Unique inlay technique...

[AndrosCreations]

This may be nothing new to some of you... Infact, it may be more tedious than just using wire for inlay. But, since I was having some difficulty using wire, I tried this out of desperation and it worked (generally speaking) for me. I'm not saying I'm the first to do this because I don't know if anyone else has used the technique... But I'm the first in my own little engraving world

Using .32mm wire (28 gauge), I snipped 1/32" pieces off and balled them up on a soldering pad with my oxy/propane torch. I made over 200 of them and used them to inlay this coin (except for the outside gold border which is two helpings of the 28 gauge wire side by side.

I would drill a little hole with my 120º graver, make 3 or more undercuts in the little hole, and pound in a "gold BB".

Regardless of whether it's efficient to do a whole background this way, this technique can be very helpful and efficient for those small radius curves that you don't want to use wire for.... So if nothing else, the technique does have it's place.

p.s. I thank Alain Lovenburg, Jeff Parke, and Jim Small for the inspiration to try gold background!

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Bulino inlay perhaps??

Very nice and an innovative inlay method.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[rod]

A great tutorial, Andy,

..and with your usual excellent design and execution!

I am interested to hear what time-honoured gold inlayers have to comment. Results look just great!

By the way, I see you torch the wire chunks to take up spherical shape, do you do that just bare on your soldering pad?

I am told that when doing the ancient "Etruscan bead work", gold or silver spheres are prepared by mixing the chunks in charcoal dust and heating all to melt the metal chunks which remain separated and pull into bead shape with surface tension. Many can be made at a time, later when removed from the charcoal, they are passed through graded mesh sieves and hence sorted into groups of similar diameters, later fused to the base of the jewelry in that astoundingly sophisticated way that was only properly understood in modern times... the result shows no soldering. We could talk about that on a separate thread. Anyway, wonderful work, Andy!

Rod

 

[AndrosCreations]

Rod - Wow, that actually sounds really useful. I have this solderite board that I took a domed dapping punch and reamed little cavity's in. I put the little piece in the cavity and apply the heat until they ball up perfect on their own. The only problem is... when they ball up they want to jump (violently) out of the cavity. I suspect that they make the transition from solid to molten so fast that the metal somehow flings itself. Sometimes they stay put, something they fly into another cavity and combine with another piece (doubling the mass).

I have to look into "Etruscan bead work"... sounds interesting.

 

[bronc]

Andy, great idea and your results are stunning!!!

Stewart

 

[Tom Curran]

Andy I like your technique a lot. Thanks. Tom


That Roman/Etruscan work is called 'granulation'. For more consistent size beads, make miniature rings of wire, they will bead up into spheres when packed in charcoal and fired. The spheres are arranged in your design on the jewelry with mastic, then fused under high heat in a furnace. No solder.

 

[AndrosCreations]

Thank you, Tom... I've seen photos of jewelry with granulation and know that they did make "Jump rings" so to speak... so the balls were exactly the same volume/size. The only difficulty is, I couldn't really make jump rings being that the lengths of wire I'm using are tiny... As I said, only 1/32" long using .32mm wire (28 gauge).

Actually, I did some math. If anyone cares to see if I have any logic in this equation... feel free to reprove my estimations. [This is just for fun]
_______________________________________________________________________

The wire pieces that I'm melting are .32mm x .8mm. To find the volume, I'll take the area of .32mm wire (.16mm radius² x π = 8mm) times the length of each piece.

8mm x .8mm = a volume of 6.4

Now, to make the same size bead with say the thinnest wire (.1mm) I would have to find the area of the .1mm wire. (.05mm² x π = .785)

.785mm • x = 6.4 Therefore x = 8.15mm

It's nigh impossible to follow someone elses math (pair that with the fact that I flunked it in high school) but it seems that I could use snips of .1mm wire that are 8.15mm long (and therefor much easier and more accurate to measure out).

