I hate to sound condescending, and that isn’t my intent. But might I
point out that in the time you spent searching, and then asking this
question, you could have grabbed a spare inch or so of 18K gold wire
and simply tried it several ways. With flux, or without. See what the
differences are. Any problems. Try different torch flame settings and
see what that gives you. Etc. Etc. And just how many types of pickle
do you have available anyway? Of them all, what, exactly are they
doing that differs from one to the other? (hint. Every one of them,
if it’s a pickle, is there to remove oxides. mostly copper oxides,
to clean off fire scale and discoloration. And any of the available
pickles will work with 18K. The only differences are in speed and how
aggressively they work, although some are better at also removing
other oxides, like nickle oxides, that form on some alloys).
Think about it. Try it out. Experiment. Most of the people on this
list, and in the world in general, who are truly knowledgeable about
their subject didn’t get that way by asking for instructions on every
detail. Explore the medium, and above all, make mistakes. This is how
you learn this stuff. If everything you do is done exactly according
to the instructions you got from somewhere, then chances are, even if
you’re doing the stuff, you’ll have no idea why you’re doing it that
way, or whether other ways work, or why it works at all. Please. Be
at least a little bit curious and adventurous. Be willing to scrap a
few small bits of metal now and then in the interest of learning (you
get most of the cash back anyway when you refine the scrap) Thinking
through a problem and then trying things and having them work is a
great teacher, better than following instructions and having it go as
described. Trying things and finding they don’t work is an even
better teacher than that, as you learn not only what not to do, but
also more about how and why the material and process works. You can
never really memorize all the details and procedures. But if you
learn to understand the metal and it’s properties, and the hows and
whys of the way we work it, then you’ll not need to memorize much at
all. Common sense will then show you the most logical ways to do a
thing, even if it’s some operation you’ve never exactly done before.
Yes, orchid is a great resource. Use it when there’s a lot at stake
(please ask for advice before trying something that, if it goes
wrong, could cause injury or cost you a lot of money, for example),
or you’ve run into a brick wall and don’t know where else to turn, or
are truly so new to a thing you’ve no idea where to start. But being
afraid to simply try even the simple things is not in your best
interests.
Apparently you already know something about balling up a wire made
of something else, perhaps silver, or 14K. I’m curious why you’re
afraid to simply try the 18K. What’s to loose? Please don’t be so
timid around your metal.
But in the end, to answer your question now that you’ve put up with
my annoying preaching, you can ball up 18K gold wire the same as
you’d do with sterling or lower karat golds. A sharper but still
slightly reducing flame will give you the cleanest results in terms
of a nicely shaped ball. Flux or boric acid/alcohol fire coat will
let the metal stay clean and somewhat brighter and smoother. Without
flux or fire coat, the ball may be rougher, and will need pickling
in any reasonable acid pickle (sparex, or others, for example) in
order to remove the black oxide that will form. One way to get very
uniform balls is to drill a hole the size of your wire into a
charcoal block, and burr a small round depression slightly into the
end of the hole. Your wire can be inserted in the hole, and the
protruding end melted down to the block. The depression on the block
will keep the ball centered perfectly on the block, while the block
itself will help to keep the metal clean and bright. The length of
the protruding end also can be precisely controlled, so you get the
same size ball each time.
cheers
Peter Rowe