Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread: Melting White Gold

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    1

    Default Melting White Gold

    My white gold melts crack when I roll them - has anyone got any tips to stop this

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Market Deeping
    Posts
    2,693

    Default

    It very much depends on the gold you are melting - is it fresh gold/casting grain or is it recycled gold. White gold can have deoxidizers in it's alloy mix (silicon copper, zinc etc). It cracks more easily when you try to mill it.

    What gold are you using & what process are you following, e.g how are you annealing, what are you trying to achieve with the rolling mill..

    Nicola x
    Monthly FREE entry giveaways on Blogs!
    Shop Blog: http://muranosilver.blogspot.com/
    Silver Clay Blog: http://pmctips.blogspot.com/
    View images of my work on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/muranosilver

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    West Yorkshire
    Posts
    11

    Lightbulb Rolling white gold

    I have just worked with 9CT white gold sheet from Cooksons for the first time.

    9CT gold is harder than 18CT. The higher the CT the softer the material.

    I found that when I was forming the sheet gold to solder into a ring two part of the gold started to crack at either end.

    I solved this by taking my time and annealing the gold at frequent intervals until cherry red like silver, best to do the annealing in a shadow so you can see when the material glows red. Take your time and look for when the material is resisting you pressure you are applying to form the piece. If you take your time forming the material and do this slowly and softly you will see when the material is just starting to resist and therefore are more likely not to over stretch the material.

    I found that once I was annealing the material correctly and frequently the cracking stopped. I was then able to clean the cracks well and solder them with 9CT white gold solder.

    The annealing process will help when rolling the material. Just remember to take your time little by little at a time and after each roll though the mill just test how felxible the material still is when almost not fexible at all then anneal once again.

    If you can possibly try working in 18CT upwards as you will find this easier to form.

    I hope this works for you.

    Bubbleshell
    Last edited by bubbleshell; 29-07-2009 at 09:12 PM.

Similar Threads

  1. melting down old white gold ring
    By Lucy in forum Need Help? Ask the Experts!
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 17-05-2010, 06:33 PM
  2. Melting scrap
    By Lindyloo in forum Hot Metal ~ Gold, Silver & Metal Working
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 21-09-2009, 01:37 PM
  3. Concave profile ring blanks in white gold
    By nikki_d72 in forum Jeweller's Wishlist
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 26-08-2009, 01:51 PM
  4. Getting used to 18ct White Gold.
    By Charlotte in forum Hot Metal ~ Gold, Silver & Metal Working
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 24-07-2009, 07:22 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •