Gold Wire Working/Wrapping Question

[brad]

I have designed a large cross using 1/4" sterling silver stock.  I would like to wrap ends and do a crossing wrap where the wings join. I would like to do the wire wrapping with gold...
What gauge wire would be dimentional with !/4" silver stock?
How soft do I need the wire, so that I do not have to anneal it and it wraps easily?
What carrot of gold would "pop" on the sterling silver?

Thank you, I look forward to your suggestions,  Brad

[DawninCal]

As a general rule, I use the higher gauges of wire (26, 28 and 30) for wrapping and weaving. 26 is a good all around size, while with 30, you are getting into hair fine territory. If you want a more substantial wrap, 24 would work and maybe even 22. Once you get to 20, it becomes harder to manipulate, although if you want to include decorative wire work such as spirals, anything higher than 20 won't hold its shape. Also, when working with wire, most people go with dead soft wire because it is the easiest to work with and it will harden as you work with it.

I have never worked with pure gold wire because it is so expensive. Instead, I use gold fill which is a much less expensive alternative. I took a quick look on Amazon and 1 foot of pure gold 22 g wire was $80, while one foot of 22 g gold fill was $8.99. I would also think that because gold is such a soft metal, the wire would also be extremely soft and I'm not sure how much it would harden as it was worked.

Another alternative with a gold color is bronze. There is a seller on Etsy called Unkamen Creative that I buy from quite often and they sell a beautiful bronze wire that has a really pretty soft yet rich gold color. It's easy to work with and also very affordable. I also get all of my jump rings from them because they are such good quality and when I close one of those rings, the ends are a perfect fit with no gaps, no burrs and not at all misshapen. All of the things I have bought from them is top notch and they make many of the components they sell in their Missouri based shop.

Hope all that helps. Look forward to seeing the cross when it is finished.



Dawn

[caeterle]

I have worked with 9 ct. gold wire once and had to do it very carefully, so it wouldn't break without annealing.

Dawn had good advice for you. I just want to add a link to an article that might be of interest to you, too. It's about different kinds of wire and metal colors.

[brad]

Thank you, I will review that Etsy site and the link to the article.
My concern with gold filled...Since I am using sterling silver, the cross will likely be shined up and de-tarnished on occasion with a sunshine cloth. So that gold wrapping will get its share rubbing. Will the gold rub off the base metal?
Brad

[caeterle]

Gold filled is sturdier than gold plated because it has more layers, so I would think occasional cleaning shouldn't get it off. I met a lot of artisans who use(d) gold filled and none of them ever complained about that.
Here's another article for you.

[DawninCal]

I think the gold fill will be fine. As cat says, it has a much thicker coating than plated wire. It would take a long time and a lot of rubbing to take it off. You could think of it as a middle ground - sort of between pure gold and gold plated.



Dawn

[Irith-Rita]

From my experience, although Gold fill has thicker coating than plated wire,rubbing can cause damage to the coating.

[caeterle]

Do you have any experience how fast that might happen, Irith? I have never used gold fill myself and probably won't, I know only what others told me. I'm always interested to learn more.
Do you think it makes a difference if it's sheet or wire?

[Irith-Rita]

Gold filled metal is actually a thicker gold coating than regular gold plating (it is 3-4 microns thicker). Perhaps it will not be damaged after giving it a shine with a very soft brush, such as one made of synthetic fur or soft cotton, but using anything harsher will definitely damage the sheet or wire.

Attached is a link to a blog which explains how to treat goldfilled metal and the differences between gold filled and gold plated:

www.cooksongold.com/blog/buying-guide/gold-filled-jewellery/

[brad]

Apr 24, 2023 5:29:21 GMT -6 Irith-Rita said:

Gold filled metal is actually a thicker gold coating than regular gold plating (it is 3-4 microns thicker). Perhaps it will not be damaged after giving it a shine with a very soft brush, such as one made of synthetic fur or soft cotton, but using anything harsher will definitely damage the sheet or wire.

Attached is a link to a blog which explains how to treat goldfilled metal and the differences between gold filled and gold plated:

www.cooksongold.com/blog/buying-guide/gold-filled-jewellery/

Thank you, for the informative article.  Brad

[DawninCal]

Thanks for that short, concise and easy to understand link, Irith.

Edit to add that I spent some time this morning looking at the site Irith posted and there are some projects on there that I think I could manage to do. I thought it was going to be all metal smithing, but there are a variety of techniques and methods for all various skill levels. And, I don't mean to hijack Brad's thread, but I thought I'd mention that in case anyone was interested in checking it out.



Dawn

[brad]

Apr 24, 2023 10:28:53 GMT -6 DawninCal said:

Thanks for that short, concise and easy to understand link, Irith.

Edit to add that I spent some time this morning looking at the site Irith posted and there are some projects on there that I think I could manage to do. I thought it was going to be all metal smithing, but there are a variety of techniques and methods for all various skill levels. And, I don't mean to hijack Brad's thread, but I thought I'd mention that in case anyone was interested in checking it out.



Dawn

Thread-Drift, is just an opportunity to learn more, eh.  Brad

[Irith-Rita]

Dawn, I am glad this was helpful.