you might try a silver sheet 2mm thick to place your gold on while
heat treating it in your kiln, this will eliminate uneven heating
of the gold which can cause cracking in the pressing process. Too
high a Ni content will also cause problems , try reducing the Ni
and adding a equal amount of Ag. Vernon
Hello. I have been rolling precious metals for a few years now, I
have also refined and alloyed my own golds for as many years.It
seems to me that one reason for the cracking problem,could be due
to rolling too much without annealling. Another possibility is the
way the metal is formed. Do you use steal ingots? I have noticed
over the years that by pouring the gold into ingots, a pattern to
the grain of the alloyed gold occur, and this regular structure
allows for rolling much further, with less cracking. When the same
metal was melted on a carbon block,cracking occured. Nickel could
also be a factor. Whenever any Nickel is added be sure you anneal
enough. Still another facter is the gold sourse. Is the gold from
Crugarands? ( the coin from South Africa) Does the possibility
exist that Platnium or the other similiar metals Paladium,
Iridium, Ruetheum,or Boron, are present in the gold, due to your
refining process? I’m curious,let me know.