Can you draw down gold filled wire?

[Petal]

I 'accidentallty' bought some 1mm GF and wanted the .8mm half hard.

Can you draw it down and I assume it is OK to tumble?

[caroleallen]

I'm not sure Jules about drawing it down as I would think it would thin out the gold layer too much. I think I would give it a try on a short length and see. Same with tumbling.

[Tabby66]

I definitely wouldn't thunk you could draw it down Jules, as Carole says, you will thin (or possibly remove) the gold layer, not sure about tumbling, you might get away with that....Carole's suggestion of testing a small piece for both drawing & tumbling would be your best way forward...

[mizgeorge]

You can't draw it down - the gold layer will thin and strip, even though it's supposed to be bonded rather than plated.

It tumbles fine, but check cut edges carefully afterwards as they can chip and may need rounding off again.

[Petal]

Bugger. Thanks Carole, Jill and George. I'll send it back in that case, as we really wanted .8mm half hard, as we want to make some byzantine silver/gf and assume that for that kind of weave it would need to be drawn...?

This brings me to my next question; apart from 'P', does anyone know where I can get some good quality half hard GF wire from, without having to pay a fortune in customs charges and wait weeks and weeks for delivery.

[mizgeorge]

Bellore usually has it. The website is often wrong though - so it's worth ringing them.

Otherwise I tend to import GF, though I use it only very occasionally, and only when it's specifically asked for as I don't like it at all.

You need to be very careful if you're cutting rings from it as they can often chip - it's sometimes better to just buy in the rings - Rashbel in Tel Aviv are often a good bet for this.

[Petal]

It sounds like GF is not very easy to work with G. One reason for getting GF, apart from the colour, was as an alternative to waxing copper. When you have a really tight weave, such as byzantine, its difficult to cover the entire ring with the wax, then you run the risk of discolouration.