Art Clay Silver Regular Series
Short intro movie of Art Clay Copper
Characteristics of Art Clay Copper
- You can make a copper object or jewelry from modeling clay.
- It is water based clay.
- Fired piece contains more than 99.5% pure copper. The percentage of copper in the clay (before firing ) is 90%.
- The shrinkage after firing is about 10% in length.
Art Clay Copper Clay Type
Art Clay Copper is a clay material to make a wide range of pieces such as jewelry, craft designs, and objects like sculptures and models. Art Clay Copper can be fired in an electric kiln with or without using carbon, with the resulting fired piece being more than 99.5% pure Copper. (The percentage of copper in the clay state is 90%.)
Copper ratio before firing: 90% (Rest of 10% is Binder and Water)
Copper purity after firing: over 99.5%
Shrinkage: Approx.10%
Firing schedule: 30 mins./970Deg. C
Available package:50g(2 pieces of 25g)
Material form: Lump in aluminum package
How to make paste from clay type
Apply a small amount of water to some soft clay or ground powder of dry clay, and blend well while crushing in any hard pieces. Use this paste for filling up any cracks in the dried clay of your piece, and for joining clay parts.
New Mokume Gane
- This is totally new application designed for Art Clay Silver and Copper based on traditional Japanese metalsmith techniques developed back in the 1600s in Japan for sword fittings.
- Mokume means Wood pattern. Gane is metal alloy made from mixed-metal laminate with distinctive layered patterns. To achieve high quality Mokume-Gane by traditional way, it requires adequate experiences, tremendous time for making process, and many special equipments. So, the technique has been inherited by only limited craftsperson, but its beauty applied into today’s craft work and jewelry in Japan and overseas with high reputation.
Drying
Drying guideline for drying a piece up to 1mm thick, 5g: *If the piece is larger than this size, drying will require more time.
| Way | Time/Temperature |
|---|---|
| Hot air dryer | More than 10 mins. *1 |
| Electric Hot Plate | More than 10 mins at 150°C/ 302°F |
| Electric Kiln | More than 10 mins at 150°C/ 302°F |
| Natural Air dry method | More than 24 hrs |
*1 : Place the piece as close as safely possible to the hot air while taking care not to drop the piece.
***DO NOT dry the piece over 250°C/482°F, or the binder will be destroyed during drying and deform the shape during the firing process.***
Clay Dryness Test
Place the piece on a sheet of stainless steel, glass or plastic and after 10~20 seconds pick up the piece. If there is no croud of water vapor, it is dry. (It is easy to check the vapor cloud on black stainless, glass or plastic).
*the image shows, there is still water vapor on the stainless scraper, so it is not dried completely yet.
Firing
Kiln firing is recommended
Place the piece into a kiln at 970℃/ 1778°F, and hold at this temperature for 30 minutes to fire.
*After firing, quench is needed to get rid of oxidized layer, please check the instruction below.
- Please wear safety glasses when firing, always use the proper equipment and follow all safety precautions.
- Work in a well ventilated area when firing the piece.
- The fired piece is extremely hot when taken out from the kiln.
- Large volume pieces of more than 15 mm thickenss may crack if placed directly into a high temperature kiln, so fire such larger pieces from a cool kiln.
- If a hot fired piece is left in the air right after firing, the oxidized layer on the surface will fracture and at times small pieces can fly into the air. For your safety in such cases, immediately place a fiber cloth over pieces. You can also leave the fired piece in the kiln to cool, however clean up the oxidized layer outside of kiln.
Quench & Pickling
After Firing, take out the piece with tweezers or tongs from the kiln, and quench immediately with water, so that most of the oxidized layer will peel off .
Place the fired piece into a solution made with pickling compound to take away any oxidized layers on the surface. For any oxidized layers around detailed design areas, please use a polishing point with an electric rotary tool.
*For use and proper disposal of the pickling solution, please be environmentally responsible and follow the instructions included with this product carefully.
Finishing
Warning
- This product may crack and burst during firing if insufficiently dry.
- Oxygen is consumed during firing and smoke and gas emissions may result. Please fire in a well ventilated area.
- Do not place just-fired pieces on any flammable surfaces or combustible materials as the piece will be extremely hot and could cause a fire.
Caution
- Take precautions against burns from the heated clay when drying, firing, and after firing.
- Keep out of the reach of children. If the product comes into contact with eyes or mouth, please rinse thoroughly with running water. If problems persist, please see a doctor.
- Be aware that some people are allergic to Copper. The level of reaction is different according to the individual, from light to severe. If you do have an allergy against copper and work with and/or wear copper accessories made from the product directly on the body, some kind of allergic reaction may occur. If in doubt, please seek medical advice from a qualified medical practitioner before use.