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Post by toiv0 on Feb 22, 2016 15:51:42 GMT -5
I just bezeled 24 stones and will be making pendants and rings out of them. The backing is 20 ga silver and bezel is .999 bezel wire. For convience I just weighed what you see in the picture, bezels soldered to backing plate minus the stone. There will be wire rope, beads, ring shanks and bails still to add. I am guessing there will be about a third waste which I will recover to make into something else or cash in (which I hardly ever do). The smallest backing plate is approx 18 mm x 39 mm. The largest is about 30 mm x 65 mm. There is almost 9 oz of silver total in these at about $18 per oz at todays spot. (10 oz @ 18.12) So about $160 for 24 pieces or average $6.75 per piece in silver. If I recover 1/3 of the silver the price comes down to less than $5 dollars per piece, of course you won't recover full price on scrap. My cost for copper is $0 as I get scrap from a roofing company for nothing. If I make these in copper the price I can get for a pendant or ring is less than 1/2 the price I can get for silver. So bottom line is for 5 or 6 dollars I increase what I can get from 50 dollars in copper to 100 dollars plus in silver for the same piece and silver is so much easier to work with, solders cleaner and cleans up nicer. Just my thoughts when I see the cold forged pieces in copper. Copper is great in some applications and for practicing but for profit margin silver is king... especially when the price is what it is.
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Post by Pat on Feb 22, 2016 15:59:05 GMT -5
Agree silver is much easier to work with. Copper seems fibrous. Silver now at rio is $15.43 per ounce. I remember when I refused to buy it because it was over $3.00! Was going to wait until it was under. Ha! Now I don't blink, just buy it when needed.
Local hardware store (Orchard Supply Hardware) sells copper sheeting.
You make some good points.
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Post by toiv0 on Feb 22, 2016 20:33:06 GMT -5
I bought most of my silver at the 3.50 to 5.00 range, Turned in a bunch of sterling silverware with plain jane patterns a few years ago at 30 some dollars an ounce. I have been waiting for it to go even lower but it just went up a dollar the last week.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Feb 22, 2016 20:39:56 GMT -5
Very good information. Thanks for taking the time to do that. Seeing that many pieces all going at the same time is very inspirational. Do sell your work at shows or online?
Chuck
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Post by radio on Feb 22, 2016 20:48:27 GMT -5
I'm curious why you use such large pieces of silver? I buy 6X6 sheets and mark the outline of the bezel, then use the saw to cut very close to the shape. I end up with very little scrap that way
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Post by toiv0 on Feb 22, 2016 21:06:39 GMT -5
I'm curious why you use such large pieces of silver? I buy 6X6 sheets and mark the outline of the bezel, then use the saw to cut very close to the shape. I end up with very little scrap that way its the way I learned, when I use the smaller pieces it is harder for me to heat evenly because of my wrists not having good control anymore. Its also the reason I shoot a 9mm instead of the big boys anymore. The indian I learned from always gave me the evil eye when I left his silver in anything but 90 degree angles. Hard to break an old habit, besides I am always using the scrap for other projects and it piles up like cord wood and kind of like a savings account.
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