Fusing gold??

[Christina Ecco]

Hello all,

I wonder if anyone can help. I've been fusing fine silver for a while now and have had a request for one of my little ring designs in 18k gold. My question is, can I fuse 18k gold like I do fine silver? I have a standard butane torch and would be wanting to fuse 1.5mm gold wire to itself.

If anyone has any experience I would be exceedingly grateful : )

I alternatively thought about using one of my silver rings as a model for casting. Would this be possible and if so, does anyone know where I could get it done?

Many thanks,

Chrissy

[silken]

Hi Chrissy

I've never fused 18k gold before so I'm not sure how effectively it can be done, hopefully one of the experts will help be able to help you more than I can.

I quite often fuse tiny balls of 22k gold to fine silver (granulation). High carat gold is incredibly easy to fuse to silver, even when you don't want it to it quite often does. Does the design not allow for the ring to be soldered together instead of fusing? Do you have a picture or drawing of the design just to get an idea of how it is constructed?

I bookmarked this a while ago, it might be of some use to you: http://www.meevis.com/jewelry-making...fused-ring.htm

[Christina Ecco]

That site is amazing Emily! Thank you so much for posting it

It looks like I should be able to do what I want to do. I don't know how to attach pics, but my design is sooo simple. I bend the wire into a circle leaving two longer bits on the ends which, when fused together, not only join the ring but make a pleasing little droplet shape into which I set a stone.........really it's no more complicated than making a ball end head pin!

I wonder though whether my butane torch will be able to get hot enough?

Chrissy

[silken]

I use a simple Clarke butane torch for most work and it definitely gets hot enough. I have melted fairly large pieces of silver and gold with it so it should certainly get hot enough to fuse wire, assuming the wire isn't particularly thick. Gold does have a higher melting temp than silver so it might be worth setting up some charcoal blocks (or any other soldering blocks) around the piece to enclose and reflect heat back onto the gold. It's a useful technique when you need to maintain a high temperature

By the way, it sounds like a really nice design, simple but elegant. Good luck with it, I hope it works well for you. I still get butterflies when I work with gold because it's soooo expensive but at least fusing gets rid of the need to buy expensive solder panels.

About the website, I found it a while ago and Hans is just brilliant. I love looking at his free tutorials and all the other information he posts. I have no formal training so I pretty much rely on books and websites and this is one of my favourites.

Good luck, would love to see the finished product!

[Dennis]

Hi Emily,
I'd like to thank you for posting that link too. I've seen Hans' work on the UK Jewellers' Collective forum and now have a load of tutorials to browse. Dennis.

[Katia]

Emily,
A big thank from me too! This link is just fantastic. Cannot wait to try that.

[silken]

I'm so glad everyone so far enjoyed the link to Hans' tutorial. I really recommend reading his blog also, it is fascinating as he shows his commissions from start to finish and he has done some utterly jaw droppingly amazing work! One of my favourite blogs my far

www.hansmeevis.blogspot.co.uk

[Pauline]

Emily - thanks for the link, it's great!

[Christina Ecco]

I still get butterflies when I work with gold because it's soooo expensive but at least fusing gets rid of the need to buy expensive solder panels.Good luck, would love to see the finished product!

Glad it's not just me.....I'm petrified, have never done anything in gold before
Still, I figure if it goes horribly wrong, I can always melt it into little balls and attach them to something!

And Hans is now my hero ; )

Chrissy x

[silken]

That's exactly what I do when I muck up, just cut the wire into equal sized pieces and ball it up. I like to make the little balls into simple stud earrings (surprisingly popular) or use them as accents on a stacking ring. Sometimes I send the gold to the refiners if I'm not feeling overly creative so I get most of my money back. All is not lost if it doesn't work out first time