Post by ccjoejoe on Mar 26, 2022 16:34:48 GMT -6
I've been trying to inlay some 17 gauge 10k gold half hard wire into a 1mm wide channel in a titanium ring.
I tested the process prior with some 16 gauge copper wire and found it worked well. I assume I didn't think enough about the different hardnesses of 10k gold half hard wire vs copper wire. When I went to hammer the copper into the channel (please tell me if there's a better way to do that) it went right in and held its place while I hammered the rest in. I then took a file and flushed the whole thing to the titanium. Well when I went to do the same with the gold wire. I found it was much much harder and every time I hammered one part into the band, it wanted to straighten out in the neighboring part which just caused the whole thing to pop out. My question is, how do I get the gold to want to hold it's shape in the ring like the copper did. Is there any way I can encourage the gold to do that? I tried to anneal it to make it a bit softer but it didn't do much besides make it a little easier to bend.
I tested the process prior with some 16 gauge copper wire and found it worked well. I assume I didn't think enough about the different hardnesses of 10k gold half hard wire vs copper wire. When I went to hammer the copper into the channel (please tell me if there's a better way to do that) it went right in and held its place while I hammered the rest in. I then took a file and flushed the whole thing to the titanium. Well when I went to do the same with the gold wire. I found it was much much harder and every time I hammered one part into the band, it wanted to straighten out in the neighboring part which just caused the whole thing to pop out. My question is, how do I get the gold to want to hold it's shape in the ring like the copper did. Is there any way I can encourage the gold to do that? I tried to anneal it to make it a bit softer but it didn't do much besides make it a little easier to bend.
