[Jewelry making - Article 00066] - Re: [Orchid] Decorating SS with Gold filled wire??

[Suzanne Boschen]

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Larry,

    Alot depends on what you want to do with the goldfill. If you want to
    do a sheet applique, you can get red, yellow, or green goldfill
    solder backed sheet from Indian Jeweler's Supply in Albuqueque and
    that will save you alot of hassle for sheet work as you just need to
    saw out the shape you want to applique, flux it, and then heat it
    from beneath. 

    If you are doing wire work, you must realized that you cannot ball
    up goldfill as you would full karat, but you can get neat things out
    of working goldfill wire in with the silver. The solder you use will
    depend on how much gold is visible verses how much silver. In any
    case, you will not want to use a solder that melts at much over 1200
    degrees as you will fuse the goldfill and ruin it. When I solder
    goldfill to goldfill, I use 14 super easy 14K solder. I have tried
    Rio's yellow silver solder that they recommend for goldfill, but I
    find that it melts way too high and will greatly discolor if not
    outright ruin goldfill, so pay the price and use the full karat
    stuff. Any flux is fine, but you MUST use a heavy coat of firescale
    retardant on any goldfill. I tumble it after I have finished
    finishing the piece and that will remove any discolored residue
    unless you have fried the goldfill. If you tell me WHAT you want to
    do with the goldfill, I can probably walk you thru it. Best thing to
    do is do some test pieces before you plunge in on an important
    project. Good luck! Suzanne  

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