** Orchid Digest - Issue #226 **
Ganoksin Online
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* * O r c h i d D i g e s t * *
Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Techniques
January 19, 1998 Issue #226
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.....IN THIS DIGEST.....
// -- N-E-W -- //
"Polishing wax"
~ Frank Goss <fra...@earthlink.net>
"Post casting process"
~ Michael Mathews <rin...@ibm.net>
~ "John A. Henkel" <jahe...@netquarters.net>
~ Skip Meister <hans...@xnet.com>
"Day Lillies"
~ Lyndan Blackman <l...@ar.com.au>
~ marilyn <mms...@si-net.com>
~ Dave Sebaste <dav...@mindspring.com>
~ John Burgess <jo...@ts.co.nz>
~ Mjbotz <Mjb...@aol.com>
~ r...@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in
~ "Lester W. Poole" <l...@tntie.com>
~ MPark763 <MPar...@aol.com>
"Homemade Casting Equipment"
~ Joe Bokor <jbo...@cyberlink.bc.ca>
"Jewlery trademarks"
~ Raechel Reiter <ra...@aye.net>
"Plating services"
~ tnu...@usit.net (William T. Nunes)
"Plique-a-jour enamelling."
~ "Tobey Robinson" <tob...@sprint.ca>
"Making sterling alloy/casting"
~ r...@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in
~ James Binnion <jb...@well.com>
"Ring sizing"
~ "Wendy Newman" <ggra...@email.msn.com>
~ "Glen E. McCune" <GMc...@Infonet.Tufts.Edu>
~ Michael Mathews <rin...@ibm.net>
// -- C-O-N-T-I-N-U-I-N-G -- //
"Is it intasia, inlay or mosaic"
~ "Alain van Acker" <a...@wxs.nl>
// -- H-E-L-P --//
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Orchid D - I - G - E - S - T
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
// -- N-E-W -- //
Polishing wax
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
From: Frank Goss <fra...@earthlink.net>
Ok to all of you that have asked this is my method for
polishing waxes.
1. first polish your tools. the surface texture of the tool is
going to be transfered to the wax if the tool has a rought surface
the wax will have a rough surface. polish the metal on your tool
to a 4/0 or 5/0 emery polish. then take a post-it ,stick it to a
polished bench block and crumble some white rouge on the post it.
now strop the tool across the post it till you get a nice high
polish.
2. i finish all my waxes with 600 grit or 4/0 emery that is
moistened with wax clean or mineral spirits. keeps the wax from
loading on the paper and fills the low spots. i then use a piece
of fine silk also wet with mineral spirits or wax clean. and
polish till it is glossy. this is great for geometric designs.
3. for organic designs with rounded surface and fine detail i use
a master wax tool with an ultra fine wire in the tool tip. Hair
fine. if you can't find nicrome you can use plat. though it is
more expensive it also lasts longer. the wire has to be red hot
and you pass it carefully over the surface of the wax without
touching it. just glazing the surface of the wax to a high polish.
tricky but works. i also use a micro torch for larger surfaces. it
tends to round the surface on flat areas.
4. last and least i sometimes use a soft camel hair brush with wax
clean or mineral spirits. this helps to clean of residue dust and
loose wax. i also lightly steam my carvings during the carving to
remove the dust and loose wax. care should be taken not to
overheat the wax.
hope this helps all if more questions or clarification post to
orchid and i will help if i can and i'm sure others have
suggestions as well.. luck to all and remember wax dust is dust
and should be controlled same as any other. Frank
Post casting process
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
From: Michael Mathews <rin...@ibm.net>
Hello All: I have been casting for 20 years now and I have
always quenched the flask about 2-3 minutes after it is
shot.Allowing the button to stop glowing.I have noticed that
sometimes my castings are more brittle than others.Is there a
annealing that should take place after the cast? Am I quenching
to soon?Is there a differance in the quenche time of differant
metals? Michael Mathews Victoria,Texas USA
From: "John A. Henkel" <jahe...@netquarters.net>
Michael, That brittleness you're descibing can have many causes.
