Smart Bronze is Now Available
Hollow ring with inset natural garnet and sapphire
Half round ring with inset CZ
Hollow ring with tourmaline
Smart Bronze is now available on our online store. This new variety of Hadar’s Clay can be fired in a single phase and has a color very close to 24K gold. Please see photos in my blog posting from last week.
Here is the firing schedule for Smart Bronze:
Brick kiln: ramp at 1400°F/778°C per hour to 1440°F/782°C. Hold 2 hours.
Muffle kiln: Ramp at 1400°F/778°C per hour to 1490°F/810°C. Hold 2 hours.
All other firing instructions, such as firing vessel, carbon, etc,, are the same as for the rest of Hadar’s Clays and can be found in the instruction manual on the right panel of this blog.
The ramp time makes sure that the kiln takes at least one hour to reach the hold temperature. Some kilns ramp very slowly and may not need to ramp at less than full speed. I suggest that you set up your kiln to the hold temperature at full speed and see how long it takes. If it takes about an hour, adjust your schedule to full speed. If it takes less than one hour, experiment with slowing the ramp until you reach the speed that will take one hour.
As with all other clays, make test pieces before firing actual pieces of jewelry to find the correct hold temperature for your kiln. Make a few pieces, 6-8 cards thick, and fire. If they blister, drop the temperature by 5°F/2°C. If they look smooth, sand them with course sandpaper. If the surface becomes metallic with no traces of powder, the piece is sintered and temperature is fine.
Shrinkage: Flat pieces shrink by 23.5%. Rings shrink 2½ sizes.
Here is a photo comparing the color of Smart Bronze to Brilliant Bronze. Smart Bronze is the “bean” on the right.
The last page of the instruction manual has been updated to include the firing schedule. The rest of the manual will be updated once the compatibility of Smart Bronze with other metals will be tested. However, this is not a priority; the unique color of Smart Bronze, as well as Brilliant Bronze, shows best when it is fired on its own, not in combination with other colors. The simple firing schedule makes it a good choice for beginners and teachers who study and teach the basics of metal clay.
May 1st, 2013 at 12:03 am
This is great news Hadar! BTW I love your hollow ring!
May 1st, 2013 at 4:41 am
Got it. Fired a test piece yesterday, it did fine. Hopefully today I’ll try your schedule.
Your rings are lovely, but just the first two came up, and the comparison photo.
Regards,
Georgie
May 1st, 2013 at 6:43 am
This is awesome stuff! I love that top ring with the sapphire and garnet 🙂
May 1st, 2013 at 7:42 am
Georgie, our Web Hosting service was down last night, but the problem appears to be resolved now. Try deleting your browsing history (emptying your cache), close your browser and re-open, and it should be fine. Please let us know if there are still issues.
May 1st, 2013 at 7:55 am
Hadar, I really like this new product . Thanks again for always giving us something new. I have so many stones I haven’t been able to use and I’m so happy to have a clay that will let me incorporate them into my designs.
May 1st, 2013 at 8:52 am
Just ordered mine. Can’t wait to try. Thanks Hadar for your creative and adventurous mind!
May 1st, 2013 at 9:04 am
hadar, in your comparison photos the brilliant bronze looks more yellow than the smart bronze. is it just that you can take it to a higher shine that you are comparing it to 24k? i though that 24k would have an even deeper golden color than the brilliant bronze would have. i am a little confused, but like the fact that there is no prefire called for and that you can sinter at a lower temperature.
May 2nd, 2013 at 5:43 am
Pamela, Yes, it should be taken to higher shine. Unfortunately I am not so good at shooting shiny object so I matte them first.
May 6th, 2013 at 3:39 am
Hi Hadar,
Rec’d Smart Bronze…fired it … couldn’t even find it in the container after the fire. Was I supposed to just put 1/2″ carbon in container…add pieces…add 1/2-1″ more of carbon and fire (no lid on container)? That’s what I did…I would guess my kiln is way too hot since all I had were ashes. I have used your clays before with this kiln and never had anything like this happen. I will try today to fire at 1400 ramp up to 1430 and hold for 2 hours. Any suggestions would be appreciated…I did the check list in your instructions and thought I was okay. Lynn
May 28th, 2013 at 6:11 am
Good Morning Hadar –
Help!!! I fired some pieces using Smart Bronze and both times they disintergrated! I had 1/2 ‘ carbon underneath and 1’ on top – no lid – 10 cards thick. I fired at 1400 ramp to 1470 and held for 2 hours. I also have noticed two different hold temps and not sure what one is best – 1470 or 1490? I assume that the instruction manual is the most current up to date info so I used 1470 as a hold temp with my muffle kiln.
Any suggestions?
Thank you Hadar –
May 29th, 2013 at 12:19 pm
Janet, the instruction manual is correct, 1470 in a muffle kiln. Please go over the checklist in the manual. It may help you find what went wrong.