[Jewelry making - Article 00258] - Re: [Orchid] 950Palladium jewelry (Source) and advice

[Daniel Ballard]

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http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive/200507/msg00791.htm

Hello All,

    The third in my informal "how to deal with 950Pd jewelry" postings- 

    There are more solders available-95Pd plumb and the new medium flow
    900Pd solder (not plumb but good color). 1100 an 1200 platinum
    solders are now thought of and used for palladium and platinum work. 

    I have more detail on the new palladium alloys that are now out
    there. Reports have come in that Pd/Ru is very really soft-maybe too
    much so for some uses. Similar reports indicate any current 950Pd may
    not fill small parts very well, so keep that in mind for spruing. If
    needed we know how to make a better filling Pd alloy but that topic
    is for another day, and is a custom batch anyway. 

    Some Pd alloys harden up really well, then anneal to very soft
    states. When I was annealing coiled wire yesterday with a propane
    torch, being very gentle I literally watched the metal relax with the
    red/dark orange heat. I did dunk the coils into "blue alcohol"
    (heavily fluxed alcohol) for a coating. The annealing slightly
    disturbs the finish, easily fixed with very fine grit sandpaper. 

    I had a lady who does wire wrapping look at the annealed
    material-and it may have been too soft. So, perhaps annealing should
    occur a couple dies before you reach your desired diameter. For
    example, draw down to 2mm, anneal, and then anneal at 1.2 mm not any
    closer to .5mm for a stronger wire. 

    Be sure to use platinum rated safety glasses. Use platinum rated
    crucibles. Use platinum polishing compounds and put palladium filings
    or scrap either completely separate or with scrap platinum, not with
    the gold, which might raise your refining fees. 

Daniel Ballard
www.pmwest.us
800-999-7528

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