[Jewelry making - Article 00841] - Re: [Orchid] Reclaiming copper wire

[Michael Honeycutt]

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


    You folks are great! Thanks so much for your responses. For the most
    part I try to use wire that I'm recycling from a variety of sources.
    I use old wire that was originally utilised as home wiring. Lots of
    people in this desert just dump the stuff in the out-of-the-way
    places I do my boonie-stomping in. It's very wasteful on their part
    but I view it as free materials. I clean up the environment and can
    turn a greater profit with the stuff making fashion items than I can
    selling it as scrap copper. I also find quite a bit of the stuff at
    these illegal dump sites that comes from old household appliances
    like washers, dryers, refridgerators, microwaves, etc....It sickens
    me to see the lack of care folks have for the environment but
    someone's trash has become my treasure. 

    To answer some questions: I have tried using pocketknives, wire
    strippers, simply pulling and the like to remove the insulation. I
    also burned some at one time and got mostly carbon coated, highly
    oxidized, very soft wire that didn't clean well, hence the questions
    about a pickle. I have never tried citric acid but white vinegar was
    a blowout. Perhaps I had an incorrect view of chemical cleaning.
    Pool pH adjusters are on the horizon. So far the wire strippers have
    been the most successful method but I will try the exacto knife
    trick. I have used wet/dry papers up to 2000 grit with a great deal
    of success, as well as red rouge, white diamond, even simple baking
    soda to achieve a variety of surface textures and polishes. I also
    use a tumbler and media made of treated corncob ( The kind used by
    ammuniton reloaders for polishing cartridge cases). 

    When soldering I originally tried common rosin core lead/tin soft
    solders but found them completely undesirable. I don't want lead to
    be in the picture at all, it's simply too nasty. I was recently
    given some low temp silver solders that I haven't yet tried, and I
    also bought some 65% silver solder. I intend to try boric acid
    dissolved on alcohol as a flux. I have used simple propane torches
    in the past and I own an oxy/acetelyne torch as well. Temperature
    control is a big issue with that one. I'm hoping to get a prestolite
    rig soon. I work with copper sheet, wire, tubing and pipe. I'm
    currently experimenting with ferric chloride etching techniques. I
    want to produce the standard items; earrings, pins, bracelets, rings
    etc. I also hope to use mixed media and so forth. You know jewelery,
    the sky's the limit. I have several books on metalsmithing and
    jewelery making that I spend a lot of time in, but I also like this
    forum because you folks have the voice of experience that frequently
    doesn't get presented well in print. 

    Here, I can ask specific questions and get specific answers. Thank
    you again for your replies and I look forward to more interaction
    with you all.       

Mike


____________________________________________________________________
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
____________________________________________________________________