Question #1 What alloy are you casting and what percentage is
fresh grain? #2 Are you Vac or Centrifugaly casting? #3 Are you
torch melting and with what kind of fuel? #4 What is your flask
temp at cast? #5 Is your crucible new or has it been cleaned? #6
What does the metal look like just before cast? #7 Does it make a
difference if you let it cool a few minutes more? The answers to
these questions should help pin point the problem. At our
production casting facility we cast just about every alloy and
have made many observations on them over the years. We have cast
pieces ranging in size from a pin head to small sculptures. Some
of your post casting problems could be pre or at cast as well.
J.A.
From: Skip Meister <hans...@xnet.com>
Hi, I think that the problem *is* that you are quenching too
early. I had experienced the same difficulty with a palladium
alloy. The metal has not had the chance to assume its final
molecular state. Trust me.:) You are quenching too soon.
Regards, Skip
Day Lillies
^^^^^^^^^^
From: Lyndan Blackman <l...@ar.com.au>
Hello to all orchids, I've sat around reading and absorbing
information up until now. Many thanks to you all for such
interesting exchanges.
I know take the plunge.
While not a professional jeweller, I have been dabbling for some
time. What I would like is some specific advice on matters
botanical.
A friend of mine, for those interested in Day Lillies, is
Australia's biggest exporter of day lillies. I would like to have
a go at making his wife a brooch, or ear-rings in a D.L. shape. I
know I couldn't get the colours, but I thought silver or S.S. with
24k enhancement would look nice. The trouble is, that I have never
made anything floral before so would appreciate ANY suggestions. I
found a reference on orchid a while ago to a site """"
rareplants"" etc. which was more to do with bulbs.
Cheers to you all, and thanks in advance
Lyndan Blackman
p.s I live over near John Burgess, on New Zealand's most western
island. 28 degrees here today, for those who are feeling the
cold.
From: marilyn <mms...@si-net.com>
Have you considered enameling? It would give you color and
shading. Can you draw a good day lilly? Do you have a good
photograph or drawing of one to work from? Do you want it to be
3D? If you’re close enough to visit John, he might have some
very practical or at least interesting ideas for you. Marilyn
Smith
From: Dave Sebaste <dav...@mindspring.com>
Hi Lyndan! Please keep giving your temperature readings in
Celsius (centigrade?)! It makes us folks up north in the US,
using the Fahrenheit scale, seem not-so-cold after all! :) The
only suggestions I have for your lillies would be either
electroforming (applies a metal coating) or casting a bloom.
Organic materials can burn out just like wax can. Other than
that, I suppose you'd have to form each petal individually and
then solder them together! I hope that give you something to go
on... there are resources available for both techniques. If you
see John Burgess, tell him I said, "G'day!" Dave
From: John Burgess <jo...@ts.co.nz>
G'day backatcher; If you live in a large city you could try your
local industrial gases supplier to see if they have liquid
nitrogen (BP -180C) You can collect it in a wide-mouthed thermos
flask - it is surprisingly cheap) and hold your flower under the
surface until it no longer boils the nitrogen. BUT DON'T DARE
TOUCH IT! I used to do this as a lecture demonstration years ago
(I was responsible for the liquid-air machine) and a flower comes
out stiff as a poker. If you drop it on the floor it breaks like
delicate glass. But it soon wilts. Might be worth trying to get a
model for casting? If you invested really fast? But it does sound
a bit impractical to me. I also used to cast a nail in mercury,
dip the mould in liquid nitrogen then hammer the mercury nail into
a bit of wood; it always freaked out the students. Oh yes;
I think Lyndan lives in our Westernmost island called Australia
but I didn't see her as I sold my rowing boat ages ago.
From: Mjbotz <Mjb...@aol.com>
There is a craft product on the market that allows you to paint
flowers with a liquid (acrylic? other ceramic?) to preserve them
and make them look like porcelain flowers. Do you think you could
do that and then investment cast. The burnout might be toxic,
though? not even .02, but thought I'd throw it in. Mia
From: r...@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in
Hi.
