Hello! I'm looking for advice

[Dodger]

I am an old school jeweller and have been asked to make a wedding ring in palladium that is textured with a hammer - rough planishing. Having never used the metal I want to know if I can just buy a blank ring and hammer it without annealing it, as i don't really want to stretch it? Can i talk to someone who has used it as I don't want to buy anything without knowing at least a little, about what I am letting myself into! Thanks.

[Dennis]

I have not used palladium, but I can tell you for sure that hammering a metal ring will change its size, so you must be prepared to make it round again and resize it, unless you can guess what size smaller you need to start with. Dennis.

[Dodger]

I have not used palladium, but I can tell you for sure that hammering a metal ring will change its size, so you must be prepared to make it round again and resize it, unless you can guess what size smaller you need to start with. Dennis.

Thanks Dennis, I realise if I hammer metal it stretches, but having never used palladium, and been told it is very hard and difficult to work. What I wanted to know is if I bought a ready made ring,could I just texture it without annealing, and therefore making it less likely to expand. Each metal acts differently, and this one I know nothing about!!

[china]

The only way to texture a palladium (or any other ring) without streching would be to etch or engrave the metal

[Dennis]

My logic (which admittedly needs empirical proof) tells me that annealed or not, the ring will expand by the same amount when you have reached your desired texture.

Hammering it will harden it further.

The only difference is that hammering it when already hard might produce cracks.

I have edited this post to include a few facts that might be of use: https://www.riogrande.com/Content/Wo...lladium-IS-pdf. Dennis.