[Jewelry making - Article 00301] - Re: [Orchid] Mokume rings too soft

[James Binnion]

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

    22k and sterling mokume is an inappropriate material choice for a
    ring that sees daily wear. There is nothing you can do to
    substantially change the hardness of the metals as they are both too
    soft even in their hardest state. Mokume rings need to have harder
    metals included with the soft ones to provide for adequate wear
    resistance. Even at fully hard sterling is not as hard as a typical
    fully annealed 18k yellow gold. 22k will not even get that hard! 

    Some marginal increase in the sterling hardness can be achieved by
    heating to just below the point where the solder used to join the
    ring ends solidifies, holding there for a period of 30 minutes then
    immediately quenching, followed by heating at 572 F for 1 hour. The
    ring must be protected form exposure to oxygen during the 1 hour
    high temperature soak, simple flux coating will not last for that
    time period. The main concern is what solder was used and what is its
    solidus temperature. Many solders are only listed by their flow or
    liquidus temperature not their solidus temperature so you would need
    to do some research on the solder used. 

    There is no heat treating option for the 22k 

Jim
James Binnion
jbin AT mokume-gane.com
James Binnion Metal Arts
http://www.mokume-gane.com
360-756-6550
____________________________________________________________________
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
____________________________________________________________________