Good morning,
I’ve been all over the Web trying to find heavy gauge 14K white and
yellow gold x 8mm wide. Does anyone know of a supplier I could try?
Thanks,
Jeffrey Herman
Herman Silver Restoration & Conservation
PO Box 72839
Providence, RI 02907
401/461-6840
Fax: 401/461-6841
E-mail: jeffherman@silversmithing.com
Web: Silver Repair, Restoration, Silver Conservation, Preservation, and Silver Polishing
Try Stuller or Hoover and Strong.
Jeffrey,
I don’t know how thick heavy gauge bands are, but I have made 8mm
wide bands in both flat and half-round by simply turning a wax on a
lathe and casting it. It takes less time to make them than it does
trying to find them already made, and you can make them as thick as
you want.
Douglas Zaruba
33 N. Market St.
Frederick, MD 21701
301 695-1107
@Douglas_Zaruba
Jeffery,
It takes me about two hours to forge a pretty thick wedding bnd.
Starting with a small ingot which I cast by melting the gold into a
trench cut into a charcoal block. That is rolled down using both the
flat and wire sections of the rolling mill until a bar roughly the
dimensions needed for the ring is obtained. This is formed by first
hammering it into a “U” shape in a forming block and then completing
the circle by hammering it around a ring mandrel. At this point the
ends won’t quite meet, so I put it into the bench vise, overbend it
a bit, and then force the ends into alignment. Once the ends have
been trued up using a file and jeweler’s saw I solder it shut with
hard solder. In most cases the ends don’t want to stay together to be
soldered so I use a couple of pieces of hard asbestos pad to
insulate the jaws of the vise from the ring and force the joint
closed with the vise. At this point it’s best to have the ring at
least one and probably two sizes smaller than you want the finished
ring to be. Once the circle is completed, it’s just a matter of
hammering it up on the ring mandrel, finishing the shaping with the
hammer and files and sanding and polishing in the usual manner.Of
course you could carve a wax and cast it, but I prefer this method
because it’s quicker and, I believe, results in a denser, stronger
piece. Hope this helps.
Jerry in Kodiak
Hi-
The two best places I know of for the kind of bands you’re seeking
are Stuller (1-800-877-7777) and Roseco, Inc. (1-800-527-4490). In
their current catalog (#X), I see that Roseco has the 8mm size you’d
mentioned, at your choice of 1.0, 1.25 or 2.1mm thick. I don’t have
my Stuller catalog handy, at the moment, or I’d cross-reference
their for you, as well, but a phone call should clear up any
questions you might have. As with all previous recommendations, I
don’t have any vested interest in either of these suppliers; both are
just good, reliable sources. By the way, FWIW – for those fellow
Orchidians who work from home studios and have been looking for an
inexpensive steam cleaner to add to their benches – Roseco also
offers an extremely affordable (i.e. under $100) and very effective
steamer, which I’ve been using for the better part of a year, now,
and have been very happy with.
All the best,
Doug
Douglas Turet, G.J.,
Turet Design
P.O. Box 242
Avon, MA 02322-0242
Tel: (508) 586-5690
Fax: (508) 586-5677
doug. at.turetdesign.com