Coloured Niobium Wire - Source in the UK?
J. Hamill
Does anyone know of a UK source for pre-coloured/anodised niobium wire?
I've scoured the web for what feels like days with no luck :(
I emailed wires.co.uk but they replied saying there's no demand... which
is odd because everyone I've asked up until now has replied along the
lines "I don't know but tell me if you find a source because I'm looking
for one too" ;)
TIA for any help...
Jane
--
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Jane Hamill - Mixed Media Jewellery Artist
http://www.janehamill.co.uk
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Peter W.. Rowe,
<me@-snip-this-bit-here-to-reply-TheJanie.net> wrote:
>>Hello :)
>>
>>Does anyone know of a UK source for pre-coloured/anodised niobium wire?
>>
>>I've scoured the web for what feels like days with no luck :(
>>
>>I emailed wires.co.uk but they replied saying there's no demand... which
>>is odd because everyone I've asked up until now has replied along the
>>lines "I don't know but tell me if you find a source because I'm looking
>>for one too" ;)
>>
>>TIA for any help...
>>
>>Jane
If you can't find your UK source, there's always Reactive Metals Inc, in the
U.S.
http://www.reactivemetals.com/index.html
If you don't already know them, Bill Seeley and his crew have what is, at
least in the U.S., probably the premier source of reactive metals and supplies
(niobium, titanium, etc) for jewelers, as well as related wonderful things like
Phil Baldwin's ("Shining wave metals") mokume gane sheet metal, findings, tools
for anodizing, and lots more. Bill was and is one of the pioneers in bringing
anodized reactive metals to the artist jewelers attention and use, and the
company is great to deal with.
The web site does not, however, have a web based ordering system set up. The
latest catalog (2006 edition) is available as a pdf to download, however, and
the prior years catalog is on the web site in HTML for browsing. You can
download the pdf file for the order sheet, and if you like, simply email your
order to them with the requested info. VISA or Mastercard takes care of
exchange rate problems, and they do ship worldwide.
Not as simple, perhaps as dropping in on a local supplier next door, but if
you're going to have to mail order your things anyway, it's not much additional
trouble to order from Reactive metals, even with the hassels with duty, etc,
since the shipping companies take care of those details, so far as I've seen...
Good luck.
Peter
J. Hamill
> http://www.reactivemetals.com/index.html
> Not as simple, perhaps as dropping in on a local supplier next door, but if
> you're going to have to mail order your things anyway, it's not much additional
> trouble to order from Reactive metals, even with the hassels with duty, etc,
> since the shipping companies take care of those details, so far as I've seen...
Hi Peter,
Many thanks for your helpful reply :) I'd found Reactive Metals in an
old thread on this group and certainly have them marked down as a
fallback if I can't find niobium in the UK. I'm hoping to order quite a
lot and being fairly skint (not to mention a cheapskate!) I was hoping
to not have to worry about import duty.
I can't believe this stuff is so hard to source - can't even find it on
mainland Europe :(
I often think it would be so much cheaper in the long run to simply move
to the US or Canada - there's so much more available over there!
Thanks again,
Peter W.. Rowe,
<me@-snip-this-bit-here-to-reply-TheJanie.net> wrote:
>>
>>Hi Peter,
>>
>>Many thanks for your helpful reply :) I'd found Reactive Metals in an
>>old thread on this group and certainly have them marked down as a
>>fallback if I can't find niobium in the UK. I'm hoping to order quite a
>>lot and being fairly skint (not to mention a cheapskate!) I was hoping
>>to not have to worry about import duty.
>>
>>I can't believe this stuff is so hard to source - can't even find it on
>>mainland Europe :(
>>
>>I often think it would be so much cheaper in the long run to simply move
>>to the US or Canada - there's so much more available over there!
>>
>>Thanks again,
>>
>>Jane
I understand your desire to keep costs down, but I've a couple thoughts in reply
to that.
First, given the current exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Euro, and
presumably also the pound sterling, (though I didn't check), shopping from the
U.S. may not currently be as disadvantageous as it might otherwise be. For us
here, to buy in europe, on the other hand, is just a killer right now, but for
you...
Second, before assuming that import duties will be a bother, consider that
niobium is not mined originally in the UK, and that it may be, given that you've
found it so hard to source, that any sources you do find may also represent
material that's been imported at some stage, so import duties may already have
been added at some point. Paying to import it yoursale may not be throwing the
price so out of line. It also occurs to me that in most countries, import
duties are added not just as a tax to be cruel to people, but rather as a means
to protect domestic industries from overseas competition. Duties tend to be
highest where there is some domestic industry clammoring for protection. In the
U.S., for example, cheap shoes made in china have little competition from
domestic producers here, who generally aren't making five dollar pairs of shoes.
