Stainless Steel Bangle

[Melanie_R]

Hi all,

I thought I'd try making a bangle from 2mm or 3mm stainless steel wire and possibly incorporate some tube too.

I'm going to buy from KC Smith Ortho Ltd (sorry can't post link. as I haven't posted often enough as yet) but I'm not sure if I should order soft or hard wire/tube.

I emailed the company but they got back to me saying they can't advice for jewellery use.

Can anyone help?

Many thanks, Melanie

[Dennis]

It depends a lot on when you will attempt to bend it. Heating will anneal it and bending will harden it.
My instinct is to buy a sample quantity and try soft first.
You will also need to consider flux and solder. My best results have been with easy or extra easy solder and Easyflow flux.
It will not brighten much in pickle, but comes up well with normal polishing. Dennis.

[Ceri]

Hi Melanie,

From your question, I am assuming that you have not worked with stainless steel previously. Full disclosure, nor have I but I have a friend uses it in an industrial capacity and in previous discussions, this is what I have gleaned.

Soft metal is metal that has been annealed and is easy to shape but must be hardened by some process or processes after completion or it will become misshapen.
Hard metal is metal that is not annealed and is therefore difficult to shape and can be brittle if pushed too far which will result in breakage.
I do not know if the stainless steel hard wire that you are considering purchasing has enough flexibility to form a bangle without snapping.

There are different types of stainless steel (ferritic, austenic & martensitic) which contain a different combination of metals in differing percentages.

300 series are probably most common - these are austentic, they work harden like crazy - but do not quench & temper
martensitic, can be quenched and tempered - think surgical blades
ferritic https://www.thebalance.com/metal-pro...-steel-2340133
So some stainless grades can be quench hardened, but many can only be work hardened. You can sometimes (but not totally reliably) identify austentic steels as being non-magnetic (work hardening can tip them into being magnetic...).

depending on the type of steel, hardening soft stainless steel is not always a straight forward process. http://www.worldstainless.org/Files/...rdening_EN.pdf

Hope this helps you make a decision.

Regards
Ceri.

[Melanie_R]

Thank you both for all your help, very much appreciated - I've ordered up some samples -I'll keep you posted!