[Jewelry making - Article 00278] - Re: [Orchid] Best Bronze for jewelry making?

[R . E . Rourke]

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

    a case of wrong supplier. 

    You want to talk to companies offering jewlers casting bronze alloys
    or sheets.. 

    Hoover and Strong sells bronze grain,K& S engineering in Chicago
    (1-773-586-8503) specializes in non-precious alloy sheeting but they
    are more for model makers, and hobby type work..but they do sell red
    and yellow bronze(a.k.a-Dix-gold) sheet in many gauges-how much they
    know about jewelry is a mystery to me! Cooksons in the UK, Rosenthal
    in Miami,,and Contenti in Rhode Island sell bronzes ( although they
    may only have white metals at this point in the company's
    history..can't recall at the moment!). 

    Commercial bronze is 90% copper and 10%Zinc, and you want to wear a
    good respirator when working with it as the zinc fumes are way toxic
    to your lungs,,, Red bronze-(or soft low bronze) is Manganese bronze:
    95%copper and 5% manganeese..You cast them at the same temp. as
    14kt,yellow (480 C),and etch with basic ferric chloride etchants
    (like the radio shack 5.00 a bottle etchant solution). It depends on
    which colour you want as to which bronze to select.both cast equally
    well,soldering them though is another matter entirely..as the solder
    you select or can find, also requires a respirator due to the
    components..or if you have an electric welder (or gas assisted
    welder) the soldering is immaterial..If i knew what you were doing-
    which sounds more like sculpture than jewelry i may be of more
    asitance.. The MAIN thing about wearable bronzes are allergic
    reactions are HIGH due to the copper content yielding the greening
    reaction that occurs with some bodily chemistries or hair
    products,cosmetics, chemical eau d' toilettes,parfums,and colognes..
    so applications such as bracelets and earraings and rings are best
    plated afterwards with a protective layer of wahtever colour metal
    you desire..and then you risk a piece looking plated,bleeding
    through the plating and other problems that make me personally wonder
    why you are attracted to working with bronze iin the first place- not
    because it is not a "precious metal" jsut in dealing with the returns
    and complaints that will inevitably follow making jewlery with the
    alloy.. 

RE.Rourke
____________________________________________________________________
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
____________________________________________________________________