Help with making a ring

[ps_bond]

The "classic mokume" is aluminium and copper. Reading between the marketing BS, this sounds like a filled epoxy material with absolutely no correlation with real mokume gane.
Would also explain why it caught fire.

[Rylkan]

Dear Rylcan,

If you look at the M3 web site, they say specifically that their billets cannot be forged, soldered rolled or bent.
It appears therefore that you need to turn rings on a lathe, and expand any linings around them. You can also cold connect flat pieces, by setting, or riveting, as shown in one of their samples.

If I have interpreted what they say correctly, then that explains why you are not succeeding. Dennis

http://www.m3mokume.com/cgi-bin/comm...action&key=700

http://www.metalpenblanks.com/jewelry_grade_billets.htm

Okay, I feel rather silly for missing that. I skimmed their website but spent most of my time in the past few weeks reading up on the metal working techniques. The good thing is I am used to working with wood, and I have the tools to work it into shape that way. Though now I wonder how well the soldering would go to get the other pieces of metal adhered to the mokume gane like thing I have now. I may reconsider using it all together or go with the other provider ps_bond mentioned.

On wear - silver is not the problem, copper is. Short version: Copper and silver create an electrolytic cell that, in the presence of a suitable electrolyte (sweat), causes electrolytic corrosion of the silver.
Longer version: http://ganoksin.com/blog/binnion/201...h-a-good-idea/

The advice of using palladium or platinum as liners is... Unwise, shall we say. Being polite. Firstly, you can't solder it even with your MAPP torch, you need oxy/propane as a minimum. Secondly, if you solder the Pt with the Cu/Ag in situ you will have a a puddle due to the soldering temp being way over the MP of the mokume. Thirdly... If I were using Pt, I wouldn't pair it with Cu/Ag, I'd look at Pt/Au or similar. But in that regard I'm a stuckist - I wouldn't put a plastic gem with 18k either

If you can get hold of Steve Midgett's mokume gane book - at least, if you can find it at a sensible price - then it'll be immensely helpful. I confess my copy annoys me slightly as it wants to be both a coffee table book and a workshop book at the same time.

Thanks for the advice on this. My reading up on the topic led me to believe Pt especially would be a bad choice for many of the reasons you said above, but since I am new at this, I didn't want to disregard the advice I got out of hand.

I will definitely do some reading up on the copper and silver issue, though.