[Jewelry making - Article 00016] - Re: [Orchid] Working with Tungsten in jewelry

[Thomas Janstrom]

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    Not in jewellery, but I have worked with tungsten, not a very
    forgiving metal.... 

    Not only is it hard (and I mean HARD), but it is also quite brittle.
    It can be bent, but that should be done hot (IIRC  AT 800'C, or at or
    just above the Curie point). It will take a nice polish but it isn't
    a truly shiny metal, think more like haematite. 

    It can be silver soldered or brazed, but in both cases the seams are
    overly obvious, side note I've never done this though. 

    It is hard on abrasive tools (the only real way to work it) and
    diamond is the better choice in this. 

    I suppose that as a contrast metal it would work quite well, but you
    have to keep in mind the quirks of the stuff, and engineer the piece
    to hide any joins etc that you solder. 

    Well I'm running out of useful info so I'll leave off here. 

Cheers, Thomas.
Janstrom Designs.
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