Kazu
New member
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2021
- Messages
- 1
I am making a gold ring using my grandmother's wedding ring (maybe 3 grams of 14k gold), 1 gram of pure gold flake, and ~10g of master alloy which is 71% copper 16% zinc and 13% silver.
I added the ring and flakes to a crucible, then added about twice the mass of the ring in master alloy.
After melting it down to a nice button in my forge, and attempting to hammer it while still red hot, the button breaks and is very brittle.
I took it to a local jeweler who said it burns green under his torch, and it's mostly copper.
This makes me think I've added too much master alloy and don't have enough gold.
I'm considered three options.
1) adding a half ounce of pure gold, remelting everything down in my forge, and trying to get a less brittle alloy that I can hammer into a ring
2) extracting the gold out of the broken button by crushing it and dissolving it in Aqua regia, evaporating off the liquid and trying to melt it down again with the master alloy removed.
3) sending the broken button to a gold purification business where they'll separate it out using electrolysis.
Will adding more gold make the button pliable and less brittle?
Which option would work best?
Thank you!
I added the ring and flakes to a crucible, then added about twice the mass of the ring in master alloy.
After melting it down to a nice button in my forge, and attempting to hammer it while still red hot, the button breaks and is very brittle.
I took it to a local jeweler who said it burns green under his torch, and it's mostly copper.
This makes me think I've added too much master alloy and don't have enough gold.
I'm considered three options.
1) adding a half ounce of pure gold, remelting everything down in my forge, and trying to get a less brittle alloy that I can hammer into a ring
2) extracting the gold out of the broken button by crushing it and dissolving it in Aqua regia, evaporating off the liquid and trying to melt it down again with the master alloy removed.
3) sending the broken button to a gold purification business where they'll separate it out using electrolysis.
Will adding more gold make the button pliable and less brittle?
Which option would work best?
Thank you!