Handmade Gold Signet Ring Gone WRONG | Jewellery Making Tutorial | GWS
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 18 май 2024
- o, what happens when remodelling old gold doesn’t quite go to plan? In this video we tell the story of such a case. We melted down some sentimental jewellery to make my gold signet rings and halfway through the process - the gold started CRACKING (but don’t worry, there’s a positive ending to this story!)
We needed to change course and that’s exactly what we’ve done. Hopefully, you’ll find this video full of value.
As per usual, please let us know if you liked this video! If you have any suggestions for future videos or questions about what we’ve shared today.
If you like this kind of thing… Check out these other videos we’ve don’t on signet rings 😊
Handmade Bi-colour Textured Signet Ring
• Handmade Bi-colour Tex...
How To Make a SIGNET RING by Hand
• How To Make a SIGNET R...
9ct White Gold Diamond Set Signet Ring
• 9ct White Gold Diamond...
Thank you for bearing with us in this crazy time & being a part of this wonderful, growing creative community. Love from Jaco & Damia
#signetring #sandcasting #jewelrymaker 
Хобби
That's a fantastic video! I would like to share with the viewers some more sand casting tips that have worked for me. For a long time, I had no access to a rolling mill, so I had to sand cast everything, and I guess I've done it hundreds of times. Nevertheless, I've learned some tricks from this video as well. You have great experience! So:
- If possible, don't rely on just a line on the side of your casting flask. Make a notch in one half and put a headless screw on the other so the halves always match perfectly. That way, it is quick and foolproof.
- Chopping the sand takes forever and you can't chop it fine enough anyway, especially if you've used the sand multiple times. Use a sieve instead; a common household colander works great if you reinforce it somewhat using wire on the perimeter. You don't need to sieve all the sand, just the part that goes in contact with the model and a little more.
- Compacting the sand with a hammer is not necessary in most cases, especially with good sand. Just press it firmly with your finger. That way, accurately pushing the model into the form is easier and there is less risk of breaking your model if it is made of wax.
- When making air escape channels, don't scribe. Take a modeling knife and push it into the sand, don't cut. That way, the surface is less disturbed, and the whole process is less messy.
- You can get away with fewer air escape channels than you think. For really small parts, you can skip them entirely. The smallest gap between the halves plus the sand porosity works well enough, but better to be safe, of course.
- Heat the metal properly. When you think it's hot enough, give it some more time; it must be really liquid.
- There are flasks that are used vertically, not horizontally. If that makes sense, they are a little easier when making an inlet and escape channels, but be aware that the molten metal tries to push the halves apart. Keep them connected; a rubber band works fine. But don't push on the sand in this case, or you'll squish it, and the part will be much thinner.
- Note that the casting will be just a bit smaller than your model when the metal shrinks. So if you are casting a ring, account for that, although you will sand away the rough surface anyway, and these will cancel each other out.
- You can cast parts with holes using cardboard tubes in their place, for example.
- If your inlet is lower than some parts of the cavity, you may need air escape channels for those going up.
I hope that helps someone! Not everything might work for you, but please try these tips before giving up on sand casting. It could be a great help.
I'm terrified of trying sand casting, so i stick to making everything by hand, but you make this look so easy!
Thanks for another amazing video. it's always nice to see how others do it. those rings are fantastic! 😍
Once again fantastic Instruction & explanations. Old Gold - All kinds of gremlins live in there 🙂
Thanks Andy - yep indeed. It’s a lucky packet
I had a similar problem with a customer's old gold, but it wouldn't just crack; it would crumble. One hit with a hammer after casting, and it crumbled into pieces. A couple more melts fixed this for some reason, though. Was it air porosity or some kind of funny inclusion that eventually burned away or dissolved into the flux? Who knows.
That was brilliant! Outstanding work as always and thanks for sharing. Take care guys and have a fantastic week.
Love the video's! I was wondering why you go to fabrication before casting? I'm from the US and all of the jeweler's I know tend to cast entirely.
Thanks 🙏🏻 I love making stuff. That’s it. I know that there is more money in casting, but I’m in it for the fun of it all. I make jewellery and money is a bi-product 😂
(My wife would disagree with me here btw)
It probably has added silica in it, great for casting but not good for manipulation
That's interesting. Where would I find information about that? Perhaps Brehpol's? Thank you
Wonderful as ever!
