Recent Cool Tools columns
|
You'd have to live under a rock not to be aware
of the building movement for �ggreen�h anything.
I have been eco-minded since my Girl
Scouting days, and frankly, I shudder sometimes
when I look at the arsenal of chemicals in my studio
(and the laundry room!). I've begun to seek
out alternatives to harsh chemicals in the studio
and the house wherever I can, because I truly
believe every little bit helps. I've started a list of
patina alternatives I can make in the kitchen, plus
a list of �gother�h ways to polish, etch, and clean metal. And, I have asked my
friend Christine Dhein (www.christinedhein.com),
Assistant Director of the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts, to tell you
her own chemical responsibility tips. The Revere
Academy is in California - a state with pretty
strict toxic waste disposal rules, and a good example
to follow for guidelines on chemical disposal,
even if your state is less strict. Along with Jennifer
Horning, of Ethical Metalsmiths, Christine's been
teaching the �gGreen Jewelry�h class at Revere Academy
since the summer.
Use a small pickle pot to reduce chemical use and the amount of
spent pickle for disposal. Photo: Christine Dhein.
|
| |
Collect studio chemicals for disposal at a hazardous waste facility.
|
Christine
Dhein
One of the simplest things you can do to lessen negative environmental
impact is to reduce chemical use in the studio and select
less-toxic alternatives for those that can't be avoided.
The most commonly used studio chemical is pickle, and many
jewelers are making the switch to citric acid pickle, a less-toxic alternative
that is now available from major suppliers. When handling acids, employ proper
safety precautions, and mix according to the manufacturer's instructions. Citric
pickle should be used warm, with proper ventilation, to reduce required cleaning
time. It takes a bit longer than other types of pickle, but citric pickle is
still quite effective, and many jewelers prefer it.
To reduce the amount of pickle you need, use a small potpourri size
warming pot to replace larger crockpots. Jewelry items are small, so
this little pot will serve most jewelers' needs, reduce chemical use,
and save money. When it comes time to change spent pickle, you
will have less to dispose of, which will make it easier to follow proper
disposal procedures.
When used properly, a pickle solution will work effectively for
many months, or even up to a year before it needs to be changed.
To keep your pickle strong, avoid introducing baking soda into the
solution. Be sure to rinse tongs, baskets, and jewelry from your neutralizing
bath before returning them to the pickle. As water evaporates
from the solution, simply add more water. If the pickle is weak,
add more acid. Steel adds an electrical charge that turns pickle into
a copper-plating bath. However, as soon as the steel is removed, the
pickle can be used again as normal. On the rare occasion that the
solution contains small steel particles that can't be removed, it will
need to be changed.
At some point, every jeweler has at least one chemical, such as
pickle, which requires disposal. To preserve the integrity of our environment,
it is important to follow proper disposal procedures for all
studio chemicals. Each region is governed
by different federal, state, and local requirements
for hazardous waste disposal. The
guidelines offered here are approved by the
State of California, which has some of the
most stringent regulations. Following them
will ensure your safety and the health of
the environment.
Citric acid by itself is not classified as a
hazardous material. However, after it has
been used as a pickling solution, it contains
copper, which is a heavy metal. Therefore,
used pickle is a contaminated solution,
which is hazardous, and must be disposed of properly. Commercial
sodium bisulfate pickle is a stronger acid that also becomes contaminated
with use. Neutralizing pickle will not remove the copper.
Therefore, even neutralized pickle is considered a hazardous material. All
oxidizers, including liver of sulfur and other proprietary oxidizing solutions,
are also hazardous materials. Collect hazardous materials in clearly labeled
plastic containers with tight lids for storage in the studio and during transportation
to an appropriate disposal facility, preferably with their original labels.
In San Francisco, residents who are hobbyist jewelers can drop
off hazardous materials at the county hazardous waste facility free
of charge during business hours. Small businesses can drop off
small quantities of hazardous waste, up to 27 gallons at time, to the
VSQG (Very Small Quantity Generator) disposal program. Disposal
fees are $5 per gallon for acids, $6 per gallon for oxidizers. Collect
spent pickle after most of the water has evaporated, without adding
baking soda, to reduce volume.
Check with your local agencies to find out how to dispose of
studio chemicals properly in your area. The proper agency can be
found with a Google search using the key words �ghousehold hazardous
waste collection program�h along with the name of your city
or state. Often household hazardous waste collection agencies also
handle hazardous waste collection for businesses or can refer you
to the proper authority.
Each day, the choices we make are a part of the cycle of life.
We all live together, sharing one earth. The choice is yours: to pollute,
or to preserve and protect. Take steps now to implement safer
and more environmentally friendly practices - at your bench, and in
all aspects of your life.
