Barry Lee Hands 24k gold overlay work in progress

Barry Lee Hands · Oct 30, 2015

Thanks.
After the edges are detailed with the small round botton, i shade with a 55 face 90 singlepoint:

Dani Girl · Oct 31, 2015

.012 for sheet, that's about 28 guage?

Barry Lee Hands · Oct 31, 2015

That sounds about right.

Doc Mark · Oct 31, 2015

Man, I must be mashing my gold WAY too hard when inlaying. Overlaying this sheet and not smearing the gold all over the surface shows me how gentle you can be and still get the teeth to grab properly. The surface of the sheet looks remarkably smooth and flat (although textured lightly by the punch). I just went back to the earliest photos and noticed that the punch is still relatively small faced. This shows me how wonderfully you control the impact to keep the gold intact yet well set. Remarkable.

Darren · Oct 31, 2015

Awesome work Barry. I always enjoy seeing your work.

Barry Lee Hands · Nov 1, 2015

Thanks Mark, i agree with your observations , it took me a long time to realize that the way to is to start with a small punch and tag the extremities down and then a bigger punch perning lightly to bring the rest down, and then one about .100 in to smooth everything.

Darren my good friend and benchmate from Gist engravers in the 70s, (could we really be that old?)
Thank you for enjoying my work.
I still have at least one flat marked "DR" that i stole from you, hehe.

Here is a pic after shading is completed:

Dani Girl · Nov 3, 2015

I would love to see more detail on the tools and methods used to 'ding' up the metal to make it hold the gold sheet leaves. Someone said it produces arches?

Thankyou very much again Barry

Danae.

Christian DeCamillis · Nov 3, 2015

Barry,

I assume you are using a piercing punch to cut the shapes of the leaf structures from. These punches are hand made to the shape desired and then punch through the metal into a lead block. The forms are then retrieved from the lead block by merely hammering on the back side of the lead and the pierced form falls out. It looks like you have three sizes there. Using this method would make the process a whole lot faster than using the conventional method of cutting them out with a jewelers saw.

Chris

Barry Lee Hands · Nov 3, 2015

Dani Girl said:
I would love to see more detail on the tools and methods used to 'ding' up the metal to make it hold the gold sheet leaves. Someone said it produces arches?

Thankyou very much again Barry

Danae.

Hi Dani,
Its just a small long tapered punch with a cone at the end with a dubbed tip.
I will try to take a pic soon.

Barry Lee Hands · Nov 3, 2015

Setting a 1.5 mm diamond:

Christian DeCamillis · Nov 4, 2015

Barry,

It's a little more than my thinking cap. It's based from my own experience. I didn't know or see your demo at Fega but I have been using this method since I was 12 years old. I do southern plains and woodlands style American Indian silverwork. The metal is nickel silver or if one prefers German silver.

The first picture shows two chisels and one heart shaped piercing stamp. The chisels are used to cut the scallops of a brooch or anything else one desires. The heart is used to pierce through the nickel silver into a lead block and later the work is hammered or planished back from the back side. All of the samples in the next pictures are at least 20 thousands thick the sunburst looking piece is 16 gauge. So to cut through 12 to 15 thousands pure gold would be no problem. The last picture is a piercing remnant of pure gold 15 thousands thick from the lead block it pierced through like butter.

I could easily make a stamp that would cut or chisel a piece of gold of 15 thousands even up to a millimeter without an issue. The other way would be to make a few chisels and cut it out in a series of cuts to produce many shapes.

So as you can see this method is not limited to ultra thin metal . I wanted to clarify that my thinking was based on experience rather than just guess work.

Chris

Brian Marshall · Nov 4, 2015

Interesting Chris... never knew that about you. You never spoke about your other interests much - and I guess neither did I? We have this in common though.

When I was a puppy and lived in Arizona I did a year or two of Southwest style turquoise and silver that also incorporated the use of punches, stamps and chisels.

Later on I spent a coupla years learning about the North Coast style when I lived up in N. Oregon. Totally different. Might still have a few pieces or partially finished pieces still stashed in some boxes around here...

Back to the chisels and punches - yes, they work just fine. I seem to recall some parts that we punched/cut that were at least 20 gauge, maybe even 18.

We did use a harder lead alloy than the common soft stuff though... can't remember what we put in it?

The punches and cutters are a much more economical way to get limited run jobs done. Even some repetitive one offs.

Unless of course, money doesn't matter and you have dies and punch presses, laser cutters/welders, water jet, and all of the other computerized toys that will each set you back around $30,000+ these days...

Brian

Who just got done drooling over a display of modern lapidary machinery. Computerized versus pantograph stone profilers, sonic drills, and other goodies that will be common in the future.

Christian DeCamillis · Nov 4, 2015

Brian,

Yes you can add antimony to the lead to make it harder. You can also buy lead with some antimony already mixed in for a harder lead.

Barry Lee Hands · Nov 4, 2015

I learn something new everyday. . .

Brian Marshall · Nov 4, 2015

Yeah Chris, now I remember... it was "antimonio". Sometimes the two language memory doesn't merge right when you need it to.

You learn a word in one language and then never bother to add it or translate it to the other...

We also used it to make "troqueles" = forming dies in English.

There are lots of times when I am in a conversation and the word will not come to me in that language, but pops right up in the language I am not using?

Brian

silverchip · Nov 4, 2015

Wheel weights are already alloyed and work well. Just pour it into a flat mold and away you go.If it were me and I had to do something like this, those little pancake dies would be the ticket. Cheap and very repeatable.Sure would like to see the little punch you use for raising the "arch burs"!!!!

Barry Lee Hands · Nov 4, 2015

silverchip said:
Wheel weights are already alloyed and work well. Just pour it into a flat mold and away you go.If it were me and I had to do something like this, those little pancake dies would be the ticket. Cheap and very repeatable.Sure would like to see the little punch you use for raising the "arch burs"!!!!

Hehe, i swear there is no lead, or wherlwrights involved in my process.
Oh, and here is a pic of the arch punch, not much to it:

Thierry Duguet · Nov 4, 2015

Not being a jeweler or stone setter I am surprise that you would set a stone on 24K gold, isn't it too soft to hold it?

Barry Lee Hands · Nov 4, 2015

After 2 or 3 thousand set, I have not had any fall out yet.

Thierry Duguet · Nov 5, 2015

Barry Lee Hands said:
After 2 or 3 thousand set, I have not had any fall out yet.

It was not a critic or doubting of your ability, I was just surprise.

Barry Lee Hands 24k gold overlay work in progress

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