gold wire

I want to inlay two bands of gold, one smaller than the other, around a rifle barrel. What gage do you suggest? I was thinking that 22g and 24g would be appropriate. What is most frequently used. Gold is expensive. I want it to look correct with no waste.

I use a lot of 28 and 26 gauge. Some 24.

Why not do some practice with copper or fine silver wire in different gauges to figure out what works for you? You can and should stack multiple wires next to each other to fill a wide cavity. So if you want a wide and narrow set of bands, you could potentially use the same gauge but stack several wires side by side in the wide band.

The procedure is a little different but accomplishes the same thing. The wide band in the cylinder I have pictured was accomplished with 6 or 7 pieces of 28 gauge side by side

Bert,

Why would you use that many wires? I have used a couple side to side when I don't have a large enough piece. It seems that with that many wires you stand a chance of the wire folding over one another which would leave voids. Your job here looks great but for a beginner I wouldn't recommend using more than two together. In fact I wouldn't even do that .

Td.

When you inlay wire around a circumference it is very important to add little barbs or teeth in the bottom of the inlay. This will assure that the wire doesn't travel as you hammer it . Otherwise it may work itself out when it comes together at the end. It will look perfect and then more hammering to assure it's in good can result in what I call the inch worm effect. The wire will suddenly pop up and look like an inch worm crawling.

Chris

By trying to use the same size wire for everything you are only exchanging Labor and time for money and in reality it's all the same. You don't really save anything. If you want to be a professional engraver you might as well buy a draw plate and get some 16ga. Gold wire. I know that money may be hard to get but there is always a way if the desire is great enough. In the long run what you can gain many times over. It only takes about $30.00 worth of gold to do those bands. I have never been sorry I spent money on engraving supplies or equipment.
I agree with Chris. Teeth.

Christian DeCamillis said:

Bert,

Why would you use that many wires? I have used a couple side to side when I don't have a large enough piece. It seems that with that many wires you stand a chance of the wire folding over one another which would leave voids. Your job here looks great but for a beginner I wouldn't recommend using more than two together. In fact I wouldn't even do that .

Td.

When you inlay wire around a circumference it is very important to add little barbs or teeth in the bottom of the inlay. This will assure that the wire doesn't travel as you hammer it . Otherwise it may work itself out when it comes together at the end. It will look perfect and then more hammering to assure it's in good can result in what I call the inch worm effect. The wire will suddenly pop up and look like an inch worm crawling.

Chris

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Why not Christian? I cut however many pieces are needed to cover the span and lay them all down together. I hammer them in all together at the same time. No voids. Yes. I raise a series of teeth and undercuts. I'm not real crazy about "making" a special piece of metal for an inlay. I'd rather just use what I have already sitting around that's ready to go.

It's just the way I like to do it. As you well know, there's no right or wrong way to do the job provided the end result is the same. We all take different roads to get to the end.

It only takes about $30.00 worth of gold to do those bands.

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What carat gold are you recommending? I bought 12" of 22 ga, 24 carat gold last July and it cost me $99.42 including tax. I expect it would take most of it to do those bands.

Burt, I wasn't trying to say that your technique was wrong . I wanted the person asking the question to realize there are more efficient ways to do a job. Jerry's answer is correct. After all as a bench jeweler do you only have one size of sizing stock and solder together whatever it takes to make the correct size you need for a job? I would think not.

Yes there are many ways to do a job and we all do what we have to in a pinch. But having a variety of wire sizes or one larger size and a draw plate make sense to me. Drawing wire down is not difficult.

Chris

As we all know, a flush gold inlay is a fairly superficial ornament. Why make extra work and expense of using a deep channel, heavier gold, time sanding down excess metal. Moreover, the thin gold is far easier to manipulate, set and finish. Overall using the thin gauge wires is less work, more secure and less waste. At least that's the way I see it.

Bert , Again No one has suggested to use wire heavier than necessary or to cut a deeper channel. It was suggested to have a variety of sizes or one larger size that can be made into the size one needs. I agree that using a heavier wire than needed will make the job more difficult. If I was making a wide band as in your picture I would either take a larger wire and flatten it to the appropriate width and thickness or just cut a strip from sheet stock. You are correct when setting gold having a thinner piece will set into the undercuts easier . By that I mean the appropriate size. Again the job you did is excellent. Your method worked fine. But someone with not a lot of experience would probably have a difficult time using so many wires. That was the only point I was trying to make. I wasn't trying to say you were wrong.

In fact the most efficient way to do an inlay is to have the correct size so that after you hammer it in there is virtually no excess metal to have to trim stone or sand . It would require minimal stoning or sanding. Learning to get the size right takes time and experience . Doing it the way you did take experience. As I said we all do things that are necessary in pinch.

Chris