[Looking 4] 24ct gold foil?

Hi All! We operate a little glass studio and are looking for gold
foil at a reasonable price. By gold foil we mean foil; not gold leaf
(which is so thin that it comes off on you hands when you touch it)
but gold foil, about .00025 (1/4 of a thousands) of an inch thick.
Better yet, gold that is say 0.0005 or even 0.001 of an inch thick. I
found some foil that is workable (from Franz Bead Co.), but five
sheets of 4 and 3/8 inches suare cost $70.-- plus taxes.
Anyone out there who can help? Thanks, Jo

    but gold foil, about .00025 (1/4 of a thousands) of an inch
thick. Better yet, gold that is say 0.0005 or even 0.001 of an inch
thick. 

Hi, Peggy… I needed similar material to do some gold diffusion
bonding. I could only find really expensive sources, and finally made
my own. I worked out some bugs and wrote a handout for my class here
is the part of it on making the gold foil. By the way, I started with
30 ga. sheet from David H. Fell.

The Gold Foil The recommended thickness of the gold foil that can be
used is varied. My research showed thickness ranging from .00015" to
.0025". The closest material commercially available, although it is
on the thin side, is the gold foil used for enameling. If the gold is
too thin, it will have a slight green tint from the silver showing
through. Gold leaf is much too thin for this application. For the
best result, you will have to make your own foil. To make a sheet of
gold of the ideal thickness, purchase the thinnest sheet of 24K gold
available. (I found 32ga - .00795"). You will need a rolling mill
in excellent shape (rollers flat, smooth and properly adjusted). Roll
it through the rolling mill for 2 or 3 passes with medium to heavy
pressure on the crank. Anneal the metal and roll it again. 24K gold
anneals at 575=B0F. Annealing can be achieved with a torch, in a kiln,
or by laying the gold on the hotplate on full heat for about 10
minutes. Continue the rolling and annealing process until the rollers
cannot be tightened any more. You will need to make several passes at
the tightest the mill will go to achieve .0015"- .002". It is
difficult to find anything to accurately measure metal at this
thickness, but if you have access to a micrometer capable of
measuring .0001" it will help you know when your metal is to the
correct thickness. I found a 1"X 2" piece fairly easy to work with
and fairly easy to roll, but the 2"X 2" piece was difficult.

Hope that helps you. If you have questions, feel free to email me.

Deb

Thompson Enamel Co carries foils &/or will order.

"… M-2 and M-3 Silver and Gold foils. These are not regular stock
items and will need to be re-ordered. Please call (859) 291-3800
prior to ordering, to insure their availability. "

http://www.thompsonenamel.com/products/index.htm

Al Heywood

 but gold foil, about .00025 (1/4 of a thousands) of an inch 
thick. Better yet, gold that is say 0.0005 or even 0.001 of an inch
thick. 

Hi Peggy – Try Hauser & Miller in Missouri (they have a website).
I remember talking to them about foil for enameling and the only foil
they carried was thicker than I wanted – it may be just what you are
looking for. Their phone is: 1-800-462-7447. They are great people
to deal with and I have always like their metal.

Laura.

Peggy who is interested in gold foil -

The trick I have learned related to making foil is to use a section
of copper pipe to protect the foil from the flame when annealing,
since the flame when directly applied can ells convert your foil to
toast.

What u do is roll up the thinned sheet and place it into the piece
of tubing (mine is 2 inches long and 1 1/8 inches in diameter) then
anneal the tubing (and consequently, the gold or silver). U can toss
the whole thing into water to quench, or just let it cool.

Tip courtesy of the fellow (Bruce ???) who taught me damascene
inlay at Jack daSilva’s MAKR (summer camp for metal people).

Ivy in Oakland

        The trick I have learned related to making foil is to use
a section of copper pipe to protect the foil from the flame when
annealing, 

Ivy-- That’s a great trick… but for 24K, the annealing point is
575degrees F and it is easiest to just put the piece on a hotplate.
Then there is no chance of melting it and it will get fully annealed.
This will not work with lower karats and your heating method would be
wonderful. Deb