Handmade Gold Signet Ring Gone WRONG | Jewellery Making Tutorial | GWS

o, what happens when remodelling old gold doesn’t quite go to plan? In this video we tell the story of such a case. We melted down some sentimental jewellery to make my gold signet rings and halfway through the process - the gold started CRACKING (but don’t worry, there’s a positive ending to this story!)

We needed to change course and that’s exactly what we’ve done. Hopefully, you’ll find this video full of value.

As per usual, please let us know if you liked this video! If you have any suggestions for future videos or questions about what we’ve shared today.

If you like this kind of thing… Check out these other videos we’ve don’t on signet rings 😊

Handmade Bi-colour Textured Signet Ring

How To Make a SIGNET RING by Hand

9ct White Gold Diamond Set Signet Ring

Thank you for bearing with us in this crazy time & being a part of this wonderful, growing creative community. Love from Jaco & Damia

#signetring #sandcasting #jewelrymaker

[theyakninja]

That's a fantastic video! I would like to share with the viewers some more sand casting tips that have worked for me. For a long time, I had no access to a rolling mill, so I had to sand cast everything, and I guess I've done it hundreds of times. Nevertheless, I've learned some tricks from this video as well. You have great experience! So:

- If possible, don't rely on just a line on the side of your casting flask. Make a notch in one half and put a headless screw on the other so the halves always match perfectly. That way, it is quick and foolproof.
- Chopping the sand takes forever and you can't chop it fine enough anyway, especially if you've used the sand multiple times. Use a sieve instead; a common household colander works great if you reinforce it somewhat using wire on the perimeter. You don't need to sieve all the sand, just the part that goes in contact with the model and a little more.
- Compacting the sand with a hammer is not necessary in most cases, especially with good sand. Just press it firmly with your finger. That way, accurately pushing the model into the form is easier and there is less risk of breaking your model if it is made of wax.
- When making air escape channels, don't scribe. Take a modeling knife and push it into the sand, don't cut. That way, the surface is less disturbed, and the whole process is less messy.
- You can get away with fewer air escape channels than you think. For really small parts, you can skip them entirely. The smallest gap between the halves plus the sand porosity works well enough, but better to be safe, of course.
- Heat the metal properly. When you think it's hot enough, give it some more time; it must be really liquid.
- There are flasks that are used vertically, not horizontally. If that makes sense, they are a little easier when making an inlet and escape channels, but be aware that the molten metal tries to push the halves apart. Keep them connected; a rubber band works fine. But don't push on the sand in this case, or you'll squish it, and the part will be much thinner.
- Note that the casting will be just a bit smaller than your model when the metal shrinks. So if you are casting a ring, account for that, although you will sand away the rough surface anyway, and these will cancel each other out.
- You can cast parts with holes using cardboard tubes in their place, for example.
- If your inlet is lower than some parts of the cavity, you may need air escape channels for those going up.

I hope that helps someone! Not everything might work for you, but please try these tips before giving up on sand casting. It could be a great help.

[andypilgrim]

Once again fantastic Instruction & explanations. Old Gold - All kinds of gremlins live in there 🙂

[SoleilMagica]

I'm terrified of trying sand casting, so i stick to making everything by hand, but you make this look so easy!

[ignadesigns]

Thanks for another amazing video. it's always nice to see how others do it. those rings are fantastic! 😍

[pemcot]

Love the video's! I was wondering why you go to fabrication before casting? I'm from the US and all of the jeweler's I know tend to cast entirely.

[JustME-ftdi]

Wonderful as ever!

I’ve never seen anyone put the funnel hole in the middle like that. It looks like it works well.
You mention putting the hole ‘maybe 2 mm away’ - I can’t quite work out what that means. Where does the narrow point of the funnel sit in relation to the ring.
Thank you! I’m going

[theyakninja]

I had a similar problem with a customer's old gold, but it wouldn't just crack; it would crumble. One hit with a hammer after casting, and it crumbled into pieces. A couple more melts fixed this for some reason, though. Was it air porosity or some kind of funny inclusion that eventually burned away or dissolved into the flux? Who knows.

[petercadman]

It probably has added silica in it, great for casting but not good for manipulation

[vsvillian]

i just made a signet ring in 9k and it was a nightmare💀 i dont have any good tools to bend rings so i also went with the vice. amazing work!!🙏🏻

[flyingcheff]

Why wouldn't you consider
1) that it was a poor initial alloying (in the crucible) and reheat, recast the ingot?;
2) add fresh casting grain; and
3) anneal more frequently.

You know more than me, but I would suspect the metal immediately and test, reheat and add a bit of fresh. Even alloy up a bit.

How is recasting in sand superior to making a fresh ingot? This totally seems like suspect metal composition.

Please explain why these options were not considered. I'm confident there is an answer between your brilliant ears! There is an explanation via physics why sand casting was an improvement, I wanna know! Thank you, Jaco!

[flyingcheff]

Wait! I just re-watched. You called the customer before re-casting the ingot? Then annealing
What would calling the client do? Totally not being critical, 100% want to understand. Did you call the client because the labor cost went up to redo it? That would make sense....Thank you for indulging my questions.

[markrivers]

how about annealing the material ....maybe a few times!

[Gazz_R]

That was brilliant! Outstanding work as always and thanks for sharing. Take care guys and have a fantastic week.