Gold

[Jgrden]

What a bad time to buy gold.

I have an order with TiGold parts for a fountain pen. The promise is to segment gold on an angle. The gold needs to be visible and about 1/16th inch thick. I know about the silver supplier, but who would you suggest for the gold???

John

 

[Russianwolf]

try RioGrande.com

 

[mredburn]

Rio is a great start, it would also depend on how much and what karat you need to use. 1/16 is 16 gauge(.0625) but I would not use any thing heavier than 20 gauge(.0348).
16g is 363.00 per square inch in 14k.
14K Yellow Gold Sheet, 16 Ga., Dead Soft
20g is $226.00 per square inch.
18g (.0475) is $285.28 per square inch

Who pays for the gold if you have a blow out while turning it and it ruins it usability and you have to order more?

 

[plantman]

John; I have made several pens using real gold or gold plated items I have salvaged from old jewelry. Many times you can find old wedding rings or earings that are solid gold at rummage sales or thrift stores. Look for a mark or small tag that will tell you if it is real gold, and what weight. 10K, 18K, 24k, etc. I find the purer the gold, the harder it is to work with. As "mredburn" suggests try to purchase yellow gold labeled "dead soft". It's easer to work with. I have also worked hard brass and bronze into pens to look like bright gold and antique gold. Look in my photo album for a pen I made using gold filagree and Swarovski crystals. Good luck!! Jim S

 

[Jgrden]

try RioGrande.com

Will do Mike, thank you, John

 

[Jgrden]

Rio is a great start, it would also depend on how much and what karat you need to use. 1/16 is 16 gauge(.0625) but I would not use any thing heavier than 20 gauge(.0348).
16g is 363.00 per square inch in 14k.
14K Yellow Gold Sheet, 16 Ga., Dead Soft
20g is $226.00 per square inch.
18g (.0475) is $285.28 per square inch

Who pays for the gold if you have a blow out while turning it and it ruins it usability and you have to order more?

The gold is now an addition to the cost to build. If I blow out, it is my fault and responsibility. So I should be very careful. Do you not think so??
Thanks for the info. I copied it for use while purchasing.
John

 

[Jgrden]

John; I have made several pens using real gold or gold plated items I have salvaged from old jewelry. Many times you can find old wedding rings or earings that are solid gold at rummage sales or thrift stores. Look for a mark or small tag that will tell you if it is real gold, and what weight. 10K, 18K, 24k, etc. I find the purer the gold, the harder it is to work with. As "mredburn" suggests try to purchase yellow gold labeled "dead soft". It's easer to work with. I have also worked hard brass and bronze into pens to look like bright gold and antique gold. Look in my photo album for a pen I made using gold filagree and Swarovski crystals. Good luck!! Jim S

I looked. You do nice work and the mouse is cute. I am willing to let my client know about a gold substitute, but need an idea of what metal to use. I thought about the gold ring issue but with all the advertising for purchasing gold, I doubt there will be any to find.
Thank you very much for your help. I wonder how brass would show against the TiGold??

 

[Russianwolf]

the places that buy old gold pay less than half of the market value, so there is plenty still out there. It has to be reprocessed and they need to make a profit.

Put a wanted ad on craiglist for a size x 10k yellow gold mens ring at .6 the current gold value. You may get a taker.

But be warned. there are fakes out there and you will be taking the risk of getting took.

 

[mredburn]

You also have to realize that many rings have been resized so there may be repair solder on the ring which tends to pit when remelted. You will also need the equipment and knowledge to make it into sheet form. If you have a willing and able paying customer charge the living daylights out of him and buy new material so there will be no question on his part.

Let me add Rio as well as other tool supply houses sell Karat stamps and people can stamp fakes all day long. You will need a scale and a knowledge of the formulas for figuring gold content.
10k is .417, 14 is.585, and 18 is .750, the rest of the different karats are not needed. Multiply the current price by the number for the karat that equals its price per ounce.
say Gold is $1556. per ounce. 1556x.417 =$648.85 an ounce. divide by 31.1 for gram weight or 20 for penny weight. .648/31=$20.86 per gram. 648.85/20 =32.44 per penny weight.

 

[BRobbins629]

Be aware that the gold you buy will not match the color of the Ti-Gold components. that may or may not be a problem for you, but could make it look odd for an expensive pen. If it were me, I would try to strip the fittings, come up with a way to make the segment platable and have all the pieces plated in the same color gold.