So duties for that sort of shoe are low. But there ARE domestic shoe
manufacturers who make high class, high cost, merchandise, so if you import
similar high quality fine shoes from Italy, for example, the duties are much
higher, in order to protect the domestic manufacturers. I don't know, but I'd
expect the structure in the UK to be based on similarly logical or illogical
structures. In this case, there may not be much of a domestic industry that
has asked for or needs that protection, so the duties may not be high, and in
addition, what you're looking for is in essence, a raw material that you (a
domestic industry yourself) will be using to produce a product. For that sort
of material, often duties are different than they might be were you importing
finished jewelry. It's worth checking to see. You might find that the duties
are nominal, not worth being upset about.
cheers
Peter
Ted Frater
> Hello :)
>
> Does anyone know of a UK source for pre-coloured/anodised niobium wire?
>
> I've scoured the web for what feels like days with no luck :(
>
> I emailed wires.co.uk but they replied saying there's no demand... which
> is odd because everyone I've asked up until now has replied along the
> lines "I don't know but tell me if you find a source because I'm looking
> for one too" ;)
>
> TIA for any help...
>
> Jane
>
Hi Jane,
theres a good reason why reactive metals are not avalilable anodised for
the jewellery industry.
thats because the oxide film thats refractive to light is brittle so
whan you work it it will crack even minutely and fail.
All colouring to these metals is done AFTER the final stage of
manufacture.
Ive had niobium wire on test, didnt like it, and only used pure
titanium for the products I made.
youll have to getthe wire un coloured and colour it when your finished.
Niobium will not fire oxidise like titanium.
It has to be anodised.
It dependson what you want to bemaking, If your not sure look me up on
google and give me a call , im sure I could help you.
Im in the UK obviously.
If you need more info contact the technical officer at the Goldsmiths
co in Gutrter lane London.
Ted Frater
Dorset UK.
Peter W.. Rowe,
<ted.f...@virgin.net> wrote:
>>thats because the oxide film thats refractive to light is brittle so
>>whan you work it it will crack even minutely and fail.
that depends, Ted, on just what you're doing. Sheet metal, especially will
indeed show visible cracks in the oxide if SHARPLY bent, but gradual curves work
fine, especially with niobium, which is softer than titanium. And with wire,
lots of things can be done so long as the metal is handled gently, with tools
that are protected from scratching or denting the oxide layer. Nylon jawed
pliers work fine for example, and don't mess up the color. A good wrapping of
masking tape on steel jawed pliers also works. The options, of course, as to
what one can make with precolored metal are more limited. But for people doing
simpler wire bending shapes, earwires, beaded parts, etc, where sharp bends can
be avoided, it can work just fine.
>> All colouring to these metals is done AFTER the final stage of
>>manufacture.
Again, whether this is possible depends on what one is doing. I did, at one
point, quite a bit with niobium sheet metal that I'd put multicolored patterns
on via an engine turning machine. (Guilloche engraving). I'd put a high
voltage base color on, engrave an open pattern on it, and color that with
another lower voltage color. This could be repeated several times so various
sets of engraved lines had different colors. The machine I have only handles
flat metal, though, so then all forming took place afterwards, and with
planning, and especially with niobium instead of titanium, it worked just fine
for me.
>> Ive had niobium wire on test, didnt like it, and only used pure
>>titanium for the products I made.
Personally, I prefer the darker color of niobium, which seems to set off the
anodic colors a bit more dramatically (and tantalum is even more dramatic in
this regard, when one can use it, not to mention get it at all... Usually only
seen a thin foil... ) Niobium is also softer and easier to form, and doesn't
appreciably work harden, which is especially useful when one is using soft tools
so as not to mar the surface. For me, titanium is a better choice mostly when
I need the harder and stiffer metal, or when the lower cost of titanium is a
factor. Since most of the pieces where I'm using colored reactive metals are a
mix of the reactive metal and precious metal like 18K gold, usually the extra
cost of the niobium is a trivial factor.
Peter
Marilee J. Layman
wrote:
>J. Hamill wrote:
>> Hello :)
>>
>> Does anyone know of a UK source for pre-coloured/anodised niobium wire?
>>
>> I've scoured the web for what feels like days with no luck :(
>>
>> I emailed wires.co.uk but they replied saying there's no demand... which
>> is odd because everyone I've asked up until now has replied along the
>> lines "I don't know but tell me if you find a source because I'm looking
>> for one too" ;)
>>
>> TIA for any help...
>>
>> Jane
>>
>
>Hi Jane,
>
>theres a good reason why reactive metals are not avalilable anodised for
>the jewellery industry.
>thats because the oxide film thats refractive to light is brittle so
>whan you work it it will crack even minutely and fail.
> All colouring to these metals is done AFTER the final stage of
>manufacture.
> Ive had niobium wire on test, didnt like it, and only used pure
>titanium for the products I made.
Good grief. I've used niobium wire a lot without trouble.
>youll have to getthe wire un coloured and colour it when your finished.
> Niobium will not fire oxidise like titanium.
>It has to be anodised.
>It dependson what you want to bemaking, If your not sure look me up on
>google and give me a call , im sure I could help you.
>Im in the UK obviously.
>If you need more info contact the technical officer at the Goldsmiths
>co in Gutrter lane London.
> Ted Frater
> Dorset UK.
--
Marilee J. Layman
http://mjlayman.livejournal.com