gold fuming

[jellybellykelley]

What type of gold can a I fume with and where can I buy it? Same question for silver. Thanks in advance, Kelley

[firefreak]

I use .999 gold and silver. Some peeps say that 22 karat gold works for them, but I prefer the pure gold.
You can buy pure metals in wire form from many places. ABR, Mountain Art, Glasscraft, etc. They sell gold by the inch and silver by the foot. Or buy scrap 24 karat gold and scrap fine silver from local sources.

Or use the search feature and search for gold fuming threads. Lots of info on this site. tuts as well! Good ventilation is a must!

[LarryC]

I use the 3X3 sheets of gold and silver foil/leaf. Makes it much easier to control the metal this way and since you use such a small amount the added cost is really not significant. I get really nice results with .99 silver and 22-23K gold.

[james23]

For fuming first take a small diameter glass rod and heats the end up until molten, then smashes it onto the piece of metal which grabs the metal, with gold and silver. you need to put gold and silver into flame, when it starts to vaporize and the glass that is to be colored is held in the path of the vapor and it then deposits onto the glass which can then be encased and manipulated.

[RSimmons]

Use boro as a minimum for holding your metal bead for fuming, fused quartz is best. Metals will dissolve into soft glass unser fuming conditions. Ditto on the ventilation - make sure it's top notch.

Robert

[istandalone24/7]

ime, quartz is not all that great to use as a fuming rod. it's hard to get silver to stick to quartz, and even harder to get gold to stick to quartz.
clear boro rod is good, but the rod will eventually swallow the little nip of fuming metal.
a rod of boro cobalt is even better, as cobalt is so damn stiff.
just my .02 worth though, your mileage may vary.

[Alaska]

The major lampwork suppliers handle gold and silver both in wire and in leaf/foil. Find that the leaf works best in my application. Small pieces of silver/gold wire have a tendency to fall off the hot ball of boro. Leaf does not.

Use a 3 mm boro rod and form a small ball on the end. Then heat up to soft and roll in the gold leaf that is placed on a graphic marver. Before placing the leaf on the marver wet the surface to better hold the leaf.

[LisaSt.Martin]

My chapter on gold fuming from my DVD is available on YouTube. I like to use an 8-10mm boro rod and gold/silver leaf I warm the end of the rod - no fire color - just warm. And then roll a third of a sheet of leaf on the very end of the rod - try not to get the leaf up the sides of the rod. Burnish the leaf onto the rod and set aside
If your boro rod is too hot - you will melt away your leaf. Any leaf that is not firmly burnished onto the rod will vaporize as soon as you put it in the flame

I find that leaf is the easiest and most economical to use for beads.

Lisa

Lisa St.Martin
DVD: All that Glitters