[Jewelry making - Article 00191] - Re: [Orchid] Recasting old gold

[M'lou Brubaker]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========


    Thanks to a suggestion by Richard in Denver, I took the gold I had
    unsuccessfully tried to cast in to an experienced jeweler/appraiser
    to be tested. It was not 18K, and in fact tested below 8K. This
    explains a lot in terms of how it froze 1/2 way into the mold (mold
    not hot enough) and why it smoked so much when I melted it. It was my
    mistake, because I "knew" that gold under 10K could not be marked
    with a karat stamping, so when I saw a nice clear 8 and some other
    faint marks inside the rings, I thought it was 18K. I did not know
    about gold being marked 8K in Europe. The customer, also, had
    presented it to me saying it was 18K, so he saw the same thing I did.
    Oops. After some thought, and 3 out of 4 advisors thinking it was
    probably zinc burning off, I decided to try to recast, treating it
    this time as brass. Instead of a 900 degree F. mold temp, I used 1250
    degrees. It cast fairly well, but had a crack which separated the
    piece in two. I soldered it with 14k solder, and it is presentable.
    So I guess I got out of this one OK. I still have to tell the
    customer, but I expect they'll be OK with it, since they are getting
    their cross at the estimated price. Thanks to Richard, Dave, Alan,
    Tony, and Peter for their well-informed answers! I am very happy to be 
    done with this, and appreciate the support!

____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________