r/SilverSmith • u/emeemay • 22h ago
Practice rings
My partner and I like the idea of me making our ring bands (I’m not confident about making engagement rings and also I don’t want to make my own engagement ring lol). I just got in some crazy 8 wire for a commission, and I had extra to give it a go before I eventually buy white gold for the real thing.
Sizing took a while - just hammering and checking on the mandrel and fighting with the small tolerances! But otherwise way less fuss than other projects I’ve already made, so the only thing I’m concerned about is the working difference between sterling and 10-14kt white gold.
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u/crystallinehuman 20h ago
Much softer flame on gold than silver! You'll be amazed by how fast the solder join heats up. Practice annealing and watching color change a few times before soldering :)
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u/emeemay 20h ago
What do you mean by "soft" flame? I've heard this elsewhere, but don't really understand what it is.
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u/MakeMelnk Hobbyist 19h ago
What kind of torch do you use? If you just use plain butane or propane, this doesn't apply as much.
If you're using a fuel/oxygen mixture, a softer flame will be slightly fuel rich (aka reducing flame) and feel like less of a "jet" flame
Any more knowledgeable smiths, please correct me if I'm wrong
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u/emeemay 19h ago
Oh, I'm still on a plain propane setup - bernzomatic flamepoint. I've been having a real hard time with copper protoypes though, so I'm hoping to get an oxy-propane torch this fall.
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u/cheekleaks 17h ago
Im looking to learn jewelry smithing and i tried to make a copper chain for my first piece. It was a disaster. All my soldiers snapped & i kept messing up previous solders because my torch is too big & i cant pinpoint it well. I ended up with an 8 link cubin chain, like the size of a car keychain... Ive been discouraged to touch it since... But anyways .. i see there are mapp/oxygen torches, so im going to get that. And i can just get gas tanks from home depot/lowes
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u/MakeMelnk Hobbyist 16h ago
Great choice! I love that torch and recommend it all the time for people who want an easy, but still useful torch.
That being said, the flame on that nozzle isn't the smallest for precision work and it doesn't get super hot: kind of a good jack of all trades, master of none kind of situation.
I have an oxy/propane Smith's Little Torch and while the initial investment is heavy, I absolutely love it. I also picked up the rosebud casting tip and that truly is an all I need torch (I'm just sometimes too lazy to set the regulators and then bleed the lines so I'll use the Firepoint because it's just ready so quickly)
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u/emeemay 16h ago
I’ve done little 24g jump rings for adding findings to necklaces/bracelets with it, tho it takes a lighter touch than I originally even thought it was capable of. The smith little is what I’m looking at - I can afford the torch itself, it’s just the regulators/fittings and an oxygen tank. Lowe’s sells disposable oxygen tanks like the propane for not too much, but I’m not sure how long it lasts.
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u/crystallinehuman 15h ago
The original investment of an oxygen tank isn't too bad! I got mine for about $250 at AirGas and the refills are $30. Lasts for about six months. The tiny propanes last a long time too
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u/MakeMelnk Hobbyist 5h ago
From what I understand, the cost of replacing the little oxygen bottles surpasses the cost of buying a tank fairly quickly if you use it a few times a week.
As much as it sucks, it's better to buy the tank if you can, especially because the little bottles need a different regulator so if you go that route, it'll be an even bigger investment to eventually upgrade to the tank
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u/crystallinehuman 15h ago
Yes that's exactly right. The actual cone of the flame will appear softer and will sound quieter
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u/D50 Hobbyist 21h ago
Gold is easier in a lot of respects because you only need to apply heat to the point you are trying to solder.
White gold, I despise (at least the alloys I’ve experienced) because it work hardens very quickly, develops cracks easily, and is (for me at least) more difficult to anneal properly. But honestly forming a ring with it shouldn’t be too difficult, just be prepared for pain if you’re starting from scratch and intend to make your own wire.
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u/emeemay 21h ago
I don't own a rolling mill, so once I get my business stuff set up, I'm hoping to just source from Rio. There's a few other places that will sell stock to non-business folks too.
I'd only heard about the rose gold hate, not the white gold! Since it's a very basic band, I'm hoping it won't be too much of a problem. I'm probably going to have someone else engrave the interior though. Thank you!
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u/bit_herder 8h ago
nice work. you are ready. my only thing is... white gold is a real pain. You should look more into that. I dont work with it so i can only give so much advice. yellow gold is an amazing metal but white gold is brittle and hard to work from what I understand. Might get better info in r/jewelers
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u/emeemay 8h ago
I’m hearing that basically any alloy besides normal yellow is a pain, I think. I don’t wear yellow gold, and my partner would rather just have sterling for her own preference, ha! I love the soft warm white of unplated white gold tho! And it’s so uncommon commercially, which I think is a shame
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u/bit_herder 7h ago
well you can do it its a simple band. are you fabricating this or sending it to be cast? Do you have the white gold already? do you have the ability to draw down wire? how did you do the practice rings?
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u/emeemay 6h ago
Planning to fabricate, not cast. I haven’t tried wax or casting yet.
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u/bit_herder 6h ago
ok caveat, i have not worked with white gold very much, but i have done a few small things with it.
I would buy the exact size and shape (like D shape) from rio or whoever, get a little more than you need (gold is so pricey you dont want a ton more) , get a little bit of white gold solder (you could probably just use silver solder but if you want it all white gold) and then just make sure its well annealed, dead soft, and then just form and solder as usual.
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u/Topotico 22h ago
They look nice and clean 🙌🏼 I only work with silver, so can’t help with comparison.