Metal Casting Zone Info Blog

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I have been doing a little research on what kind of burner to use and i really can’t deside. I will be mostly be melting aluminum but will do brass every now and then. What burner will best for me. Also i need to know mounting and building instructions.

I carved a bas relif wall plaque (about dinner-plate size, perhaps 1/2 inch thick, with some fine and deep details) and made a fairly heavyweight latex-and-gauze mold of it. Now I’m trying to figure out what medium to use in casting the final product to be hung on a wall. I’m still not sure if I want a stonelike or antiqued silver finish, but first I need to cast it. Does anyone know what would be hard and durable at the dimensions mentioned, as well as relatively-lightweight enough to hang on a wall, with a surface that can be given a faux-material finish? And something that can be cast at home, without specialized furnaces or anything…

There are many articles on precious metals on the web and some of them are quiet professional with a lot of details and data. I will try not to give you just another one. Here I will offer you a simple version and avoiding extensive technicality add my professional opinion on the best use of these metals in order to utilize their unique properties.

In this article we will focus on the most popular precious metals used for jewelry: gold, platinum and the fast growing in popularity palladium. Pure gold and platinum are soft metals which are extremely dense. pure gold is about two and half times heavier than iron and pure platinum is just under three times. While really bright in color pure metals are not suitable for fine jewelry because of their softness. Soft metals are easy to damage, difficult to polish, and unsuitable for detailed work. This is why they are mixed (alloyed) with other metals, in order to give them the desired properties. This is also where all this “carats” and confusing numbers come into play. In fact it is pretty simple. All pure metals in nature are white or gray in color except two, gold – bright yellow and copper- reddish pink. Now we go back to precious metals. All different colors of precious metals are achieved by mixing these colored metals with white ones.

Carat is a confusing name for purity or fineness of precious metals. It is confusing because the same word is used as a weight measurement for precious stones. That carat is equal to 0.2gr. and have nothing to do with metal fineness. To differentiate the one carat from the other, in some standards, weight carat is marked with ct and purity karat with kt or k. We can accept this rule to avoid confusion in further articles, therefore when we address metal purity we will use “karat”. Karat is used mainly to define purity of gold alloys. Different countries have different standards for gold purity and the most used globally alloys are: 9kt or 375, 10kt or 416, 14kt or 585, 18kt or 750, 21kt or 875 and 22 or 916. The alternative number which alone can be used as hallmark indicates the number of fine gold parts in the alloy out of 1000. The easy way to translate this into a manageable information is to perceive it as the percentage of fine gold used x10. For example 750 means 75% pure gold content or 18kt.

Platinum is used in almost pure form and 95% hallmarked 950 is a standard alloy. All alloys with pure platinum content of 95.0% or higher can be also marked with the full word “platinum” or “”plat.” Other used alloys are 900 (90%), 800 (80%) and 585(58.5) also called karat platinum. The amazing qualities of this amazing metal are better described in another article where I am comparing it with the white gold alternative.

Palladium 950 alloys are as white as the platinum, blending well with white diamonds and eliminating the need of rhodium plating. Palladium is a light metal with weight close to the one of sterling silver and much lighter than platinum and high carat gold alloys, thus making it the metal of choice for items like large earrings. At the time of writing, the price of 950 palladium alloys is about a third of the price of the 18k white gold offering great possibilities for large solid pieces at significantly reduced price. One disadvantage though is that quality casting of palladium requires materials and equipment, currently not viable for small workshops

The hallmarks you will usually find on your precious metal jewelry are:

1). Karat or fineness stamp (e.g. 18kt/ct or 750)

2) Manufacturer’s stamp

The karat stamp does not have much value without the manufacturers stamp because the declaration of purity is not signed. Beware; in most countries you can buy a karat stamp for few dollars.

