Jewelry Making: Creating a 3 Stone Platinum Ring part 1
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Fabrication
July 21, 2008
July 04, 2008
Soldering Gold & Platinum
When soldering gold and platinum together make certain to anneal both parts thoroughly before soldering. These metals expand at different rates when heated. If not thoroughly annealed stress tears may develop as the metal cools. In addition, allow the metal to cool slowly after soldering. Do Not quench the hot metals, rapid cooling increases the stress in the metals.
- Brad
July 02, 2008
Gold Inlay in Platinum
To inlay gold into platinum first cut a groove into the platinum with a bur. Then select a wire of gold smaller than the groove. Using your torch, melt the gold into the groove fusing it to the platinum. Because of the high melting point of platinum, you do not have to be concerned about melting the platinum jewelry. File the surface even and finish using emery papers.
- Brad
June 09, 2008
Platinum Fabrication Techniques
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June 04, 2008
950/50 Platinum /Cobalt Alloy
Platinum in its pure form is very soft and needs to be alloyed. These Platinum alloys have different advantages and are used for specific purposes. The flow properties of the 950/50 Platinum /Cobalt mixtures are best suited for casting. With this alloy, very fine pieces of excellent quality can be cast, and considerable detail can be achieved. Pt/Co has an annealed hardness (HV) of 130 and when cold-worked achieves a hardness (HV) of 270. It polishes well and holds its luster for a long time. When welded with a torch Pt/Co may oxidize slightly. This can be removed by firecoating the object after the initial welding and re-heating it to about 1000° F. Pickle in a 10% solution of nitric acid. The oxidation will not reappear during wear. It is not possible to torch-weld different Pt alloys together as they have different melting points. It is always safe to solder them together using 1500 or 1700 solder. As a point of interest, Pt/Co is slightly magnetic.
Be sure to wear #5 or #6 welding goggles to protect your eyes.
Platinum /Cobalt alloy is slightly ferro-magnetic. This Pt950 alloy has very good flow characteristics and is a superior platinum casting alloy. With its good hardness, it takes on a great polish. The best way to size a Platinum /Cobalt alloy ring is soldering with 1700 solder. Roll the solder paper-thin, wedge it into a very well fitting seam and heat. The seam should be very, very thin. Now use a file to remove excess solder, and BURNISH the seam with a Tungsten burnisher. This should remove all traces of the seam. Now polish and clean the ring.
Jurgen
June 02, 2008
Making a Platinum Wire Basket Pendant
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May 30, 2008
Annealing Platinum
Sometimes when annealing platinum it is possible to contaminate the platinum with other metals. Some filings or some solder chips on a soldering surface or any other metal on the bench can be melted into platinum, thus contaminating the area.
To repair, grind the contamination away with a ball burr leaving a hole that can be filled. Next, take a small piece of the same platinum alloy the object is made of and weld it to fill the hole. Filing the excess metal away, you create an invisible repair. To prevent this contamination from happening in the first place, soak your platinum in a 10% solution of Nitric acid for about 10 minutes, before annealing, welding or soldering.
Jurgen
May 28, 2008
Soldering Platinum
I primarily use 3 different Platinum solders 1700, 1500, and 1300. On complex fabrication projects I may also use 1600, and 1400 solders.
For most solder seams where there is a visual break at the seam, I use 1500 solder. This solder provides good strength and with a lower melting point, it is easier to use than the higher temperature solders. There is, however, some color difference from the platinum stock and there may be some solder drag out from polishing. These are slight and on seams where the metal changes direction at the solder joint I prefer its use.
I use 1700 solder for seams that are on a level plane and color match is critical, and where strength is of utmost importance, such as sizing rings. This solder melts at a temperature less than 50 degrees lower than platinum and you need to exercise precise torch control to keep from melting the platinum surrounding the solder seam.
Although many jewelers look down their nose at using 1300 platinum solder, it has become one of my favorites. Because of its low melting temperature very fine and delicate wires can be easily soldered without the fear of melting. However, to me 1300 platinum solder’s greatest advantage is its polishing drag out. Regardless of how little solder you use, platinum solders will fill a seam and will leave evidence of its existence on the surface of the metal. On all solder seams where I want the results to look like there is no solder such as soldering a wedding set together, 1300 solder is my preferred choice. It will securely join two pieces of platinum together and after polishing it will be hard to tell there is any solder present.
On complex fabrication projects I may also use 1600 or 1400 solders to add additional temperature variance between steps. Because of the minimal heat transfer in platinum this is seldom a concern, however there are times when they are needed.
Brad
May 26, 2008
Fabricating a 3 Stone Platinum Ring
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May 23, 2008
Jewelers Tools for Soldering Platinum
Additional tools needed on your jewelers bench for soldering platinum include: a high temperature soldering board; tungsten carbide or ceramic tip tweezers; and a tungsten solder pick. When not in use, remove the solder pad from your jewelry bench to prevent filings, grindings, polishing compounds, and other contaminant from gathering on it.
Brad
