LuftWaffle Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 I was thinking about making a wedding ring out of gold and iron from a piece of meteorite. I was wondering if it's possible, or what the best way would be to bind gold to iron? I would like to do 3 layers with the iron sandwiched between gold. I've been searching all over and haven't really found any definitive answers on the best way to go about it. Sorry if this is a ridiculous question, I really have no idea what I'm doing. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Welcome aboard, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many of the IFI gang live within visiting distance.Jim Binnion has diffusion welded iron and gold. Tell him Frosty says hi. Mokume Gane - DOT - com You'll have to search his site out, it's a commercial site and posting the URL is against site rules. If you tell him Frosty sent you he might not ban you till the heat death of his cocoa. It ain't easy for someone who's experienced and equipped, just so you know it is NOT a beginner's mokume gane project.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Evans Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 You could always just make the three rings and gold solder them together…that would be the simplest and surest…but may not be the challenge you require...Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Remember that working the meteorite too hot will destroy the widmanstatten pattern. I would use cold work and take a tube of gold the correct size to fit inside the cold worked meteorite and then flare the ends to cover the meteorite edges. Minimize the skin contact of the meteorite! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThorsHammer82 Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 My first thought was make the meteorite ring then put it in a mold and pour the gold over it then remove the gold to get the desired "sandwich" look. would be hard to get the gold to flow evenly around the ring I would think. granted I've never tried this, so I'm just grasping at straws. The more experienced members will chime in and lambast me if I'm completely off base, but it would be deserved if I am. just seems like the easiest way to accomplish the desired affect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkDobson Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 so i have no experience with any of this but would it be possible to make the ring out of one piece of meteorite and then do a wire inlay in gold where you wanted it to look like a seem? id think that would be easier than trying to fuse the gold and iron together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 My first thought was make the meteorite ring then put it in a mold and pour the gold over it then remove the gold to get the desired "sandwich" look. would be hard to get the gold to flow evenly around the ring I would think. granted I've never tried this, so I'm just grasping at straws. The more experienced members will chime in and lambast me if I'm completely off base, but it would be deserved if I am. just seems like the easiest way to accomplish the desired affect.I think that's a pretty good idea but (yeah, there's almost always a but <sigh>) pouring molten gold on the meteorite iron would probably destroy the . . . Uh . . . What Thomas said pattern.I think electro plating would be the way to go. Mask what you don't want plated and preserve the patterns. Probably be best to have a pro do it, there's a lot of preparation and several steps involved then there's the HazMats to dispose of.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThorsHammer82 Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 I think that's a pretty good idea but (yeah, there's almost always a but <sigh>) pouring molten gold on the meteorite iron would probably destroy the . . . Uh . . . What Thomas said pattern.Frosty The Lucky.it sounded like he wanted the iron between two sections of gold. so wouldn't the gold encompass the ring during the pour, and then when you remove the gold from the sides to get the "sandwich" look, you might get some of your pattern back because you've removed the gold, and some of the iron that was in contact with the gold on the sides of the ring? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 (edited) The crystal pattern in meteoric iron is the result of it taking a few million years to cool. think of it like (sort of) grain growth in high carbon steel taken to an astronomical extreme. Over heating it breaks the crystal boundsries down like annealing so the pattern degrades through out the piece. The pattern isn't a surface effect, it's everywhere till it's gone.Frosty The Lucky. Edited July 14, 2015 by Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuftWaffle Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 Wow, thanks for all the replies and great ideas everyone! Really appreciate it, definitely got the gears turning!You could always just make the three rings and gold solder them together…that would be the simplest and surest…but may not be the challenge you require...AlanI feel like this might be the best solution, from what I've been reading I would want to minimize or avoid any heat on the meteorite iron so it doesn't lose the pattern.The crystal pattern in meteoric iron is the result of it taking a few million years to cool. think of it like (sort of) grain growth in high carbon steel taken to an astronomical extreme. Over heating it breaks the crystal boundsries down like annealing so the pattern degrades through out the piece. The pattern isn't a surface effect, it's everywhere till it's gone.Frosty The Lucky.Hmm, very interesting, Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Evans Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 The crystal pattern in meteoric iron is the result of it taking a few million years to cool. think of it like (sort of) grain growth in high carbon steel taken to an astronomical extreme. Over heating it breaks the crystal boundsries down like annealing so the pattern degrades through out the piece. The pattern isn't a surface effect, it's everywhere till it's gone.Frosty The Lucky.Any idea at what temperature this loss of pattern occurs? You can get gold solders which melt between 650-800˚C.@ Luftwaffle...I don't know any thing about meteoric iron. Why do you fancy using it?Can you see the crystal pattern in a sandwich filling ring sized object? Will the surface pattern survive everyday wear and tear?Is the crystal pattern the only reason for using meteoric iron? Could the fact that it is Alien be sufficient reason to use it?Alan The Curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 (edited) I've never messed with meteoric iron, it's just too expensive and I haven't found one. It seems meteoric iron was the first iron used for tools. IIRC Tut was entombed with an iron dagger made from forged meteoric iron and his wasn't the first.The blade guys could tell you more accurately but from what I remember the pattern CAN be preserved as a pattern in the finished product if forged and worked at a low temperature. I don't think the actual meteoric crystal pattern survives as such but it leaves a pattern in the blade.Picture welded cable blades, the resulting pattern doesn't look like cable till a person comes to associate cable with that pattern.Frosty The Lucky. Edited July 15, 2015 by Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuftWaffle Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 @ Luftwaffle...I don't know any thing about meteoric iron. Why do you fancy using it?Fiance and myself have always been into astronomy, more or less just think it would be cool knowing its been flying through space somewhat more recently then iron mined on earth. Also the patterns look really cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 last I checked all iron on earth was still flying through space---cue the Monty Python song! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gote Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 How true ThomasGöte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 You know Thomas, I WAS going to point out you have to have air to actually be flying. Then it occurred to me Earth IS surrounded by air so it IS FLYING through space! When I realized that I decided to remain silent. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Ah yes another member of the gnat straining and camel swallowing society----welcome Brother! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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