Glass Bead Makers

Guess what I just made last night! Headpins on my minor!!! Get some 20 guage sterling wire - nip it up into the lengths you want. then set your torch to a teeny tiny sharp thin flame. Hold the wire vertically from the top with pliers with the bottom tip in the flame till it balls up and then drop it into a plastic jar of cold pickle. then the next day take them out and polish the balled ends with a dremel. It worked really well! That way if you need a headpin 4 inches long you can just make one. The balls on some are a bit wonky but it worked out far cheaper than buying them. I think you can use fine silver wire if you have no pickle.
I have little bit of the pickle here that someone gave me so if anyone needs some just pm me and I'll post you 3 tablespoons of it (it's all you need to mix with 150mls of water)

Thanks Leanne! Thats a great tip. BTW If anyone wants pickle I've got a full container and am happy to send you some of the dry ingredient.

what is pickle, and how long does it last?

cheers jane

Leanne / Desi

I would love a bit of pickle if thats ok, I'm happy to fling a few bucks your way as well


Steph

Hi Jane, how are you?
When you heat silver, gold ect there is a bit of surface oxidation which turns the metal grey and if you are soldering some flux stays behind. Pickle is a chemical bath used to dissolve the oxidation and residue. It absorbs copper ions so you can actually use it to copper plate things too. You can use it cold but it works a lot quicker when heated. You buy it it powder form and mix it with water. I have it in a jar sitting in a saucepan of hot water (kinda like melting chocolate). If you want to make it from scratch i can pm you the ingredients but its easier to buy it in a jar!!

xox Georgie

Hi G, i am well, how are you? i have come back from Adelaide on a mission to get my beads to selling stage and i think i am starting to get there, i actually have turned my flame down a bit and have so much more control of my glass, it all takes time. I hope you are looking after yourself!!!!!

Thanks for that info on the pickle, i did a 1 day silver workshop a year or so ago and it is coming back to me a little, if i have the pickle then i could solder the odd thing that i want to using the flux and then the pickle would help clean it up, is that right, where do you get these things from, and as for making it myself, i don't know at the moment, as you say easier to buy it in a jar, no yucky things floating around the kids then , maybe.

Cheers Jane

Actually I wouldnt mind knowing the ingredients or perhaps where I could get some pickle, as I was thinking about making sterling silver headpins one day. ahh one day, I will get around to trying everything at least once.

Hi girls!

I would reccommend just cheating and buying pickle in powder form from a metalsmith supply shop. i get mine from twin plaza metals in Adelaide but im sure there would be some good jewellery supply shops around OZ. If you make it yourself just remember the old dusk mask ect....
You can use a variety of Chemicals as pickle, ie Ph Plus ( swimming pool additive), Sodium Bisulphate ( for non-ferrous metals). Or 1 part sulphuric to 10 parts water for sterling or 1 part nirtic to 20 parts water for gold. Or just come to my place and we can have a pickle party....

xox g
yummmm pickles

p.s Jane, you are modest, your beads are lovely. I know as ive seen them in the flesh!!!

If you want a good pickle for silver you can use Citric Acid, available in any supermarket, mix 10 parts distilled water to 1 part citric acid. It works a little slower that the commercial stuff but removes scale and flux like a dream.
cheers, B

ooh thank you for that info B!!

sorry I screwed up it's three teaspoons of it to 150 ml of water!
I think cause the pickle is cold it takes ages to get the black stuff off (i've done it with warm pickle and it only takes 10 or so minutes)
They come out of the pickle with a whitish colour on them and thats where I just polished it off with a soft pad on the dremel.

Stephl just pm me your address. don't worry about money I'm only going to put it in an envelope with a 50 cent stamp on it and I got the pickle for free.

Bernard where would you find citrus acid in the supermarket?

Cheers Jane

Thanks Leanne

Desi has already set me up

Steph

You can usually get it in the cleaning section of your supermarket where all the detergents and floor polish is. I've never found it in my local IGA but a big coles, safeway, woolies might have it.