Just got in the mail my new Gem Catalog from Rio.  It has the Bronze Clay items in it.  And, in a note at the bottom of the page, the information that though the same type of tools are used, you should not use the same tools for Bronze as you do for Silver/Gold as the binder is different and cross-contamination can occur causing problems when firing.

Per UPS, I should receive my Bronze order today.  Had I know earlier, I would have ordered some new tools, roller, etc.  At any rate, I should have what I need to start playing with it this weekend.  Hate these learning curves.

 

how exciting! please let us know how it goes.  

 I'm eager to see how it goes and what you create!

Well, I finally got off my duff and made something.  Because I did not want to use my silver tools, I decided to make something from a mold.  I created a sunburst design in paper clay, and then made a mold from it.  Quite often, I will try something in paper clay first, since it is cheap and I don't care if I throw it away after finishing.  I also had a mold of a turtle charm that I had made for the charm exchange by my wife at the PMC Conference.  I also used that to create a bronze turtle.

As you might expect, bronze clay is heavier than silver clay, and it works differently.  For one thing it appears more moist.  It stays open longer, but on the downside takes longer to dry.  When I was trimming it, it seemed kind of rubbery, but cut OK with the xacto knife.

I fired it in coal based carbon, ramped at 500/hr to 1550 and held for 3 hours, per instructions.  I removed the top plug on the kiln and cracked the door as soon as the 3 hours were over, but it still took about 2 hours to cool so I could take it out.

Shrinkage was a lot more than I am used to with silver clay.  In fact, the little turtle charm. is much too small to be used on a bracelet. 

I have burnished it by hand, but am still not satisfied about the results, so I am going to try the foredom on it tomorrow.

I am not sure I will grow to like it or not.  Yes, it is greatly cheaper in price, but labor on a piece is the same as for silver.  And, firing is an all day affair rather than an hour or so.  Cheaper material price, and cheaper selling price too.  Hopefully, improvements will be made and it will go through improvements similar to the PMC generations.

If you all have any more questions, let me know and I will try to answer them.  Also, as a disclaimer, the above is all just my opinion.

 

 I've had more success than you.

 1. It is definitely more moist than ACS, but I found that it dries much quicker (closer to the ACS dry time) if I do NOT keep it in the fridge. When I used it "cold", it didn't crack as easily and was easier to form. It does take longer to dry to leather hard, so make sure to check its dryness with a mirror.

 
2. Shrinkage is the stated 30 or so percent. That's like first gen metal clay. I'm sure that it will be reformulated later.

3. I have fired at the slow and the fast ramp speeds and really like the results with the slower ramp speed.

4. It comes out of the kiln (activated charcoal) a buttery goldish color that's just beautiful. I've used my  3M on it and it turns into a coppery color. It seems to burnish nicely, too.

5. I've also had success adding ACS to the fired bronze.

6. There's something to be said for making 19 pieces, one of them 1 1/2 x 2 and 10 cards thick, with about $20 of materials!

Rio is sold out until mid-August, so I'm hoarding my remaining stuff until the new fix, er, shipment comes in.
 

 

I guess different people have different tastes, because I thought that coming out of the kiln it looked a dull brown.  As far as burnishing, I wanted a brite mirror surface copper color for the sunburst.  Other patina would work for other designs.

Bill S. stated in Lafayette that you could spray it with ammonia and it would turn a bluish color.  I'm going to try that and see what happens.  I'm not sure though whether you do this before or after it is fired.

Reason I did mine when chilled is that the instructions inside the package stated to keep it in the chilled at all times when not being used.

I have to jump in just to join the excitement, my bronze clay is supposed to arrive today and my ears are on high alert for the UPS man!  I will likely be able to hand over a list of lots of "don't do's" because I tend to be the Queen of Make-Do and break a lot of rules

First rule I fully intend on breaking is buying a whole new set of dedicated tools - I can't imagine why simply cleaning them when switching between silver/bronze won't be sufficient.  I'll let you know ...sure sounds like over-kill to me, though.

As for finished bronze pieces selling at a lower price than silver ... I'm likely to attempt to break that 'rule' as well, at least to a degree.  In order to work with the bronze clay, you have to have a programmable kiln - and of COURSE this was the kick in the pants I needed to finally buy one (another reason to be hunting down that UPS man!).  That cost has to be factored in - I've been skating by with a Hot Pot for 2 years (like I said - the Queen of Make-Do!)  It's my own experience that there's just no way I can include much TIME in my pricing - and expect to actually sell it.  The time invested is going to be the same, regardless of material cost.  I've tried to inch up the pricing - and then stock sits there, doing me no good.

Oh - and HI, I do believe this is my first time posting ... been around a while, but when they changed the website it got  v e r y  s l o w  and I find that very frustrating.

Welcome back!

Please let us know what you think after using it.  I guess my main complaint is tying up the kiln all day (or over night) and the resulting electric bill.  I also am not too happy with having to put it into another container and bury it in carbon.

 

My clay is set to arrive on Wednesday the 20th, tomorrow. So we are excited, I bought the big pack because my husband is planning on diving in as well and he is a waster sometimes! He got into my ACS once and made a great piece, but he worked it with too much water and it was too thin, talk about having an inner fit!!! Anywho, he has learned alot in the last couple of years and this is not as costly to toss out if he tries that again. I plan to post lots of pics-if they turn out. We look forward to mixing our clays together and I did not buy new tools, it says you can just clean them in between uses. Also the tips in the Art Jewelry Mag a month ago or so seem very helpful. Wish us luck as we dive in. I wish all of you luck that are diving in as well!!! Jenny & Skip

I just dove into my new BronzClay and loved it. I only noticed one difference in working with it compared to PMc or ACS, it dries really fast and cracks on you. But I love the cracking on one of the pieces. They are leather hardening right now-I do not have a coffee warmer so they are under my crock pot with tonight roast in it!!! I don't know how long it will take to dry it, don't remember reading a time on that. That is a good thing about PMC & ACS, you can kiln dry it and know that it is dry. I will hopefully post pictures later this weekend! Wish me luck Jenny

I posted pics in Show Us Your Work. I did't think anyone was reading this one anymore so I posted it there. Where are everyone's pictures of their creations with this stuff???