Also, !!!!! at the homemade pickle recipe - the use of all the dangerous chemicals is another reason I had just given up on working with heat and metal. I'm so glad there is a safer alternative.

saeriellyn Hi saeriellyn, Thanks for watching, I’ll let Ronda know how much you appreciate her video and how much helps it’s been. She loves to hear that. Mark N Tech

Hello, thank you for watching! We appreciate the support!

I wish she answered the fuel question! I'm starting out and would love to know too!

Argentium works very much like sterling silver; however, in it’s dead soft state, it is a bit softer. In its hardened state, it is a bit harder. Argentium is 93.5%fine silver, approximately 1.5% germanium and 5% copper. For sterling it is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper.

Hi Jessica. It depends on how big and how thick the pieces are. But generally speaking, yes, Argentium does great with a butane torch.

Hi jesusclone1985, sounds like you might have overheated it a little. But yeah normally you don't have to coat it to protect from firescale, which is why i switched to it along time ago. We have some great info on our website at www.riogrande.com/Search/argetnium or give our tech team a call if you have specific questions. Mark N Tech

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Hey, Bently GT! You can use Liver of sulphur, but you need to be patient and give it more time, you could mix it a little stronger (add a little more to the water). After all, this is the reason we like Argentium because it resists tarnish, so it will be harder than regular silver. Check out this PDF for more details :) www.riogrande.com/Content/Working-with-Argentium-Silver-Tips-Procedures-IS-pdf

Awesome. thanks so much for your feedback.

You're very welcome!

+Kelsey k..you can pickle Argetnium, it's no different than pickling regular sterling silver. You can use any pickle you like. Ronda loves using the vinager/ salt mix. I think after pickling you'll find the stuff that looks like firescale will disappear. I hope this helps, thanks for watching.Mark N Tech

+RioTechs awesome! I tested a vinegar and salt pickle after finishing this video, worked great! thanks for your reply.

+Kelsey k Hey, so I'm not an expert or anything yet but I do work only with Argentium silver so I have a bit of experience and may have some insight for anyone else with similar questions . Unfortunatly, even though the germanium in argentium does highly protect it from fire scale and tarnishing, because it is still an alloy like traditional Sterling, fire scale is still possible if it manages to oxidize the copper that's in it and the germanium is not prominent in that particular spot. Ways to help prevent it are much better in my opinion than having to use pickle and sanding etc. to remove the fire scale. I personally use a powder boric acid flux and just mix with water (50/50) and dip my pieces in it and let air dry for a couple minutes until I can see the powder coating the surface. it has cut down my fire scale dramatically, however I still occasionally get some spots as it's still a powder and sometimes misses spots :(. so thank you so much, going to try the homemade pickle today. I do have a question about it though, would I still need copper tweezers to remove my items from the homemade pickle solution? I know you need for chemical pickles but would regular stainless steel tweezers suffice with this pickle? thank you in advance. Oh and another tip I noticed makes a difference, always clean your fire brick (charcoal block, solderite pad, etc.) between uses with different metals, or use designated block for each type of metal. mainly make sure yoyr argentium gets it own block or you sand off any residue left by sterling's or coppers etc. it will increase your fire scale on your argentium because of the oxides on the brick. trust me, keep all yoyr tools separate if your seeing fire scale. generally if you do it all right, you shouldn't have much fire scale but even when I do all these things I still get some firescale, so it's not that your making any mistakes :) sorry for the long comment and if it was repetitive or not interesting hahahaaha. just love to teach and LOVE ARGENTIUM. I try to only use argentium for my business. beautiful metal!

I believe you will still need to use your copper tongs/tweezers!

Kelsey k ok shucks I read somewhere you can use plastic?

Great question, Deb! For recommendations on safety equipment, we recommend consulting the Safety Data Sheet for the product you will be using which contains relevant safety recommendations for using that product. You can also contact OSHA or NIOSH with specific recommendations for respiratory protection, eye protection, skin protection, etc.

Hi, Eric! Thanks for reaching out. There are a variety of methods you can use for polishing your jewelry after soldering. Are you familiar with our Sunshine cloths? If not, here's a quick video to introduce you to how they work. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/j8ChddZkvt3NiIk.html Here is another great video with our resident jeweler Mark Nelson explaining other methods for buffing and polishing. You can find all the products and tools he's using on our site at www.riogrande.com www.riogrande.com/Content/finishing-techniques-VID-psd Check them out and let us know if you have any other questions! :)

Hi Jaykay415. It’s really a personal choice, one often influenced by the design of your piece. Sometimes I fuse the entire project sometimes 80% and sometimes only 10%. What I have noticed is that the bigger the pieces is the harder it can be to fuse on the last few smaller pieces, so that’s a time when I would solder. For instance if I am making an earring, I may fuse the earring together but solder the earring post/ear wire on as the last step. I hope this is of some help. Thank for watching. Mark N Tech

RioTechs thank you, that makes sense.

Thank you for the question. Here is the response from our tech team: One factor is size the pieces you are connecting. Small objects will heat much faster than larger ones, so if you’re attaching a small piece to a big piece, the small piece is at risk of overheating and melting unless careful heat control is used. This would be an example of a situation where using solder would make the process easier as opposed to fusing. Another situation would be where you have small items already attached that would be at risk of falling off during subsequent fusings. Using solder in this situation would ensure the previously fused smaller items would not fall off.

@@RioGrande1944 That makes sense! Thank you.