silver bubbles

[elk killer]

i have been trying to make several sizes of silver pins to make the bubble affect,,
besides turning them on the lathe,,is their a better method?

[LynnC]

Like melting the end of the wire into a ball???  That might work for you.
Can't imagine what your up to though...........................Lynn

[George F.]

I once did this, but I cheated using german silver nails. I chucked them in an electric hand drill and trimmed them down using a file. This way I could see the progress of trimming vresus using the drill press. Of course you could try putting a blob of jewelers' silver solder on a flatten  brass brad head, then trimming them to the size you want. ...Geo.

[Rolf]

Do you silver balls as pin heads or flat round disks? What are you going to use them for?

Best regards

Rolfkt

[Acer Saccharum]

Brass domed tacks are a half ball, with  a steel shank.

You could dome silver discs and solder the domes to small nails.

It depends what size you're looking to have, what process you use to make them.

Give us some more info as to dome diameter and shank.

Acer

[elk killer]

the silver nails around carving that vary in size,,small to bigger,,i dont know what else to call it

[ironwolf]

  One could make a miniature rivet header.

  kev

[David Rase]

Using silver wire in the diameters you want, file one end flat and then cut to length at a steep angle forming a point.  Barb the pin in several places with your wire cutters.  Drill an undersized hole in the stock where you want to bubble and tap the silver into the hole. 
DMR

[elk killer]

where do you get different size silver wire??

[tallbear]

You can order it here:http://www.metalliferous.com/silver.php

Mitch

[Dave B]

If you want to make a series of small bubbles in smaller sizes you can use a draw plate to good effect. I picked up a carbide plate from Rio Grande supply to do my gold and silver wire in various widths. I had a cheap plate but it wont work as slick as the carbide plate. You really dont need one unless you are going to be doing a  bunch of various sizes. Just getting a series of silver wire in incremental sizes is not as much work.