Of course this was just for fun... the bead sizes can vary quite a bit and still be appropriate. I easily had 50% variance in my piece lengths when I was sniping them with scissors.

 

[Dave London]

Very cool Andy, good thinking out of the Box.

 

[jetta77]

beautiful andy... the good thing about working w 24k gold is that it does whatever you tell it too. luv it....

 

[rod]

A
That Roman/Etruscan work is called 'granulation'. The spheres are arranged in your design on the jewelry with mastic, then fused under high heat in a furnace. No solder.

Tom, am I correct in my understanding that in the granulation technique, the mix of 'glue' used to place and hold the bead will, upon heating, 'contaminate the silver bead surface with copper(?) such that when heated further, the now alloyed surface of the bead will have a lower melting point than the bead interior, hence melt and fuse, without solder, to the base of the jewelry piece? If so, then this is an incredible process which was used masterfully 2500 years ago with no formal knowledge of what we now call chemistry. However, trial and error led earlier ages to good results, without what we now call the 'scientific method'?

Rod

 

[dimovengraving]

Very interesting .
Thanks Andros :clapping:

 

[Titian]

Thank to this post.

 

[silverchip]

Well that is the first time I have ever seen a "mathematical" equation applied the volume of gold needed to complete an inlay.With the price of gold,we now know how to "stretch a penny".

 

[Sam]

Andy, this is something new as far as inlay goes and I applaud your ingenuity. While it does seem like a lot of work, I can't argue with the end result which is beautiful, and that's what counts. I'll add this to the Tips Archive, and thank you for taking the time to make the illustration for us.

~Sam

 

[gtwister09]

Andy,

You posted a great tutorial and your design and execution are top notch. Hats off!

Regards,
Ben

 

[mitch]

well done, Andy! and your illustrated tutorial was excellent. there probably is/are some specialized applications where this may become a preferred method- not just when you're short on more suitable wire or sheet. it's obviously more time-consuming, but i'm sure you or somebody will come up with a situation where it's just the trick. i'd be hesitant to use this technique if there was going to be lines engraved in the inlay- too many joints & potential for flaking, but for plain polished areas it looks pretty slick...

 

[AndrosCreations]

Thanks everyone... I'm glad it was enjoyed and hope it can be of some use to someone!

Here is a previous project I used this technique on... The prospectors bag, hat, tooth, and sleeve patch were done this way. His "bindle stick" is two strips of fine silver and a fine silver "bead" on the tip of the stick near the bag was the perfect shape/situation where this could be used. (outside gold border is wire).

 

[Idaho Flint]

Rod - Wow, that actually sounds really useful. I have this solderite board that I took a domed dapping punch and reamed little cavity's in. I put the little piece in the cavity and apply the heat until they ball up perfect on their own. The only problem is... when they ball up they want to jump (violently) out of the cavity. I suspect that they make the transition from solid to molten so fast that the metal somehow flings itself. Sometimes they stay put, something they fly into another cavity and combine with another piece (doubling the mass).

I have to look into "Etruscan bead work"... sounds interesting.

The problem you have with the jumping is because the surface you are heating them on, it not getting hot enough, fast enough. Try heating up the surface you are melting them on before you form the balls. This will help stop them from jumping.

 

[airamp]

Andy,

Thanks for a great tutor.

When you are balling up the gold/silver as I understand it you are putting it in a steel dop and not a soldering board?

If you are melting it into the steel dop the dop has to be heated up so it doen't "bump" out of the little hole as you discribe.

Bumping is seen when there is a large difference in temperature of one substance to the other in liquid to solid states.

Yes it is a scientific term. Try heating up your form first.

AirAmp

 

[Tom Curran]

There is something about copper, but I've never done granulation. I am amazed at the fine granulation on antique pieces, I can barely see the beads, they look more like frost.

Anyway, I digress. I think Andy's process is really inventive. It's one of those things that 'sticks' in my mind to be pulled out for use sometimes years later.