[Jewelry making - Article 00423] - Re: [Orchid] Red Gold Problems for the Forum

[David L. Huffman]

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    Hi Caroline: First off, older red gold alloys can be tempermental
    indeed.  You can get a pretty good rose or red gold solder from
    Stuller Settings (http://www.stuller.com).  You can also get some
    configurations of rose gold stock from them.  If I were you, I'd cut
    out the offending section entirely, well outside the solder joints,
    and start over by fitting a new piece of stock sufficient in width
    and thickness to be finished down to match the existing shank.  Now
    to the perticulars of rose gold: 

    1. anneal the ring, if you can (assuming there are not heat sensitive
    stones). 

    2. gently twist it up the mandrel slightly past the size you are
    seeking, so that when it springs back, it fits without tension where
    you want it to be.  If the ring is putting pressure on the sizing
    piece, since the temperature of the solder is relatively high to the
    older alloys, you will have the ends of the ring smoosh up before the
    solder flows. 

    3. use a paste type flux, since the liquid self pickling types can't
    seem to absorb the oxides of the high copper content rose gold
    quickly enough before they're maxxed out. 

    4. you can melt together a chip of rose solder and a chip of yellow
    "ultra easy" solder to lower the melting temperature of the rose
    solder without ending up with a color that is too far off. 

    5. be sure to heat a ways down the shank, as these copper/gold alloys
    are better conductors than most yellow alloys and you'll overheat the
    joint and solder while the shank is sucking away heat. 

    6. try not to have to hammer too much on the joint, so as not to
    imbrittle it and start a crack. 

    7. if you have porosity, you can use a hammer hand piece to burnish
    it down.  The "porosity hammer" you've been told about is probably a
    reference to a old trick of taking a worn out bur, cutting off the
    business end, bending the last 1/8th inch at a right angle, and
    polishing the bent out tip of the little "L" to a mirror finish. 
    This gizmo is then put in your handpiece and the little end of the
    "L" whips around, this being brought to bear on surface of the metal
    wherein it pounds away, smearing closed the little pits. 

Good Luck,
David L. Huffman

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