Casting with Art Clay Silver

Okay..... After a successful couple of weeks selling some crystal clay rings on to colleagues at work I've hit a problem today and hoping I can use the broad range of experience and knowledge of you guys to help me here.

1 of the rings I have kept for myself has lost nearly ALL of it's rhodium plating and is down to the copper/brass base. I have worn it for only 4 days. Quite heavy wear to be fair but 4 days is not good enough in my opinion. It's a total waste of £6's worth of lovely crystals AND expensive clay. Not to mention the cost of the ring itself.

I will contact the seller of this item but I need to find a more reliable ring base. I can't find any in sterling silver, which a few of my friends would prefer and I've been racking my brains to figure out how to make my own. Some of these rings have shapes I could not reproduce well.
It has occurred to me to make a mould and cast them from scrap silver.
But today inspiration hit when I remembered metal clay.

Is anyone aware of the casting abilities of Art Clay Silver and would it be possible to make a mould with that blue rubbery stuff and make a ring with the clay then fire it by torch successfully?
I have read the blurb about it and it looks like a piece the size of a ring should fire ok with a torch but does anyone else know different?

I've worked with PMC before, but not Art Clay Silver.

Hmmmm that's not good! Have you got a link or a pic of the ring base in question? You may be able to get the sterling components at least and solder or rivet them. Or I can put you in tough with a metalsmith that might give it a go for you.

Art clay silver as far as I know isn't so different to PMC but I wouldn't know how to cast it. You could make the ring and top bit separately and stick them together with slip or solder them after the firing process perhaps?

Haven't much experience with silver clay but I think it would be probably best to make the two pieces separately and use slip as Tinker says.

Lisa x

sorry I have not much experience with PMC bu Sue Heasers new book has got answers to most problems.
Nan

Thanks for that guys.
http://www.metalclay.co.uk/ring-bezel-small-rectangle-bright-silver-large/

There's a link to the ring in question. It's a solid one piece ring. It has occurred to me since posting this that I could use a Delpht clay modelling/moulding system and cast it from moulten silver couldn't I? I haven't had any experience with that before but it looks easy. Or does anyone else know better?

Ah I see, yes not quite what I thought.

My experience of delft casting is that its fiddly. Difficult to get and keep the metal at the right temp - you need about 3 pairs of hands - difficult to pour accurately - solidifies on contact so if you miss the casting hole you're knackered. It was a disaaaaster, and to do that amount of silver in one go, well I wouldn't attempt it tbh but somebody else may have had better experience with it.

I have done a fair bit of lost wax casting, sending it away to be cast but that's an expensive way of doing it if you're not going to be selling many. There must be a way around it though. What about just making an extra thick ring in slow drying PMC and carving out the middle section? Design your own version? That said if you get the right cz's you eliminate the need for the putty cos they can be fired in the PMC!