gold wire for pendants?

[Lyn]

Some of my dichro pendants would look better with a gold bail. I've tried 14 K gold wire between layers, it held up for the firing (unlike sterling silver wire) but became so black I can't seem to get it clean. A local jewler suggested a higher 22 K gold. Has anyone tried that?
Another suggestion was to get silver or nickle plated gold. Locally there is onle a place that does not specialize in jewlery with a $45.00 minimum and no over the phone quote.
I haven't tried brass or bronze, how do they fire? Just the look of gold would be fine with me. I have a great little book about patina's but can't find it at the moment. Any suggestions?
http://community.webshots.com/user/lynfeu

[Mike Byers]

I use brass and bronze fired between layers of glass now and then, and this works fine so long as the metal is not too thick. I'm not sure if a piece thick enough to form a bail would work, or if it could be polished after firing, but it's worth giving it a try. With pendants, I usually drill the glass and then use polished bronze rod and jump rings to attach the glass to the necklace wire.

[Geri Comstock]

Some of my dichro pendants would look better with a gold bail. I've tried 14 K gold wire between layers, it held up for the firing (unlike sterling silver wire) but became so black I can't seem to get it clean. A local jewler suggested a higher 22 K gold. Has anyone tried that?
Another suggestion was to get silver or nickle plated gold. Locally there is onle a place that does not specialize in jewlery with a $45.00 minimum and no over the phone quote.
I haven't tried brass or bronze, how do they fire? Just the look of gold would be fine with me. I have a great little book about patina's but can't find it at the moment. Any suggestions?
http://community.webshots.com/user/lynfeu

Have you tried pickling your pieces? This may remove the oxidation from the gold bails.

Another alternative would be to polish them with a flexshaft tool, muslin buffs and tripoli and then rouge to get a high shine finish. If you need more info on how to do this, let me know.

Do you pickle your wire before you fire it? If the wire is dirty, it will oxidize more than really clean wire. You might want to wear cotton gloves while working with the wire to keep the oils from your fingers from getting on it.

Good luck -

Geri

[Lyn]

Thanks Mike,
Do the bronze and copper have to be polished after firing? If so can you protect the glass with masking tape or contact paper? I used copper on my first firings and it turned black, at the time I didn't realize my pyrometer was over 100 degrees off so that may have made it worse. Really like your matted pieces, Transit of Mercury a really nice job. It would be nice to have removable mountings the glass is so nice to hold. (Although mounting protects them) Are they glued to a traditional matboard?
What size are your fused pieces? Sorry for all the questions.
The Celtic Dragon is very impressive.

Thanks Geri,
No I have never tried pickling, (Acid bath?) Did not have a clue about keeping the gold clean.
I do have a dremel with a flexshaft at the moment the piece between the shaft and tool is gone and because its older may be hard to find I looked on the Dremel site and it wasn't clear what I needed. When I order the connecting piece I'll get muslin buffs as well. Tripoli and rouge from jewlery supply?
I really appreciate you pros taking the time to answer these questions. Your 1st Art Nouveau pendant is beautiful. I like the sculpural pieces as well. But what size are they?

Thanks to all who contribute to this board it has made it possible for me to began a long time intrest in fusing. Lyn

[Geri Comstock]

Thanks Geri,
No I have never tried pickling, (Acid bath?) Did not have a clue about keeping the gold clean.

I do have a dremel with a flexshaft at the moment the piece between the shaft and tool is gone and because its older may be hard to find I looked on the Dremel site and it wasn't clear what I needed. When I order the connecting piece I'll get muslin buffs as well. Tripoli and rouge from jewlery supply?
I really appreciate you pros taking the time to answer these questions. Your 1st Art Nouveau pendant is beautiful. I like the sculpural pieces as well. But what size are they?

Thanks to all who contribute to this board it has made it possible for me to began a long time intrest in fusing. Lyn

Yes, tripoli and rouge comes from a jewelery supply place. Use separate buffs for the tripoli and the rouge. If tripoli gets on the rouge buff, it will be contaminated and make it impossible to get a good high shine with that buff with rouge. Try the rouge first to see if it works. If not, go back to the tripoli to get the "crud" off and then do the rouge.

Pickling metal removes oxidation and residual flux from soldering. I use alum as my pickle. Yes, it's the same stuff you find in the spice section at the grocery store. I mix it in a pan with water and get it warm. Then put pieces in it. Don't get it too warm or your glass may thermal shock. You may want to put your pieces in there while the mixture is cold and gradually heat it all to see if the oxidation comes off.

Thank you for your compliments on my work. My sculptures are about 22" long and 10.5" high.

This board is just great! I've learned a lot here over the years.

Geri

[Pat Loboda]

Hi-

I sent Aanraku an e-mail because they sell 2 sizes of sterling silver bails. They sent me a prompt reply stating that they will be selling 18k gold plated bails sometime around the first of May.

Yeah!!

Pat Loboda