Red Gold Wedding Rings

Hi,

I am currently making two Wedding Rings with 9ct Red Gold sheet.

I would class myself as a novice when it come to working with gold.

I bought 2.5mm thick strips and have forged them down to the desired 2mm, but have found during this process the metal is so hard, it took 5 rounds of annealing, quenching and forging (with my planishing hammer) to reach this point.

I then attempted to shape one ring on a ring mandrel last night with a wooden mallet and it did not budge.

Have I not annealed it enough? What am I doing wrong?

All help and advise gratefully received.


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Yes,I have recently finished some 9ct rings, and sufficient annealing is crucial. Heat in a darkened room until the metal glows dull red. hold for about 15 seconds, and quench. the metal should then be noticeably softer, until you have to do it again. do not use a fierce pointy flame, and keep it moving

Sadly repeated annealing burns way some of the surface copper, so the alloy becomes progressively more yellow. Dennis.

Thanks Dennis, I’ll give that a go


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dennis

Yes,I have recently finished some 9ct rings, and sufficient annealing is crucial. Heat in a darkened room until the metal glows dull red. hold for about 15 seconds, and quench. the metal should then be noticeably softer, until you have to do it again. do not use a fierce pointy flame, and keep it moving

Sadly repeated annealing burns way some of the surface copper, so the alloy becomes progressively more yellow. Dennis.

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Thanks Dennis, blacked out my window with bin bags and it worked a treat.

I now have another question, if you don’t mind.

I’m sure this has been covered before, but couldn’t find the thread I was looking for.

The smallest of the rings, 5x2mm band (the larger is 9x2mm) I have prepped ready for soldering. Tight seam, banding wired up, small pallions on the inside of the seam and couldn’t get the solder to melt.
Heated the whole ring, then concentrated the flame on the seam. The ring was bright red and couldn’t hold it any longer through fear of melting the ring.

I have a small handheld butane torch and am soldering on a charcoal block with 2 soldering blocks behind forming a right angled corner.

Do you have any tips, or do I just need to hold my nerve a bit longer?

Will also want to use the same process for the larger ring.


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Yes, we get a lot of that, Emily, but unfortunately members don't come back with the answers.

Here are my suggestions:
Prior to soldering make sure all pickle is neutralised by washing well, dipping in hot bicarbonate solution, and washing again.
Apply flux (borax or Auroflux) and the pallions. You should be using medium solder.
Heat starting very gently on the outside. Gold does go scarily red before the solder flows, so once its done pull away quickly.
Always keep your torch moving to avoid concentrated hot spots.

When I made the 9ct rings in my album, I used the Maxflame Pro refillable torch from Cookson, which is more powerful.
https://www.cooksongold.com/Jeweller...rcode-999-955C

This allowed me to close the air hole a little, giving a more bushy flame, and reducing the risk of causing a hot spot. However it is very pricy, and probably unnecessary if yo have no other projects in mind for it. Dennis.

Thank you so much for your advice Dennis.

I have a larger handheld butane torch, but it has recently been temperamental to fill. I persevered and that’s what did it.

Blackened room and large flame and they’re all finished.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...121b8d53d3.jpg


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You did well Emily, and the rings still look distinctly reddish as intended. Dennis.

Thanks Dennis, I’m very pleased with them.

They did turn yellow as you advised they would, but a light file/wet & dry and the red came back through.


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Gorgeous.


....

Really nice!

They came out really well !

Very nice job - you should be extremely pleased with those!

I am sure the new owners will be more than impressed they really came out well.