Yes I have some thoughts on your objectives as I am currently
plating fresh Orchids and Roses.I can't say they are perfect from
an ornamantal stand point but I'm still perfecting the production
protocol.( I silver palte mine and currently am stabilising the
finer points of the silver/microns and antitarnish.......
You might try the following,first with sturdy stem plants and
then work down to more delicate ones.(Orchids on stems are
difficult as they are fragile at point of attatchment of leaves
to stem.Individual leafs are no problem, stemed is a different
story.)
1.Brush paint conductive paint.( you can retain fine plant
details if you dont over coat the item).
2.Air drying for 3/4 hours.Ensure that drying is done in a clean
environment that does not leave painted object to catch
particulate dust.
3.Plate the object.The thickness can be worked on as per the
kind of plant to ensure a rigid and durable structure.
4. Enamel.
#3 is subject your experiance with plating.I coppper plate my
flowers.You can do the same it works. I use a bright acid copper
bath for the plating.As the resultant output will be rigid and
durable you could work on it further.Buildup a good copper
coating and then enamel as one would enamel copper objects.
Hope the above may help????Any additions clarification please
feel free.
Rajah.
Ps look for RISIS (Singapore) on the web.You can see their gold
plated Orchids.
From: "Lester W. Poole" <l...@tntie.com>
In orchids, the more delicate pieces are painted on the reverser
surfaces with melted wax to build up their substance (lost wax
process). The pieces are then invested and cooked out. The
investment cavity is then filled with wax. The investment is
removed once the wax has hardened. I have seen vibrator tables
used as the investment is poured to insure against air bubbles. I
have also heard of the liquid investment and forms being placed in
a vacuum to remove air bubbles.
Once the investment has been removed, the wax molding is then
checked for imperfections and corrected. The wax mold is then
placed in another investment and cooked out. The mold is then
filled with molten metal. I have seen this done with the mold
placed on a centrifuge to lessen the chance of air bubbles and
force the molten metal into fine detail cavities.
This is done frequently with flowers in Bangkok. They replicate
flowers this way in precious metals or with less costly metals
with precious electro plating. The detail when done properly is
incredible, far easier and more accurate than attempting to carve
one out of was by hand for most. A lot of failures and seconds
also.
Now if anyone has any recommendations regarding enameling
processes to color these metal flowers, I'm interested.
From: MPark763 <MPar...@aol.com>
Do you pour in the wax under a vacume? How do you remove the
investment without damaging the wax, soak it in water? Why not
just cast it at this point instead of pouring in wax and
reinvesting? Mark P
Homemade Casting Equipment
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
From: Joe Bokor <jbo...@cyberlink.bc.ca>
Greetings All:
A few weeks ago there was a thread and questions on making
casting and lapidary euipment.
At that time I knew a I had abooklet on the main items - a good
HOW TO.. -but could not find it.
I found it today ; it provides HOW TO and working plans to make at
home:
Vacuum Investment Mixer
Burnour Oven (600W of higher)
Pressure Casting Machine
Simple Wax extruder
Also : How to make Rubber Molds
Wax Injector
Wax Patterns
Invest Wax Pattern
Burn Out and Cast
Rubber Molds and duplicate Patters
Rubber Molds without vulcanizing.
In all instances there are working blue-print type plans,
photographs and a sort bill of materials - For myself I built a
600W Burnout oven because the commercial ones were all 1800W+, and
as a hobbyist I never cast more than 2-3 pieces at a time.
My apologies to the bigtimers on the list - these notes are
basically for the small-time hobbyists like me.
