July 21, 20223 yr I had a coworker approach me this morning and ask me about taking old jewelry (supposedly gold, but unconfirmed) and melting it down and recasting it into another piece of jewelry. First thing I did when asked was check the melting point of gold, which according to Google is over 1900 degrees F, which DOES NOT sound like something a first timer who has zero idea what they are doing should attempt. However, I highly doubt said jewelry is straight gold and likely some alloy which would make its melting point harder to determine. Anyways, could some of you experts perhaps provide advice/resources I could provide to them? I have already explicitly stated that casting any metal is dangerous and really should not be attempted/done without guidance and knowing what you are doing. I am already on the fence about trying to guide them as they did not know some of the basics like preheating the mold. I will likely push them to go to a local smith who does casting and have it done under supervision or just be done by said smith.
July 21, 20223 yr If it's real gold, it should have a karat stamp; that will give you a better idea of the melting point. For example, 14k is1,550F, which can be melted with a standard plumber's torch.
July 21, 20223 yr Most of the Community Colleges I have knowledge of; had a jewelry making course or 5 that will teach one how to work with the precious metals and they generally have one that deals with casting. I would take the courses *or* talk with the Instructor(s) about having something made.
July 25, 20223 yr Author That is what I was pushing them more towards, going to someone who knows what they are doing and can assist/supervise or do it for them but they are very intent on doing it themselves at home. I will ask if there is a karat stamp on them.
July 25, 20223 yr You can have a Bobcat but be careful who you let use it. Your chickens will thank you. Frosty The Lucky.
July 27, 20223 yr Have you operated a new one lately? It's like rocket technology. Push button, joystick, lcd screen, you name it. I had the good fortune a couple of years ago to test out a new Cat front end/wheel loader. Very few hours on it. You could program the bucket scooping and dumping positions and then just push a button. The company bought it to move railcars around with a coupler mounted on the front instead of a bucket. I recommended that they disable some of that stuff....
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.