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Soldering gold

Started by SamGem, September 12, 2013, 12:16:27 PM

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SamGem

Well, I have been working with silver for a while now but never gold. Now trying to explore that field as well. I am going to make a pendant for my sister as her wedding present, I will use 1mm 14ct gold wire, as I thought it would be harder than 18ct specially for a wire work. But I also need to attach to this a bezel set gemstone-aquamarine. Now my question: I see it is not easy to find 14ct bezel strip, but also think it would be good to use 18ct strip not to damage the stone- as it is softer?. Would it make difference to solder these two and what type of solder should I use? I have 18ct medium solder already-is it any good? Thanksx

mizgeorge

Hi Sam,

14ct isn't widely used in the UK (as it is in the US), so you won't find a great deal of range in terms of bullion.

For a bezel, I would tend to use the same carat of gold as the rest of the piece to avoid differences in colour (every alloy is a different shade). I roll mine down, but you can also buy thin sheet and cut your own to the size you require. Well annealed and shaped strip is easy enough to rub over in even 9ct - and you can cut a 45 degree bevel to make the rubover easier to achieve. If you're setting a gemstone rather than a cabochon, though, you're more likely to need to make a tube setting, and it may be easier to just buy a short length of appropriately size tube, which is generally available in 9 or 18ct.

This sounds like a multi-part soldering operation, so you're likely to need at least two grades of solder. I don't really use medium at all, and would usually recommend hard and easy to ensure the least risk of remelting previous joins.

If it's your first experience with gold, it's worth making a mockup in silver, or even base metal (copper or brass) to be sure the design is right first.

This is primarily a forum for lampwork glass artisans, and I wonder if you might get more useful advice and other opinions over on the Cookson's Forum - http://www.cooksongold.com/forum/index.php

hth

SamGem

Thanks Mizgeorge for your advices. As I am new in gold, I made it in silver first as you suggested even though it is not a complicated piece .  I am happy to use 18ct bezel but don't you think that would be too soft for the wire bit? If not I am happy to go with it as it would make it much valuable I guess than 9 ct:) The stone is cabochon, sorry didn't mention that, so it will help I guess. I see your point about having easy/hard solder but somehow I ended up with this medium one, god knows why:) and the gold medium solder seems very difficult to use as it is not tend to flow. But does the carat of the solder make any difference in terms of colour, or will it anyway?

That's right I should have shared my lampwork staff first I guess... Just wanted to ask about my current issue first. Thanks for your suggestion on other forums.. I am not a forum person myself although I see the benefit of it. I will try that one next as well.. Thanks

mizgeorge

18ct is nice for a bezel, but if you have access to a rolling mill, you could roll your 1mm 14k down to a 3mm wide 0.3mm strip without too much difficulty. Without seeing the design, it's hard to judge, but 18ct is generally fine for most things, provided there aren't too many very thin areas.

Medium solder is the devil's own - it's sticky, doesn't flow and always seems less of a good colour match. The carat of the solder does make a difference both in terms of usage and colour, so it is worth having the right ones for the job if at all possible.

Sadly, gold is now too expensive to be able to practice and play!!

SamGem

Oh I know, that's why I want to do double check before I go further:)

Thanks for your advice;) by the way, this is the silver mock up that I made first. I should have posted earlier but didn't realize I had a photo on my phone...


ruth

This is very pretty. How did you get on with the gold version?

Ruth
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