The booklet is:
Handbook of Lost Wax or Investment Casting, by James E. Sopciak
Pulished by Gembooks, Mentone CA, 92359 (1968) Tyhe cost was
then $2.00
Regards,
Joe Bokor
jbo...@cyberlink.bc.ca
Jewlery trademarks
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
From: Raechel Reiter <ra...@aye.net>
I looked in a 1950s book and it didn''t have my antique pieces
trademark. So I am assuming it went out of business. How can I get
the years it was in business? THe trademark on this silver piece
is STER[THEDA]LING the [ ] is actually a rectangle around THEDA.
Any help would be appreciated.
Plating services
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
From: tnu...@usit.net (William T. Nunes)
Hi all, I have a project doing some earring and necklace sets for
my sister and her bridesmaids for her upcoming wedding in April.
She has chosen some designs of mine that she likes. Most of my
work is currently in fine silver and sterling. We are talking
about using gold for this project and I want to investigate
possibly gold plating these designs for the purpose of saving
money. I have not plated my designs but fabricated pieces for a
designer I used to work for that were gold plated. So I have
minimal experience with the prep work for plating. I believe the
company my former employer used was Red Sky?
Could anyone advise me on preperation for this process and
reccomend a company they like? This will be a small run of maybe 6
or 7 sets of earrings and necklaces. My previous experience
involved fabricating designs in brass that were plated. I am
considering doing these in silver to be then gold plated. If the
plating was 24kt wouldn't that be considered vermiel? Or maybe a
different karat would be more appropriate. I remember the pieces
had to be super clean and we slightly roughed the surface with a
scotch brite to give a tooth to the surface for the plating to
grab onto better. Thank you for all your shared knowledge and
wisdom!-Carrie Nunes tnu...@usit.net
Plique-a-jour enamelling.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
From: "Tobey Robinson" <tob...@sprint.ca>
Hi, I've done quite a bit of research into plique-a-jour
enamelling, and invented a couple of tricks of my own. However,
this is such an amazingly intricate and complex technique that I
would love to know more. Please, if anyone is truly experienced
with this, I would love to hear from you. If anyone is aware of
any awesome books on the subject, could you please tell me what
they are? And, finally, if anyone is aware of any classes or
anyone who is willing to teach this subject, please tell me.
Thanks tonnes and tonnes! Tobey
Making sterling alloy/casting
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
From: r...@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in
Hi. I am casting on continuous caster to make billets for sheet
rolling.
As I make the sterling in the caster crucible I need accurate
mixing.I have effective nitrogen purging thru the crucible and the
die also.
Do I add the fine silver first for melt and then add copper or
reverse the order. The problem is that continuous caster crucibles
have a dead space cavity yet I need mixing to sterling accuracy?
The last experiment I added copper first and the assay was not
uniform. Rajah.
From: James Binnion <jb...@well.com>
Nitrogen is not realy inert you may want to use Argon instead
you will see a difference in the metal as it comes out of the
caster. You may also want to use forming gas (Nitrogen &
Hydrogen) as an active oxygen getter, but nitrogen by itself is
not too good. You must alloy in a preliminarily melt (stir the
melt to insure mixing) before putting it in the continuous caster
as it will not be mixed thoroughly from a single melt Jim
Ring sizing
^^^^^^^^^^^
From: "Wendy Newman" <ggra...@email.msn.com>
> I wonder if someone could take 5 minutes and jot down the simple
> explanation of ring sizing? The basic hows and whys. I would
> really appreciate it. Terry
Terry, Sizing a ring down requires removing material and
soldering the joint back together. Sizing up usually requires
cutting through the back of the ring shank, inserting material,
and soldering. When sizing a ring down, it pays to invest in a
tool that will scribe one ring size on the shank. I have a mini
prong lifter which doubles for this task. Scribe on the shank
the amount of material you need removed and saw well inside the
lines. I use a sanding disk mounted on my flex shaft to sand the
joints parallel and flush. Use pliers with one side half round
and one side flat to carefully bend the ring shank until the
sides meet UNDER SLIGHT PRESSURE with NO light shining through.
