[Jewelry making - Article 00363] - Re: [Orchid] Alternative metals

[Kay]

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>     I've heard of something called OK Gold, but don't know what it
>     looks like or where to purchase it.  Any help would be greatly
>     appreciated. 

    Hi Jay:  I originally bought OK Gold from the now no-longer Swest
    but I notice that Rio has some Merlin's Gold which I think
    essentially is the same thing.  I personally found the OK Gold  more
    difficult to work with than Sterling but that may have just been my
    inexperience at working with brass. I certainly didn't like the OK
    gold solder - so I used silver solder but had to bezel edges of the
    top piece for anything that I sweat soldered.  I primarily used it
    when I was learning married metals technique and though it was very
    attractive when polished, I found it tarnished more rapidly than the
    silver and once tarnished was a pain to clean.  I would think if you
    have lots of sterling scraps around, you could teach your 11 year old
    to solder simple forms together - even learning to butt solder two
    rectangles is challenging to someone who has never done it before. 
    He should be old enough to handle a torch with you around to watch
    and learning to solder is probably the single most important thing he
    needs to learn. He could practice sawing, filing and soldering using
    small pieces of scrap. Once he had mastered these techniques, he
    could learn to make a bezel and set a simple round cabachon and then
    he'd probably be ready to design a simple pendant. Your son should be
    so lucky he has his Dad around to teach him. Enjoy it and don't
    forget to have some fun along the way. 

Kay

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