Another thing to consider is if you do decide on a gold sheet, is to cut the hole in it before segmenting. That way you can sell the scrap from drilling and there will be less heat build up drilling through the segment, reducing the possibility of blow out.

 

[plantman]

John; I have made several pens using real gold or gold plated items I have salvaged from old jewelry. Many times you can find old wedding rings or earings that are solid gold at rummage sales or thrift stores. Look for a mark or small tag that will tell you if it is real gold, and what weight. 10K, 18K, 24k, etc. I find the purer the gold, the harder it is to work with. As "mredburn" suggests try to purchase yellow gold labeled "dead soft". It's easer to work with. I have also worked hard brass and bronze into pens to look like bright gold and antique gold. Look in my photo album for a pen I made using gold filagree and Swarovski crystals. Good luck!! Jim S

I looked. You do nice work and the mouse is cute. I am willing to let my client know about a gold substitute, but need an idea of what metal to use. I thought about the gold ring issue but with all the advertising for purchasing gold, I doubt there will be any to find.
Thank you very much for your help. I wonder how brass would show against the TiGold??

John: If you want to see if brass will look good and match, go to your local hardware or big box store and get some brass or bronze washers from the plumbing dept. This should cost you less than a $1, will have the center drilled out, and come in many thicknesses. Now you can insert these in some scrap blanks, turn, and finish to test the results. Once covered the brass should not oxidize and will maintain it's shine. I should add that I turn 99% of my pens on a mini metal lathe which reduces the chances of grabbing if I insert metal at angles or it sticks out past the blanks. I find that using fine metal files after you almost reach the size you need, will keep your blank from getting uneven because of the different hardness in materials. If you turn on a lathe with tools, I would use a disk sander to even out your blanks before turning. I have also used copper and aluminum in both flat stock and tubeing for my pens. Hope this helps!!! Jim S

 

[Jgrden]

the places that buy old gold pay less than half of the market value, so there is plenty still out there. It has to be reprocessed and they need to make a profit.

Put a wanted ad on craiglist for a size x 10k yellow gold mens ring at .6 the current gold value. You may get a taker.

But be warned. there are fakes out there and you will be taking the risk of getting took.

[SIZE="6"[/SIZE]AHA, I will watch

 

[Jgrden]

Be aware that the gold you buy will not match the color of the Ti-Gold components. that may or may not be a problem for you, but could make it look odd for an expensive pen. If it were me, I would try to strip the fittings, come up with a way to make the segment platable and have all the pieces plated in the same color gold.

Another thing to consider is if you do decide on a gold sheet, is to cut the hole in it before segmenting. That way you can sell the scrap from drilling and there will be less heat build up drilling through the segment, reducing the possibility of blow out.

Good idea. Thank you,
John

 

[Jgrden]

John; I have made several pens using real gold or gold plated items I have salvaged from old jewelry. Many times you can find old wedding rings or earings that are solid gold at rummage sales or thrift stores. Look for a mark or small tag that will tell you if it is real gold, and what weight. 10K, 18K, 24k, etc. I find the purer the gold, the harder it is to work with. As "mredburn" suggests try to purchase yellow gold labeled "dead soft". It's easer to work with. I have also worked hard brass and bronze into pens to look like bright gold and antique gold. Look in my photo album for a pen I made using gold filagree and Swarovski crystals. Good luck!! Jim S

I looked. You do nice work and the mouse is cute. I am willing to let my client know about a gold substitute, but need an idea of what metal to use. I thought about the gold ring issue but with all the advertising for purchasing gold, I doubt there will be any to find.
Thank you very much for your help. I wonder how brass would show against the TiGold??

John: If you want to see if brass will look good and match, go to your local hardware or big box store and get some brass or bronze washers from the plumbing dept. This should cost you less than a $1, will have the center drilled out, and come in many thicknesses. Now you can insert these in some scrap blanks, turn, and finish to test the results. Once covered the brass should not oxidize and will maintain it's shine. I should add that I turn 99% of my pens on a mini metal lathe which reduces the chances of grabbing if I insert metal at angles or it sticks out past the blanks. I find that using fine metal files after you almost reach the size you need, will keep your blank from getting uneven because of the different hardness in materials. If you turn on a lathe with tools, I would use a disk sander to even out your blanks before turning. I have also used copper and aluminum in both flat stock and tubeing for my pens. Hope this helps!!! Jim S

Yes, a big help.

Thank you,

John