Variety in gold colors and mechanical properties is achieved by alloying fine gold with one or more other metals. White gold for example is a gold alloy with whitening metals, usually palladium, nickel or silver or combination of them. Since the fine gold is always yellow, it is the alloy (base) metals that give the karat gold its color and properties. For example to be able to stamp an item as 18k it must content at least 75% of fine gold. The remaining 25 percent of alloy metals will determine its color and physical properties. If 8.4% of copper and 16.6% silver is used in the alloy, we will end up with the traditional rich 18k yellow gold color. If we mix the same amount of fine gold with 15 % of palladium and 10% of silver we will have good quality white gold. The constant content in 18k gold alloy is always 75% pure gold. Higher than 18k white gold alloys are not possible because the alloying metals are not in sufficient quantity to absorb the yellowness of the pure gold. 21k or 22k gold is always yellow, very yellow. The same principle applies for platinum and palladium, although these metals are used in much purer form (95% is a standard) and there is not detectible changes in color. The only changes there are in physical properties.

Now, with our newly acquired knowledge of precious metals we will probably arrive at the questions: What are the best alloys? What metal jewelry should I buy?

Different metals are good for different purposes. As a general rule (and if you can afford it) buy alloys with higher precious metal content. That applies mainly for gold, since platinum and palladium are used in almost pure form. 18kt gold or higher have distinctive gold color and real precious metal properties. My opinion is that alloys with less than 50% gold content (under 14k) should not be called gold, but gold brass or something else defining the inferior gold content. If you are looking for big bold and heavy pieces the best is to go for silver with gold accents or the very new precium (25%palladium and silver alloy developed by Handy & Hartman)which may be already on the market at the time you read this article. For your fine jewelry pieces choose 18k gold and platinum. 18k white gold can be used for heavier, thicker pieces while platinum is the best for delicate settings with a lot of detail. It does not make sense to set $10 000 diamond in white gold just to save $ 300-400 difference on platinum setting. Besides the aesthetical superiority, the security of platinum setting is immensely greater. When we come to earrings, especially large ones, choosing lighter alloys is essential. Palladium is the first choice followed by 14k white. For yellow, stick to 18k. You can never get the right color in lower karats. Then, your goldsmith’s ability to work light will come handy. Try to find the right craftsman. It is really making all the difference. The weight of the stud settings is rather small even in the case of large diamonds, thus making the platinum the obvious choice for white metal. The difference in price will be insignificant but the difference in strength and safety and quality – vast. Another advantage of the platinum studs – they could be made very delicate and retain their strength.

Nowadays, there are so many juice extractors for sale online and even in home stores. Hence, finding that one juice extractor that is right and certainly just the best for you is going to be really challenging. No doubt, you’ll need first to go through some juice extractor reviews or visit some home stores for possible buying hints before you finally make your selection for the right or the best juice extractor for you.

Click Here For Best Juice Extractor Best Deal Now!

Well this article is somehow like a juice extractor review, this can help you. This has described some really good juice extractors in details. One of them can be the right or the best juice extractor for you.

Breville Juice Fountain Elite 800JEXL

For many, Breville Juice Fountain Elite 800JEXL is indeed the best juice extractor. It has great features that include huge chute that can handle even entire fruit, powerful motor that makes extracting worthwhile and quick, and modern stainless exterior that assures durability.

Breville BJE200XL Compact Juice Fountain

Breville BJE200XL Compact Juice Fountain is the discounted version of Breville Juice Fountain Elite 800JEXL. It can be considered as the best juice extractor as well. It has features that are similar to Breville Juice Fountain Elite 800JEXL.

Hamilton Beach 67650H Big Mouth Pro Juice Extractor

So far, Hamilton Beach 67650H Big Mouth Pro Juice Extractor is considered as one of the top of the line juice extractors. It has extra large capacity feed chute that can handle any size of a fruit, strong die cast metal clips for professional style processing, and powerful motor for smooth and easy juice extraction.

When it comes to juice extractors, one company name prevails and that is Hamilton Beach. For some time now it has been providing the market so many juice extractors, not to mention that these juice extractors are of the highest possible quality. It’s quite tough to ascertain which actually is the best Hamilton Beach juice extractor right now, most especially that the company has been providing the market so many juice extractors that are just really awesome because of their highest possible quality. But there are models to choose from for the best Hamilton Beach Juice extractor.

