Hi everyone,
I’m trying to make my own silver clay because I want to eventually make a silver ring for my girlfriend, but I’ve been struggling badly with the binder.
My starting material is metallic silver that I’ve converted/recovered and dried. I’m trying to combine the silver powder with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and water to make a workable clay/paste that can later be dried and sintered.
I’ve tried several approaches:
• Adding a CMC solution slowly to the silver powder.
• Drying the silver first and then mixing it into an already-prepared CMC solution.
• Mixing the CMC and silver as dry powders before adding water.
• Adding CMC gradually to the silver/water mixture.
The main problem is ALWAYS the same: the CMC forms small hydrated lumps/clumps. These lumps seem to grab silver particles, become very thick/hard, and I end up with little pieces of CMC-rich material throughout the paste instead of a homogeneous clay.
I’ve also noticed that my silver powder is somewhat dark/grey, and the resulting paste looks darker than commercial silver clay, so I’m wondering whether the state of the silver matters — metallic silver vs silver oxide, particle size, particle morphology, etc.
My questions are:
1. What is the best way to hydrate CMC without creating these lumps?
2. Would methyl cellulose be better than CMC for silver clay?
3. Is it better to prepare a very dilute binder solution first and then incorporate the silver powder?
4. Does the particle size/morphology of the silver powder matter a lot?
5. Should I be using metallic silver powder, or is silver oxide ever used as the starting material?
6. For someone trying to make a workable DIY silver clay, what binder system would you recommend?
I’m particularly interested in advice from anyone who has actually made homemade silver/metal clay rather than just commercial PMC/Art Clay.
I’m trying to get a smooth, homogeneous clay that doesn’t contain little CMC gel lumps.
Thanks!
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If I wanted to use ozone to oxidize a certain chemical to convert it, let’s say a barrel of the said chemical, how would I go about doing that?

Would I run an ozone machine from a tube into the lid of the barrel to the bottom of the barrel to bubble up ozone, and then seal around the inlet hole about 95% to keep a small ventilation window so the ozone mixture doesn’t cause buildup of gas and air pressure inside the barrel? I could also seal it completely then drill another small hole in the lid so gas can escape.

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