'silver' inlay

[marcus]

I have a client who wants 'silver' inlay, but can't afford the real thing. Is there any cheaper alternative that can be polished to a high shine (and preferably resists tarnishing). Thought about pewter but it's a bit dull. Does Tin shine up nicely?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

No. Pewter's nearly pure tin.

 

[marcros]

What about stainless steel? How much are you needing- silver sheet isn't that expensive is it, although it is very thin.

 

[marcus]

Silver is expensive enough in the quantity I would need for this job, it would need to be reasonably thick, certainly at least .5mm, and it soon adds up!

Stainless would look OK, but it's very hard and would be a lot of work to cut with a fretsaw I would have thought (lots of leaves and stems).

 

[Phil Pascoe]

What are you inlaying? Don't forget that silver loses it's shine quite quickly, especially if handled.

 

[woodaxed]

been looking into silver inlay work myself i found a company in the states that do the proper stuff of it the charge by the oz
for 1 oz silver inlay wire .008″ X .055″ i was quoted $49 plus shipping and that works out to approx 31 foot long they ship to the uk
and they do other sizes its what all the gunsmiths use for the fancy inlay in stocks etc
http://hagstoz.com/product/all/sterling-inlay-wire/

from watching some work on youtube it doesnt seem that hard to use

 

[Dodge]

Try these people who are just down the road from my workshop - They are fibreglass and GRP specialists but also sell resins and fine metal powders that can be used to fill grooves/lines atc and then sanded and polished to give the desired effect.

They do brass, bronze, aluminium etc and I have used them in the past with excellent results and they stay bright, not tarnishing over time.

The metals they do are:-

"Metal Powders
For adding to gel coats for decorative finishes and cold cast sculpture. The maximum amount of powder should be added to get the best results.
Stock powders: Iron, aluminium, bronze, copper, brass, nickel brass.
Order ref.
AOO 16750 Aluminium AOO 16754 Tin Bronze
AOO 16758 Iron AOO 16752 Brass"

http://www.kcmouldings.co.uk/index.html

HTH

Rog

 

[Phil Pascoe]

been looking into silver inlay work myself i found a company in the states that do the proper stuff of it the charge by the oz
for 1 oz silver inlay wire .008″ X .055″ i was quoted $49 plus shipping and that works out to approx 31 foot long they ship to the uk
and they do other sizes its what all the gunsmiths use for the fancy inlay in stocks etc
http://hagstoz.com/product/all/sterling-inlay-wire/

from watching some work on youtube it doesnt seem that hard to use

I looked in the Wealden catalogue, but I couldn't see any eight thou cutters.

 

[woodaxed]

been looking into silver inlay work myself i found a company in the states that do the proper stuff of it the charge by the oz
for 1 oz silver inlay wire .008″ X .055″ i was quoted $49 plus shipping and that works out to approx 31 foot long they ship to the uk
and they do other sizes its what all the gunsmiths use for the fancy inlay in stocks etc
http://hagstoz.com/product/all/sterling-inlay-wire/

from watching some work on youtube it doesnt seem that hard to use

I looked in the Wealden catalogue, but I couldn't see any eight thou cutters.

opps they use a plunge knife like a small craft knife but better made its very fine inlay work you are obviously looking to put something a lot larger for the inlay a lot of places in the uk do sheet silver some of it quite thin and not hard to cut and file to inlay or what dodge suggested may be better for wht your looking for ive seem stuff like that used before and looks quite good

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Seriously, if you must use silver can buy it in the dimensions you require, or if you can can find small/hobby silversmith they could draw down some square wire for you. Anneal it before you use it and it's easily worked. Coil it up and heat until cherry red, hold it at that colour for a minute then quench - be careful not to melt it. An ordinary plumbers torch is more than hot enough.

 

[maltrout512]

try this for a start. Don't know what size etc but as said a start

http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/beadalon-49-strand-bead-stringing-wire-silver-plated/560746-1000

 

[marcus]

Thanks everyone, please stop on the wire thing, it's not wire inlay, it needs to be cut from sheet

It would to be on a large chest, with floral inlay or marquetry, a gift for his wife. I think it will probably have to be pewter or nothing, as I don't think the epoxy powders would be right for this project which is an antique repro sort of thing)....

 

[monkeybiter]

I cast a tin medallion for the centre of a box for my wife on our 10th anniversary. It's still got a shine to it without any polishing.

I actually used a lead free solder which I selected for highest tin content, ~99% IIRC though you could probably find a source more suitable depending on the thickness of the sheet required.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Mother of pearl?

 

[monkeybiter]

Maybe find out the cost of creating the inlay in brass sheet [for instance] then having this silver plated before inlaying in the wood?

Just a thought.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

If plated brass were to be used, the downside would be that any unevenness would have to be accepted, as you couldn't flatten it after inlaying.

 

[Andrewf]

My wife does some silver smithing as a hobby and uses Cooksons for all her supplies. Have a look on their web site as they sell all sorts of different metals etc. Am sure there would be something suitable on there. Also remember that scrap silver is valuable so save all filings etc.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I did it as a hobby, too. You'd need to be doing an awful lot of it to justify worrying about the lemel.

 

[Spindle]

Hi

I've never tried this but thinking outside of the box - would woods metal, (Cerrobend), take a high enough polish? If so the very low melting point of this would allow it to be poured into the recess and flattened off without burning the surrounding wood.

Like I said - just a thought

Regards Mick

 

[baysider]

I reckon the way to go has to be making the inlay in something cheap and then silver plating.