First I would like to thank the individuals who responded to my
first inquiries about platinum. I have finished my first small
project with the stuff Pt/ruth and enjoyed it immensely (except for
almost frying my retinas out since I had no googles). I have spent
quit a bit of time reviewing literature inthe archives and at the
platinum council’s website. I know that the platinum has to be super
clean but no one has said what it can be cleaned with. Is alcohol ok
or do I need something special?
Second, many of the older archives people seem to prefer the plat/ir
blend. Does anyone prefer the ruthenium blend that i have? I get it
from stuller andhave noticed a lot of the milled products aren’t
available in plat/irid. What’s up with that?
Third, I was hoping to slump my pt/ru like I do with 18kt and
sterlium plus but it doesn’t seem to slump and fuse like the above
mentioned. Is this a characteristic of the pt alloy or pt in
general.
Overall though I think I will have a beautiful relationship with the
stuff!!
R/
Kennedi
Kennedi- Ah, I love platinum.
It depends on how you are making your platinum pieces. There are
many different alloys each with it’s own special properties. Some
better for fabricating some better for casting or milling.
Tim and I are hand fabricators. We make our own ingots, forge them
and then roll out and draw wire to fabricate with. For that we prefer
Pt Ir.
It’s a pretty soft alloy and works and bead sets beautifully. By the
time we are done making a piece it’s been throughly work hardened.
However many folks like Pt Ru as it’s a bit harder but I find it not
as good for fabricating for the kind of work we do. It’s great for
milling however.
They all fuse well. I have no idea what you mean by “slumping”
though.
Cobalt Pt is often used by casters. I really don’t care for it much.
Also, please get yourself some good platinum glasses. We have them
in our shop at different levels of protection. One pair for soldering
and another higher rated pair for melting ingots. Tim has rigged a
pair that attach to his Optivisor that he can flip up and down as
needed for soldering and fusing.
Have fun and make lots of jewelry
Jo Haemer
timothywgreen.com
You’re lucky not to have permanently damaged your retinas.
Never, ever solder, weld or melt platinum without appropriate eye
protection.
Elliot Nesterman
You can get some #5 shaded glasses cheap enough. You can’t see what
is going on without them. I think by slumping you mean reticulating
or something similar, if that’s what you are doing it should still
work but that melty window will be small and you have to be quick
with a torch.
Sheets are what you would use. Very interesting and unique metal.
Almost used pure. Good luck, cobalt works better for casting. It is
lightly magnetic. Try to stick to the same kind for each project.
Propane is cleaner than acetylene