Gently force the joint open and insert a piece of hard solder and
heat the area around the joint to flow. Put the ring on your
ring mandrell and tap gently until the desired size is reached (
you should be close). Clean up the inside first using a half
round file. I clean up the edges next and the outside last using
a file and than a sanding stick. Polish and clean.
When sizing a ring up I usually invest in a few different
dimensions of flat gold sizing stock (like 2.5 X 1mm). I size
alot of rings and this is worth it to me. You can always roll
your own though. First dip the ring in boric acid / alcohol and
heat the back of the shank enough to expose any previous solder
joints (oh yeah, you should do that for sizing down, too!). If
any are exposed, cut through one of the joints. Slide the ring
up your ring mandrell until it comfortably comes to rest about
1/4 size smaller than you want the ring. You might have to
overstretch it a little to do this. Find or roll a piece of
sizing stock that is as wide as the opening in the ring and as
thick or slightly thicker than the shank. Cut a piece the width
of the shank and place the flat piece of sizing stock in the gap
under slight tension, making sure to line up the new piece with
the inside of the ring, not the outside. Your fit must be
perfect, or else you'll get pourosity or solder lines. Flux and
solder with hard solder using your solder pick this time. Pickle
and rinse. Put the ring back on the mandrell and using a small
goldsmiths hammer, tap the back of the shank on the new material
evenly until the ring reaches the desired size (it should start
out 1/8 to 1/4 size smaller, the act of "tapping it up" helps to
round it out and give it a little hardness). Clean up as
described earlier. Polish, ultrasonic, steam clean and you're
ready to go! (Or brush with a toothbrush and mild cleaning
solution). I think there is a good pictorial of this in the back
of the Stuller little findings catalog. Always be careful when
sizing silver rings with stones and gold rings with fragile
stones such as opals and emeralds. You need to remove or protect
them with some kind of heat shield before you do any work. Good
luck! Sorry this was longer than 5 minutes <grin>
Wendy Newman
ggra...@msn.com
From: "Glen E. McCune" <GMc...@Infonet.Tufts.Edu>
I've sized gold and silver rings up a full size without a
problem--many times. Before I decide on doing the jog by
stretching the ring in my roller, I naturally look and see how
thick the shank is, preventing an overly thin result and
inevitable doom! If I can, I always try to do the stretch to
size up, especially when there are stones already set and I
don't feel like pulling them. With the lower carat gold, I've
taken the precaution to anneal it a bit because the gold is more
brittle and apt to break or crack.
For anyone who hasn't used a ring roller, I think the most
important thing is to work evenly on both sides of the shank,
apply pressure slowly, and especially match the roller shape
with the shank shape to prevent turning a half-round shank into
a flat one! When finished, you will have to lightly remove the
scratches with a little filing or a rubberized buff. Then, put
a final polish on it with a little fabuluster or other type of
final polishing compound.
From: Michael Mathews <rin...@ibm.net>
Hello Glen:
I often size rings, with heat sensitive stones, up and
down.Simply buy clamping in my third arm and submersing the ring
half in a crucible filled with water.You must use a much hotter
flame,but it beats removing stones.
Michael Mathews Victoria,Texas USA
// -- C-O-N-T-I-N-U-I-N-G -- //
Is it intasia, inlay or mosaic
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
From: "Alain van Acker" <a...@wxs.nl>
Dear Judith,
Pietra dura is a mosaic ornamention in which little pieces of
gemstones are put side to side to form a mosaic. These stones are
layed in a flat gem like f.i. onyx. They make holes in the onyx
with drops of accid (or this is the original manner) You are
excpected to see flowers, ruins, castels etc. A typical Florentine
type of ornament.
Mille-fiori is the Roman variety in which little collored
brick-like pieces of glass "tesserae" are cemented side to side
and so creating a mosaic.
Intarsia is sometomes used for Pietra-Dura but is original a
woodcarvers term and is similair but then in wood.
Inlaying is the term used for any metal-in-metal inlay work (not
niello or enamel).
If you have any questions, ask me
Best regard
Alain
a...@wxs.nl
----------- End of Orchid Digest --------------
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