Silver Dust to Copper-Silver Alloy: Crafting Our Unique Material - Part 1
In this article, I'll discuss a blog topic that arose from a challenge we faced in the workshop. You might be familiar with our products. Our goal was to create a special alloy that is stunning, versatile, and unlike anything else out there. We'll delve into the details of this alloy in a future article. But for now, let's talk about something else crucial to our project: silver in the form of dust.
When we searched online, we couldn't find a ready-made solution that suited our needs. The available options were expensive and mainly designed for chemical or analytical purposes. So, we had to come up with a solution ourselves.
Our workbench lacked the right tools for the job. Using regular steel files was slow and tedious. The Dremel mini rotary tool proved to be more efficient, especially when paired with high-quality steel mini-mills. However, we soon realized that creating a large amount of silver dust was too time-consuming for our production needs.
Luckily, we discovered a large mill (see below) that could be used with our drill press, and it felt like hitting the jackpot. Instead of spending hours on repetitive tasks, we finished the job in just 10 minutes. The silver bullion disappeared quickly, and we achieved the same high quality as with small jewelry tools. As shown in the brief video below, collecting the sawdust in a jar was a breeze.
This achievement marks a big step in developing our special copper-silver alloy. We've named it "Red Marble" for its unique look. Silver dust is just one part of the alloy. The next article will cover the copper we add.
P.S. If you're facing a similar challenge, you can find the link to the large mill we used here for your reference: Carbide Rotary Burr