Hi
I probably will need enough 14 kt gold to size upward 2 or 3
rings and the same amount of 10 kt. I suppose one would use half
round wire. Does anyone know a source for this small of a
quantity (and the necessary solder of each type) ? I probably
would never use the minimum amounts I see in catalogs. I’m just a
hobbyist that tries different tasks to stretch my skills so I
don’t keep much of an inventory. Thanks for any suggestions.
Bob B
You can try G&S Metals. They’re nice people, and very
accommodating. (800) 852-3860
Dick Caverly
What shape is the original your trying to size. I might have
what you need. half round or flat stock, 1mm thick by 3mm wide, etc.
I have ordered as little as 6 feet of gold wire directly from a
smelter. I don’t think you’d have any problems ordering in small
quantities. The guys I use (Imperial Smelting 1-800-263-1669)
usually give price breaks at 300 g and 500 g but they don’t have
a minimum quantity. Six feet is next to nothing, but it’s still
a sale.
FWIW,
Dianne
Dianne Karg, B.A.A.I.D.
WRAPTURE wire jewellery
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
<<@cybervugs>>
Bob,
Hoover and Strong will sell you small quantities of gold wire.
I believe their minimum is 1" (3" for thinner gauges). They used
to have a minimum order of something like $50, but they have done
away with that. Hoover & Strong
Jill
@jandr
Jill Alessandra Jewelry
http://members.tripod.com/~jilk/
Bob: Try calling Hauser and Miller, in St. Louis, Mo.
800-462-7447
I have bought my metal from them for some time now, and they
don’t worry about the quanitities - I’ve bought gold wire by the
inch and you can get small odd-shaped pieces of gold at a
discount from them as milling ends, which I find really useful
for granulation.
Laura Wiesler
Towson, Md.
Hoover and Strong will sell you small quantities of gold wire. I believe their minimum is 1" (3" for thinner gauges).
1" what gauge??? 20? Since I’ve never ordered gold anything,
I don’t know how to order. I don’t want to pay thousands (maybe,
I do?) If I order, say $500.00 worth of gold 20G wire (assuming
it’s 14K ) How much would I get - in feet and inches?
Thanks for any advice, this is just a dream . . .
My supplier sells 14k wire in 3.5 inch pieces …all sizes… . I
assume most local suppliers do the same.
Jim
O.k., I have my catalog out…
Hoover and Strong minimums for ordering gold wire are:
1-9 ga. 1"
10-13 3"
14-16 6"
17-23 12"
24 ga. 24"
25-30 60"
Ordering is easy - just tell them how long, what gauge, and what
K/color. They snip off the amount you ask for, weight it in DWT
(pennyweights) and multiply this by whatever the gold market is
currently at + fabrication charges. The catalog has charts to
estimate how much your order would be. So, if you wanted a 12"
piece of 20ga. wire in 14K you would multiply the weight of this
It’s not so bad. You can get a good amount of 20 ga for $500.
Guess I was a little off about the minimums - sorry about that.
Jill
@jandr
Jill Alessandra Jewelry
http://members.tripod.com/~jilk/
hello…
I use George Rodrigues. He is a representative of Hoover and
Strong and also Swest. He will give the little guy a “big guy”
price break and there is no minimum. His number is
1-800-848-5863. I usually order 21g 14k half hard wire and it
costs around $50 for 5ft. Come to think of it, does that sound
like a lot?
Pam
Heirloom Rosaries
@mapaqui
http://www.catholic.org/market/rosary
I don't know how to order. I don't want to pay thousands (maybe, I do?) If I order, say $500.00 worth of gold 20G wire (assuming it's 14K ) How much would I get - in feet and inches?
Gold (any karat) is usually sold by the pennyweight (dwt)(1 troy
oz equals 20 dwt) or ounce (troy). Sheet goods comes in various
widths, 4 in, 6 in etc. It is sold in strips of that width & as
long as you want up to the maximum length the supplier stocks.
Many times the minimum length sold is about 1/8 in. Minimum
amounts sold are a matter of supplier choice.
Many suppliers will provide you with a chart that lists the
various shapes of wire & sheet they sell. These charts usually
list the length per oz or dwt for the various gauges & shapes of
wire & sheet.
If you have a chart listing one material & want to find the
weight or length of another material there are charts available
to convert from 1 material to another. See Tim McCreight’s, ‘The
Complete Metalsmith’ (page 181 in my copy) for the conversion
factors to convert 18KY, 14KY, 10KY gold, Platinum & Sterling to
several other materials.
Example:
Known:
Weight & length of 20 ga round Sterling wire.
Conversion factor (cf) for converting sterling to 14KY gold 0.801
1 oz of 20 ga round equals 19 ft.
Find how many ft of 20 ga 14KY gold wire are in 1 oz?
(ft. sterling) X (cf) equals length of 14KY 20 ga round wire in ft.
19 ft X 0.801 equals 15.219 ft of 14KY gold in 1 oz.
To find how much 20 ga 14KY wire is in 1 dwt, multiply ft/oz by 0.05.
15.219 X 0.05 equals 0.76095 ft 20 ga 14KY/dwt
To convert ft/dwt to in/dwt multiply 12 X ft/dwt.
12 x 0.76095 equals 9.1314 inches 14KY gold/ dwt.
Dave
David, David, David:
Do you have references? If so, just call Hoover & Strong and
open an account! They’ll send you a catalog which will explain
many things about ordering precious metals and methods with which
you can calculate your cost. Very low minimum orders and very
helpful folks. They’ve been in business since l912 and My
father, a retail jeweler for 40 years before me always used them
and now I have used them for about l5 years myself. Once you
become familure with the process, there are other methods which
will allow you to more closely control the quality and price
yourself which I would be happy to pass on. Just do it. Steve
Klepinger