Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Brass and silver



I ordered some brass about a month ago and finally made a few simple pieces with it. The earrings are brass with silver rivets, hammered and domed. The pendant is made the same way with a silver disc in front and brass in back.

I was a little hesitant to use the brass; it contains a lot of copper and when put in the pickle solution after soldering, the copper is picked up and plates the piece. The copper has to be removed to see the yellow of the brass again, either by sanding or using a stronger acid solution. Fortunately, someone on the JAN forum posted the acid recipe. I will vote the acid solution every time...the sanding is tedious work!