Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Shakethetrees · 29th November 2015, 04:33 PM

There's a lot of supposition re: this technique. One of the offsite posts got it right, though.

I think part of the problem is the use of translating software or not being fluent in the technical aspects of either or both languages.

Gold will NOT form a molecular bond with stone. And, for the purposes of this discussion, gold, if hammered onto another piece of gold of a similar karat, will not form a molecular bond between the two pieces. Any attachment would be purely mechanical. Think of two pieces of aluminum foil. Crumble them up together in a random, haphazard manner as when you're not thinking about it when you throw it away. The two pieces are pretty securely held together if squished together tightly. However if you very methodically, for whatever reason, decide you need to separate the two pieces, this can be done. Try it.

This is a mechanical bond. If a eutectic bond formed, there would be no separating the two.

A design is engraved into the hard stone object. The walls of the design are next undercut slightly.

The stones to be set must also have slightly sloping sides as all stones that are set have to have.

Gold, now cannot be "hyper purified". Period. Pure gold is 24 karat. There is no 24.5 or 25 karat.

Strips of 24 karat gold are drawn that have a rectangular cross section, the minor dimension should fill tightly the space between the precious stone and the matrix. The major dimension should stand proud approximately twice to three times the thickness of the minor dimension, leaving as small a gap where the two ends meet as possible. It is critical for these strips be annealed well. During the process used in the following paragraph the strips will become slightly springy due to work-hardening. The trick is to get everything in place as efficiently as possible and not to over work.

A steel chasing tool, which is similar to a small chisel but with a blunt rounded edge, is pressed to the gold and driven down with gentle blows of a light hammer. OR a tool known as a burnisher, which is a smooth, polished shape made from steel, agate, or haematite mounted securely in a wooden handle, is pressed forcibly downward causing the gold strip to deform and be forced to fill any undercuts and voids between the precious stone being inlaid and the design carved into the grip. The slight extra amount of gold that was left standing proud originally should roughly be figured to be slightly greater than the volume of the void. If during the process this is miscalculated, unless there's enough of an undercut, more gold cannot be just hammered on top of the gold in place to build it up. There has to be some undercuts to mechanically lock everything together.

One respondent mentions a eutectic bond forming without heat.

Nonsense.

Period.

Any bonding forming during this process is purely mechanical and can be easily undone with a pair of pliers, tweezers, or needles to remove the set stones.

With a bit of prep time and a clear schedule, this could be demonstrated.

29th November 2015, 04:33 PM	#22
Shakethetrees Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Louisiana Posts: 363	There's a lot of supposition re: this technique. One of the offsite posts got it right, though. I think part of the problem is the use of translating software or not being fluent in the technical aspects of either or both languages. Gold will NOT form a molecular bond with stone. And, for the purposes of this discussion, gold, if hammered onto another piece of gold of a similar karat, will not form a molecular bond between the two pieces. Any attachment would be purely mechanical. Think of two pieces of aluminum foil. Crumble them up together in a random, haphazard manner as when you're not thinking about it when you throw it away. The two pieces are pretty securely held together if squished together tightly. However if you very methodically, for whatever reason, decide you need to separate the two pieces, this can be done. Try it. This is a mechanical bond. If a eutectic bond formed, there would be no separating the two. A design is engraved into the hard stone object. The walls of the design are next undercut slightly. The stones to be set must also have slightly sloping sides as all stones that are set have to have. Gold, now cannot be "hyper purified". Period. Pure gold is 24 karat. There is no 24.5 or 25 karat. Strips of 24 karat gold are drawn that have a rectangular cross section, the minor dimension should fill tightly the space between the precious stone and the matrix. The major dimension should stand proud approximately twice to three times the thickness of the minor dimension, leaving as small a gap where the two ends meet as possible. It is critical for these strips be annealed well. During the process used in the following paragraph the strips will become slightly springy due to work-hardening. The trick is to get everything in place as efficiently as possible and not to over work. A steel chasing tool, which is similar to a small chisel but with a blunt rounded edge, is pressed to the gold and driven down with gentle blows of a light hammer. OR a tool known as a burnisher, which is a smooth, polished shape made from steel, agate, or haematite mounted securely in a wooden handle, is pressed forcibly downward causing the gold strip to deform and be forced to fill any undercuts and voids between the precious stone being inlaid and the design carved into the grip. The slight extra amount of gold that was left standing proud originally should roughly be figured to be slightly greater than the volume of the void. If during the process this is miscalculated, unless there's enough of an undercut, more gold cannot be just hammered on top of the gold in place to build it up. There has to be some undercuts to mechanically lock everything together. One respondent mentions a eutectic bond forming without heat. Nonsense. Period. Any bonding forming during this process is purely mechanical and can be easily undone with a pair of pliers, tweezers, or needles to remove the set stones. With a bit of prep time and a clear schedule, this could be demonstrated.