Mary Ann Scherr
I took an etching class with Mary Ann and learned her method for
neutralizing nitric acid etchant. Remember, nitric acid is a very aggressive
acid, and baking soda is a weak base. Acids and bases will become
neutral when mixed, but you'll need more
baking soda by volume than nitric acid to get
to neutral because of the different strengths.
When it comes to disposal, here's what
Mary Ann does: �gI drop baking soda into the
acid bath until it forms a small mountain.
The baking soda will continue to bubble like
Alka-Seltzer. A dry mountain of soda usually
indicates enough - there's no need to test
[the ph]. The bath is then neutral. I flush the
container with water and flow it over the
grass or flowers, since it is now capable of
making the grass and flowers grow happy!"
Although I haven't tried this myself, I guess the nitric in the neutralized
acid is a lot like commercial nitrogen fertilizer, and the dissolved
copper in the bath will keep the slugs at bay!
Pickle, Rinse, Dry - Why?
How many times do we use that sequence in our project directions?
If you are new to jewelry making, you may not know what it means
or why we do it.
Basically, pickle is a solution used to soak or steep in. With food,
it's usually salt, vinegar, and water - which will also work somewhat
on some metals as well. Trust me - next time you finish a jar of baby
dills, save and strain the juice and drop a piece of cooled, torched
copper or an old penny in there for a few days at room temperature. It will come
out shiny and bright and smelling really good! If you're in a hurry, put that
pickle juice in a crockpot and heat it up.
The cleaning will happen faster with a hot pickle solution.
Cooking aside, metal pickling typically means acid dipping to
chemically remove surface oxides from metals subjected to heat
during annealing, soldering, or casting. Pickling also removes other
crud - like fired-on flux, carbon, or investment. For the faint-hearted
or eco-minded, the commercial safety pickles that are typically
used in the studio are a very weak acid concentration that is easily
neutralized if you don't want to hold them unneutralized for longterm
storage. Just add baking soda to a room temperature batch of
spent pickling solution. You'll know it's spent when it's bright, electric
blue - like Paraiba tourmaline. Stir gently with a plastic utensil.
It will foam and bubble a bit. Let the mix sit for a few hours to neutralize
the batch. Then, pour the neutralized pickle into a clean plastic
jug, label it, and take it to your recycling center on hazardous
waste day if your locality requires it.
The most important thing to remember is not to toss a hot
piece into pickle to quench it. The steam that rises from doing so
will be acidic and attack the lining of your lungs as well as the surfaces
in your studio. Quench in water instead, then pickle.
There are also organic, but slightly less aggressive pickle
solutions you can mix up at home, like cider vinegar and salt
mixed into a paste, or food-grade citric acid. Remember Tang?
That juice mix makes a great cleaning solution. If you don't believe
me, try running a quarter-cup in an empty, stained dishwasher -
no more brown, hard water stains when you're done! A thick slurry
of Tang mixed with water makes a great soaking solution for dirty,
oxidized metal.
 |
 |
1. All you need is salt,
cider vinegar, some metal and
a brass brush. |
2. Use
about a teaspoon of salt. |
 |
 |
3. Use about half a teaspoon of cider
vinegar. |
4.Scrub with a soft brass brush. |
 |
5. The vinegar and
salt work just as well as commercial pickle. |
Patinas
Some patinas are so fantastic you want to cry when you see them.
But the chemistry involved in creating them might also make you
cry if you think too hard about it. The most non-toxic patina out
there is time. Sadly, most of us don't have that, so we settle for
chemicals. I have a stringent set of rules in my studio for chemical
patinas, based on common sense:
1. Don't mix more than you need.
2. Dispose of them properly.
3. Try other alternatives when possible.
I like the non-corrosive, commercially prepared patinas because
I can pour out a scant quarter-teaspoon and paint them on with a
brush. I work in white plastic photography trays when I patina, and
soak up any excess with a paper towel. Then, I let the fluid evaporate
from the paper towel and put that in the trash. I rinse the tray
in the sink and let the water run into it to clean my patina brush.
If I have more time, I'll fabricate a silver piece completely, and
seal the piece in a Ziploc bag with half of a hot, hard boiled egg.
The fumes from the egg will oxidize the silver gently after a day or
so. Throw out the egg when you're done, and give the piece a scrub
with some dish liquid and a soft toothbrush.
And Another Thing
Check out the next
Flashcard, Jewelry
Artist's electronic
newsletter, for other tool tips and a Tucson preview. Sign
up for Flashcard here.
Cool Tools is a regular feature of Jewelry Artist. If you have a tool you would
like featured, a useful tool modification, or interesting bench trick to suggest,
or, if you'd like to join our studio of experts, contact Helen Driggs, Managing
Editor, Jewelry Artist, 300 Chesterfield Parkway, Suite 100, Malvern, PA 19355,
or hdriggs@interweave.com, subject line "Cool Tools." Please include your complete
contact information with all submissions.
|
