Michon Jewelry Blog

Fusing fine silver is possibly the easiest thing that a jewelry maker can do with a torch. That is my opinion, of course, but in my experience, it’s a great way to begin working with a torch.

Because fine silver doesn’t get firescale, and doesn’t require flux, you really don’t have to do any clean-up after you fuse. That also means no chemicals - no flux, no pickle - so the only fumes you have to worry about are the ones created by burning the gas in the torch.

Simple instructions:

Start with a soldering surface, a torch (even the small butane torches should work), and some fine silver jump rings. Make sure that you use good safety practices - use ventilation, wear goggles and a respirator, and because you are using fire, make sure there is a fire extinguisher close by just in case something other than the silver gets torched….trust me on this — I’ve burned holes in rugs, scorched my workbench, and singed my hair. Luckily I’ve never actually started a fire, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. (Speaking of hair, if you have long hair, keep it tied back when working with a torch.)

Make sure the jump rings are closed tightly, so that the seams are barely visible.

Light the torch, and heat a jump ring, focusing the flame back and forth near the seam. When you see the metal flash a little bit, you’re done - remove the flame.

Don’t touch the ring - it will be hot - pick it up with tweezers, or wait a few minutes for it to cool off.

And that’s it! When you first start fusing, you might melt some jump rings, or remove the flame before the fusing happens. This is totally normal and part of learning the process, so keep practicing. Silver scrap can always be sent to a refiner to be made into new wire, so don’t worry about melting a little bit of wire when you are learning a new technique.