I'm planing on inlaying some .25" diameter roses. I'd like to sculpt them and have them slightly raised. I'm having an issue figuring out what guage wire to use and how many inches to order per rose. Can anyone assist?
Gold estimating assistance please
- Thread starter Beathard
- Start date
I do all my raised gold inlays using .016" wire. I cut the outline of the inlay, sculpt the main shape into the steel, undercut the outline and then punch in the cross hatched teeth per the Meek method in his book The Art of Engraving. I estimate that the raised inlay is maybe .008" or a little less above the surface of the steel. By sculpting the main shape before adding teeth I eliminate the problem of having steel show through the gold when the final sculpting is done...as the main shape is mostly already established in the inlay. As to how much gold to order I haven't ever worked that one out. I suppose you could estimate (over estimate) by how many concentric rings of .016" wire would fill a .25" circle using perhaps the centerline of the ring for each to calculate circumference of each and adding up. I would take a similar piece of wire or string and just wrap it around in a circle to fill the area needed and then measure.
PS...you might want to experiment with some copper ( or gold, which can then be removed and added to your scrap collection) at different gauges to see what feels right for you. I sometimes use .020" wire for a thicker effect but seldom smaller than .016". The cross hatch teeth never worked well for me with silver as the harder silver tends to knock down the teeth instead of flowing into them. As for the scrap collection, I clean out steel with a magnet and blow out dust and such, then melt into a blob, pound flat to about .035", cut strips with scissors and run through the draw plate for reuse.
PS...you might want to experiment with some copper ( or gold, which can then be removed and added to your scrap collection) at different gauges to see what feels right for you. I sometimes use .020" wire for a thicker effect but seldom smaller than .016". The cross hatch teeth never worked well for me with silver as the harder silver tends to knock down the teeth instead of flowing into them. As for the scrap collection, I clean out steel with a magnet and blow out dust and such, then melt into a blob, pound flat to about .035", cut strips with scissors and run through the draw plate for reuse.
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delder
Elite Cafe Member
Just a crazy idea off the top of my head. Could you fill the area with a fine powder ( pumice perhaps ). Wipe of excess , remove what's left in the gold filled area , then convert that volume to gold weight ?
Brian Marshall
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
It could be done with wax, which has common weight conversion tables to silver and karat golds for casting purposes...
Just add a little because the karat golds are not what you are working with.
There are wax sheets and wire available in any gauge. You can make your own sheet to get by, out of bees wax.
I have done so in the past for estimates and it works.
Brian
The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it. – Chinese Proverb
Just add a little because the karat golds are not what you are working with.
There are wax sheets and wire available in any gauge. You can make your own sheet to get by, out of bees wax.
I have done so in the past for estimates and it works.
Brian
The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it. – Chinese Proverb
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dlilazteca
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
jerrywh
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
I use gold sheet .020 or .025. It is a lot easier to figure.
BrianPowley
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
I usually order gold in quantities, weigh it and figure out the cost per pennyweight...(i.e. 6 feet of .024" 24k gold wire, etc.).
When I start a project, I weigh it again and write that number down. I weight the leftover gold AFTER I'm done with the inlays.
That tells me how much gold I used. (you already know what a pennyweight cost, so you simply multiply to get your actual cost of the gold)
The reason why I order in quantities is because I use a draw plate and pull the wire down to the specific diameters I need for inlays.
When I start a project, I weigh it again and write that number down. I weight the leftover gold AFTER I'm done with the inlays.
That tells me how much gold I used. (you already know what a pennyweight cost, so you simply multiply to get your actual cost of the gold)
The reason why I order in quantities is because I use a draw plate and pull the wire down to the specific diameters I need for inlays.
Carlos, I cut parallel lines that I dovetail and lay the silver in one line at a time. This method is shown in Meeks book. It takes a little larger wire size but I can set the silver solidly this way, butting each line against the previous one. It is the same old method I used for gold until I tried Meek's cross hatched teeth per his book. The cross hatched teeth work really well for 24k gold. I actually don't use a lot of silver but the white effect is nice on occasion.
As for buying gold, I do the same as Brian, usually about a quarter of an ounce at a time and keep track of use the same way except I use a powder scale for weighing and calculate in grains.
I once did a project with a dozen gold inlays which, using the wire/cross hatch method used less than a quarter of an ounce of gold.
As for buying gold, I do the same as Brian, usually about a quarter of an ounce at a time and keep track of use the same way except I use a powder scale for weighing and calculate in grains.
I once did a project with a dozen gold inlays which, using the wire/cross hatch method used less than a quarter of an ounce of gold.
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