
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
 

Page created in 0.115 seconds with 36 queries.