Where's me gold.....

jfava

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Here is a quick pic I took with my phone of the barrel and ball. The gold sculpting is still way off from being finished but I think you'll get the idea.

Sculpting in gold is kind of like working in chewing gum... and keeping the background nice is hell. I'm still pushing metal around a bit getting the shapes of the leaves the way I want them and all if it still needs the final finishing texture.

The "business" end of the barrels get the same treatment just a smaller panel of scroll.

...and no I'm not afraid of my overlays popping out... after traditional overlay techniques I went in and laser welded them on... they ain't ever coming off.

Best regards, I hope you like :tiphat:
 

jfava

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I don't know how to post a bigger pic without it being huge. So here is an attempt at medium size...
 

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mtgraver

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Jason, Some phone camera. Oh ! and the work in progress is wonderful. What action is that if I may inquire? Laser welding !? Oh, you young guys, ye of little faith, ........darn good idea.
Thanks, I enjoy your creativity.
Mark

wwwMarkThomas-graver.com
 

jfava

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It is a Winchester Model 21, and thank you :tiphat:

This is the updated side photo from the bulino scene I posted a while back.

Thanks for looking!
 

Andrew Biggs

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Hi Jason

WOW!!........that is really something else!!! Just magnificent.

Laser welding.........could you please elaborate a bit further. My knowledge on these types of things is not very good.

And, you have a very cool web site and I enjoyed the rant :):)

Cheers
Andrew
 

jetta77

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Hope you hooked up your argon tank..... less sut on yer purdy gold... How in the heck did you get your barrels in there anyways? Did you turn off your side panels alert?
 

jfava

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Thank you Andrew and Kevin

Andrew,

A laser welder is a welding machine used by jewelers to do micro welding.

You look into a microscope head and it has cross hairs. You line up the cross hairs with where you want to "zap" weld and push the foot pedal and it fuse welds just about any metal together, and without even nearly the amount of heat a torch would create.

You can dial the beam down to 0.2mm in diameter and control the strength and speed at which it "zaps" You can set it to shoot like a machine gun.

So what I did:
Overlayed using traditional method raising teeth. Then I went in with gravers and cleaned all the edges up and trimmed all the fat. Then I went in and welded the seam around it and inside the individual leaves. Fusing the gold to the steel.

Then I sculpted it and you can not tell at all that it was welded. Lasers are pretty pricey piece of equipment. The one I use was around $30K new.

Jeff,

I just let it hang out the hand hole....LOL

This is a fairly brief and simply put explanation but I think is will make sense to most.
:tiphat:
 

Christian DeCamillis

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Andrew , I have a laser welder as well and I'm sure that there are many more here with them. It is a large investment though about 28,000 usd. I think that these welders will bring in the next even higher level of engraving that is yet to come. It is possible to build up steel on figures smooth and polish gold and even blast throught the steel like a trigger gaurd or top lever with ease to do pierced work. I have even experimented with mixing gold colors right on a piece by starting with a base color and then adding silver or copper to change the color in precise areas. There is a lot to yet be discovered. For example you could cast figures in satinless and then weld them on The beauty is that the weld is so small you cant even see it and the heat generated is minimal you hold most pieces in your finger while welding. I know some will think this is cheating, but with new technology this always happens. Chris
 

Andrew Biggs

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Jason & Chris

So if I'm hearing you guys right. This shoots out an ultra thin laser beam, you go around the edge of the bit being welded on, and it generates enough heat to weld the two bits of metal together and the join is almost invisible....so it is deadly accurate where you can place the beam.

I know it's just slightly more scientific than that :).........but is that the guts of it???

And it will weld just about anything including precious metals, stainless, normal steel, brass etc etc.???

Yes, the applications for something like that is almost limitless and quite mind boggling.

Cheers
Andrew
 

santos

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Hi Jason
very nice indeed.
Jason & Chris, I'm just jealous of your laser welding machines, guys. :big grin:
I've tried TIG welding but it brings a big amount of heat and will ruin the heat treatment of the steel below.
Have you a link to the kind of laser welder you're using ?

Thanks for sharing

Jean
 

jlseymour

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The laser welder I've had for a few years is a Laser Star bur there's a number of
company's...
www.laserstar.net
Check them out, there's so many things you can do that you can't do with a torch...
Work without cleaning and stone removal...
Love it...
Jason and chris which laser do ya'll have???
Jerry
 

Martin Strolz

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Since two months we have a Rofin Power Laser welder in the goldsmith department of the school for repair and construction purposes. It is not difficult to operate. Steel is easier to weld than silver and as Chris said, engravers will discover how to use them for their purposes.
Martin
 

Arnaud Van Tilburgh

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I have a spot welder from Lampert. It is a Puck 3. It is a cheaper alternative than laser welding.

I use it also under the microscope to do some special repairs or to weld Titanium.
I’m not saying laser welding is not always well welded, but I have seen laser welding that where not right done, as the gold that was added broke just by pulling with a fingernail.

Info on the Puck III you can find here, cost me 2000 euro.
It also weld different alloys and can be used to fix a error engraved line.

BTW, nice work Jason. :thumbs up:

arnaud
 

Christopher Malouf

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I wouldn't use a laser as a shortcut/substitute but as an aid to already tried and true methods ... especially on something that will be subjected to heat and recoil. Jason has used it here to provide additional strength/insurance to his traditional overlay. I have access to a laser and while it serves its purposes well and can provide a number of shortcuts, the welds are brittle ..... and it will alter the temper of the steel which is noticeable in areas of repair that are to be refinished.

-------

Jason,

Awesome work as always DUDE!! This is the kind of work that people don't forget about too soon.
 
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Tim Wells

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Laser welders ROCK! I have an old Rolex GMT from the 60's and as you can imagine from wearing it to work every day, it had a lot of dings all over it.

I sat down for about a half hour and laser welded every nick, scratch and imperfection on that stainless case and it looks brand new mint now. What a cool tool.

These are expensive but in a manufacturing jeweler setting it can pay for itself over time.
 

Christian DeCamillis

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I have a Rofin Laser. Christopher, Yes some welds can be brittle, but that can be overcome with the correct beam size the shape of the beam and the use of argon on certain material. Andrew, Yes what you said is pretty much the case. Chris
 

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