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Casting refined metal

Jewelry Discussion
#1

Hello All!

I am in a bit of a pickle trying to find a way to take some antique
family gold and turn it into cast rings for a young couple that have
asked for my help in making their wedding bands. I figured I could
send away the metal to be turned into shot, and then send the shot to
another place with the molds to have them cast. However, I have email
more than 10 casting and refinery companies on the east coast and
have not found a place where they will do these services. I have
found only ONE casting company who would take the refined shot from
me in order to do the cast.

Is there anyone out there that has some advice? Or that can help me
with the refinery process?

Thank you and I appreciate your time.

#2

In Australia, I know casting houses that will take your metal and
use that to cast with. They would simply melt your gold along with
some of theirs, and give you the rings for a casting fee.

Regards Charles A.

#3

I’ll be glad to use the metal you have unrefined. Contact me off
line. Larry 215-928-1644 or [Larry at Lpcasting.com]

#4

Hi Tamara, I think Precious Metals West in LA, CA, will refine and
alloy your small lot and will be able to help you with casting as
well. They are nice people and are worth a call.

Mark

#5

Hi Tamara,

I frequently melt down old family gold and make it into new pieces.
After removing any areas of solder, I melt down the gold and cast it
into an ingot using Delft clay for the mould. Then I forge it out, so
I don’t get problems with porosity, then form into sheet or wire with
rolling mills or drawbench. Then I make the new pieces from the sheet
or wire.

As I am in the UK and have to have all my work hallmarked, I usually
get the gold ingot xrf tested at the Assay Office so I know what
carat it can be marked as.

You could make Delft clay moulds of the rings you want to make, and
pour your gold straight in.

You need to have enough gold for a sprue.

Hope this is
helpful,
Annette

#6

It can be very lucrative to offer customers that you will make
something using their own heirloom gold. Commercial casting houses
don’t like to do it because they generally combine many jobs in the
same flask. If you do your own casting, you may have been taught it
is a bad idea to recycle old gold without refining first. It works a
lot better than you have been lead to believe. Purity/metal quality
may be an issue, so an electronic tester is very helpful. Often the
customer doesn’t really care about the metal purity. They are mostly
concerned that the same material from a sentimental piece or group
of pieces are combined for their legacy jewelry. Don’t stamp it if
you are not sure. I do two or three jobs a week using customer gold,
usually adding some new material, but not always.

Studios that do their own casting have no good reason not to do this
for their customers and are losing business by refusing it.

Stephen Walker

#7 
I do two or three jobs a week using customer gold, usually adding
some new material, but not always.

I do the same thing. But I always second guess the metal charge when
I have to add gold and I would be interested in how other people
figure that metal charge.

The way I’ve come to look at it is this. I’m happy to cast with the
customers gold, they have been warned that it could effect the
casting but in actual practice the results are usually nearly
perfect. When I need to add gold so that I have an adequate button,
I’m left with a button that is mixed with the customers mystery
metal. I can’t then use that material for another customer and claim
it is precisely the karat I think it is. So what I do is calculate
how much new material went into the customers piece and charge them
for that, then calculate what I will get for scrap on the button,
and charge them for the loss. Any new material and loss is at my
normal mark-up.

Mark

#8

I add a bead or two of “RECASTIT” when I reuse customer’s metal.
It’s available from Roseco in Dallas, TX, (800) 527-4490.

It’s an alloy specifically made to replace the metals that are
burned out from the first casting. Works like a charm, but of course
it does lower the karat slightly and only works with yellow. Most
people don’t care if the karat is lowered a little as long as the new
piece is made from their old metal. If they do care, I add a similar
bit of 24K grain to bring it back up.

I don’t know of any refiner that will guarantee the return of your
metal after refining. They usually do their refining in large lots.

Dave Phelps

#9 
I do two or three jobs a week using customer gold, usually adding
some new material, but not always. I do the same thing. But I
always second guess the metal charge when I have to add gold and I
would be interested in how other people figure that metal charge.

Since I am a trade shop, I ask my customer to supply an additional
amount of either fine gold that I then alloy down, or the right
amount of karat gold to account for sprews and button, then I charge
a flat rate for casting and sprewing and return all their gold (or
what’s left after finishing if they so choose).

(Am I spelling sprew correctly? My spell check says no, but offers
no substitutes).

Paf Dvorak

#10 
Am I spelling sprew correctly? My spell check says no, but offers
no substitutes

Sprue

Michael

#11

I think you’ll find it spelled – sprue

John