If you plan to make your own granules, try coiling 26 gauge wire aroung a
thin pin stem. Remove the coil and snip the little circles apart,
snipping each one at the same point in the curve. All little snippets
will be of equal size. Spread them out (a few at a time) on a charcoal
block, and heat them with a fairly small flame. They will form into tiny
balls–Remove them before doing another group. It helps to carve a ridge
around the top of the charcoal block so the little guys wont roll off.
Sometimes, if the heat is too forceful, it will send them flying off the
block. If you put the charcoal block in a pie plate, you can easily
retreive any granules that have rolled off.
Here’s a formula and instructions for alloying 22 K. gold from some
excellent goldsmith -instructors I have had:
To 1 troy ounce of 24 Kt Gold
Add: 33 grains of Fine Silver (33 grains =1 dwt+9 grains)
11 grains Copper
Bind a clean charcoal block around the edges with binding wire to prevent
it from breaking open if it should split from the heat of the torch.
Hollow out a space in it and melt the Gold first. Melt Gold to eggshell
texture. Allow it to solidiy before using metal tool on it. Then quench
it in cold water. When it cools weigh it again. .
Melt Silver and reweigh and melt Copper and reweigh.
Using a wooden stick ( an old chop stick is useful, with a pan of water
handy to quench the little fires that get started at it’s tip) melt the
Gold again, add the silver and copper and mix it all really well with the
wooden stick. Once it is mixed and before it is completely solid, pat it
down gently with a clean piece of charcoal to flatten the top so that it
will go into the rolling mill more easilty. Pickle before rolling and
anneal and pickle frequently to prevent any impurities from being rolled
into the Gold, and also to keep it annealed enough to roll out–it becomes
work hardened fairly quickly.
If you are going to make wire then carve a long narrow slot in the
charcoal to melt the metals in, and that will give you a good start for
the wire rolling mill…
There are always many ways to accomplish a task–this is the way I have
found very useful and practical. Sandra/ElegantBee