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Hamilton Beach 67650H Big Mouth Pro Juice Extractor

Hamilton Beach 67650H Big Mouth Pro Juice Extractor is indeed one of the models to choose from for the best Hamilton Beach juice extractor. It is one of a kind and has awesome features that include large size chute that can handle whole size fruit, strong die cast metal clips for professional style processing, and powerful motor that assures heavy duty performance.

Hamilton Beach 932 Commercial Citrus Juicer

Hamilton Beach 932 Commercial Citrus Juicer is just worth mentioning, it’s one of the models to choose from for the best Hamilton Beach juice extractor. It is incredible and has really great features that include swing-out drip cup for small citrus fruits, commercial manual citrus juicer with rack-and-pinion gearing, and powerful motor that can perform for long hours.

Hamilton Beach 67600 Big Mouth Juice Extractor

Hamilton Beach 67600 Big Mouth Juice Extractor is just worth the consideration, it’s also one of the models to choose from for the best Hamilton Beach juice extractor. It is unique and has so pleasing features that include huge size food chute to handle any size of a fruit, useful cleaning brush for efficient cleaning and powerful motor that can withstand long hours of performance.

Polished silver is a shiny white gray metal that reminds one of
moonlight. Silver is a cool color. A silvery color resembling
reflective surfaces at night when moon beams hit them. The lake
at night for example.

The light that silver jewelry casts on the wearer is light
moonlight. Lighting her features softly. In a very flattering
light.

That said, silver can make a woman look her most beautiful.

Silver is a cool color. It enhances other cool colors
beautifully. Silver brings out the best in black, blue, pure
white and other true colors. If you look great in black, you
should have a jewelry wardrobe full of silver jewelry. At least
have a few pieces of sterling
silver jewelry as these will enhance practically anything
you wear.

If you look good in black, blue or fuschia outfits, you have
cool skin tones. You WILL look amazing in anything silver. Get a
selection of silver
outfits to suit the personality you want to project.

If you have cool skin tones, anything silvery would look good on
you. Decorate you home with silver accents as the silver would
subtly enhance your beauty in your home. Drive a silver car,
carry a silver bag. Basically surround yourself with silver
items or silver trimmed things for that cool, flattering light.

On the other hand, if you have warm skin tones, what do you do?
If you look great in earth tones, but terrible in black or blue,
chances are that you have warm skin tones. Gold jewelry would be a
better bet. You would look way better in gold accessories
instead. You are better off avoiding large, plain, purely silver
jewelry as these would probably clash with your coloring.

Still, even if you have warm skin tones, you can get away with
some types of silver jewelry. Just pick silver jewelry that is
intertwined with gold in the design. Or you could easily carry
off silver jewelry that is really small. In fact, you can look
fabulous wearing silver jewelry set with stones with warm earthy
colors. Try wearing your silver set with amber for example. Like
these silver and
amber necklaces. Wear silver if it is used to set something
in a warm color that flatters you.

While polished silver is a bright white, silver tarnishes
easily. With time, silver turns black. Constant polishing keeps
it white and shiny, but some pieces look better as they tarnish.
I used to make jewelry. some of the silver beads in my
collection have rather intricate designs. The etched parts
tarnish first, turning black, showing off the design
beautifully. Adding character to the bead. Those beads look best
when only the surface is polished. A thorough polishing so that
even the etched parts turn white would result in beautifully
white, shiny beads without much character.

Allowing your intricate silver jewelry to tarnish slightly gives
it more character. More so than keeping it perfectly polished at
all times.

Silver is an interesting metal used in jewelry making. Thanks to
its price, it is often used to set semi-precious stones and to
create more adventurous designs. The artisan can afford to take
more risks when working with less expensive materials than the
costlier ones. It is one of the basics you need in your jewelry
wardrobe