Help, please: Gold inlay

[K Frei]

I Am currently working on a piece in steel with 24K Gold inlay. My undercuts are collapsing before the Annealed 24K is pressed into them. The only time I've dealt with this issue before is on very narrow inlays (like the tip of an Antler.) Any advise on making undercuts that hold gold better would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mitch]

need more info. what techniques & tools are you using to cut your grooves/cavities and how are you undercutting? unless you've accidentally mixed up your steel with a piece of lead, this shouldn't be happening with 24k...

 

[atexascowboy2011]

Sounds like either your wire gauge is too small ,your channel too deep, your wire is not annealed or your punch not properly shaped.

 

[sam]

Sounds to me like you're cutting too close to the surface of the metal when making the undercut, leaving a very thin and fragile edge where the steel meets gold. They definitely should not be collapsing.