I’ve never seen anyone put the funnel hole in the middle like that. It looks like it works well.
You mention putting the hole ‘maybe 2 mm away’ - I can’t quite work out what that means. Where does the narrow point of the funnel sit in relation to the ring.
Thank you! I’m going
The funnel hole in the middle is kind of common practice and it can be better for some models, for example pendants which are flat on one side and have detailed work on the other. For rings, however, i think it's better to make the inlet the other way, making air escape channels is easier and it's less messy getting the casting out. Plus, the casting flask in this video doesn't allow that, it has no hole for the side funnel, so that kind of funnel is the only option here
Thanks! I think ppl cut a hole in the flask to use it the other way.
i just made a signet ring in 9k and it was a nightmare💀 i dont have any good tools to bend rings so i also went with the vice. amazing work!!🙏🏻
Thank you 🙏 With the thickness of these rings, they really fight you but it makes it all the more rewarding when you get them to conform. 😂
Why wouldn't you consider
1) that it was a poor initial alloying (in the crucible) and reheat, recast the ingot?;
2) add fresh casting grain; and
3) anneal more frequently.
You know more than me, but I would suspect the metal immediately and test , reheat and add a bit of fresh. Even alloy up a bit.
How is recasting in sand superior to making a fresh ingot? This totally seems like suspect metal composition.
Please explain why these options were not considered. I'm confident there is an answer between your brilliant ears! There is an explanation via physics why sand casting was an improvement, I wanna know! Thank you, Jaco!
Great points. Let me explain -
1) The was a mixture of different items. Some chain and some rings. The melting went as expected. Little bit faster melt but not by much. I could see what I was working with here.
2) I never add fresh metal to metal provided. The estimate is purely labour. If the metal cracks, we call the customer and look at the options.
3) I annealed it very frequently.
Sand casting ended up saving this situation - we love making by hand as you know but using this method helped in every way and I was happy to deliver a top quality product using it. Casting is certainly not superior to hand making but using metal provided has it’s limitations and these turned out great -
@@jacothejeweller Ahah..that makes sense. Thank you for your time and explanation. I'm one of those learners who always wants (or tries) to find out, "Why?" It makes sense about not adding fresh when a client wants to only use their own metals. I didn't think of it from that perspective. I'd be curious about the metals and why the alloy cracked from manipulation but was fine in casting. I'll dig around on that one. 😎 I have Brehpol's volume for metallurgy: The Theory and Practice of Goldsmithing - its a big brick of a book and quite technical. Do you recommend any other source for nitty gritty understanding? I recently bought sand casting equipment, and am looking forward to having gorgeous results like yours, Jaco. Thank you again. I hope my questions don't bug you; if so, I'll zip it!! 😅
@@flyingcheff not at all - I’m happy to help - the idea here is to share knowledge 👍🏻 as for books, I’ve got a few but it’s more for reference in my shop. Stay curious - that’s how I got here 👌🏻
how about annealing the material ....maybe a few times!
Yep - I hear you. I tip toe around the metal when I use old gold - could tell it was a bit harder so plenty of annealing went down. It’s that bend where the metal gave up.
Well I like your videos. I was an old school jewelry fabricator for 40 years. Things have changed a lot in those 40 years. It is hard to make money, few people are willing to pay for quality hand-made items that will last them a life time.....and longer. Keep up the good fight!
@@markrivers8276 good on you for sticking up for handmade - yes, I completely agree but I think it’s slowly turning back. These prints can only last that long. I do this because I actually love making things. I’ve had friends go the other way, and each to their own, but what’s the fun in that?
Well I guess it all about repair work! Lol ...keep your hands and eyes in good shape. I can tell you...they get pretty beat up. Ok I will leave alone and you can get back to making something beautiful.
Wait! I just re-watched. You called the customer before re-casting the ingot? Then annealing more.....
What would calling the client do? Totally not being critical, 100% want to understand. Did you call the client because the labor cost went up to redo it? That would make sense....Thank you for indulging my questions.
Thanks for the second round 😁 everything is explained in fine detail before hand. So the customer knows exactly what could happen and what it’ll mean if it does.