Briar Wedding ring.

[crusader]

I have been married for 27 yrs 11/30. My simple gold ring has shrunk () over time.
I recently had it cut off as I could not remove it any longer.

I am thinking of making a blasted briar ring and melting some of th gold and then filling the crags and filing it down to smooth. I can make the ring on my lathe, but not sure on the gold part.

Does anyone have a suggestion on the gold part?

@cosmicfolklore any suggestions?

 

[TheIronMonkey]

What if you ground the gold into powder, mixed it with epoxy, then filled the briar nooks and then filed/sanded smooth?

 

[B.Lew]

Paging @cosmicfolklore

 

[TheIronMonkey]

The heat required to melt the gold might not work with the briar. Another thought: pure gold is pretty soft. You might be able to gently tap it into the nooks. @cosmicfolklore would probably be better able to answer questions regarding working with metal.

 

[VDL_Piper]

What if you ground the gold into powder, mixed it with epoxy, then filled the briar nooks and then filed/sanded smooth?

I like this idea

 

[didimauw]

Michael damnit hurry up already!

 

[ThermionicScott]

Has anyone thought to reach out to @cosmicfolklore ?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

14k melts at 1550F. That would vaporize the briar. It is also not soft. 24k would be soft, but not soft enough to do what you describe.

Those Japanese repairs on ceramics using gold is made from an amalgam of gold dissolved into mercury. The amalgam is brushed on, and then heated till the mercury vaporizes. It has a very low vaporization point, somewhere under 400F… but, you will kill yourself working with mercury this way. It is VERY DANGEROUS!

I can only think of one way gold and briar could be combined with briar. Make a gold inlay ring, make the briar ring to the exact size of the inlay…. Break the briar and epoxy it back inside the inlay. But, I lack the skills to be exact cutting the briar to those specs.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

gold could also be electro-formed. This is gold dissolved into an acid, then using a current, it can be formed to stick to a metal based paint brushed onto the briar. This is a pretty cool process… but I just don’t have the equipment. I went to a seminar in Tucson, where I electroformed some bumblebees. It was a lot of fun.

 

[Ahi Ka]

gold could also be electro-formed. This is gold dissolved into an acid, then using a current, it can be formed to stick to a metal based paint brushed onto the briar. This is a pretty cool process… but I just don’t have the equipment. I went to a seminar in Tucson, where I electroformed some bumblebees. It was a lot of fun.

Reminds me of a couple of dunhill’s…

 

[RookieGuy80]

gold could also be electro-formed. This is gold dissolved into an acid, then using a current, it can be formed to stick to a metal based paint brushed onto the briar. This is a pretty cool process… but I just don’t have the equipment. I went to a seminar in Tucson, where I electroformed some bumblebees. It was a lot of fun.

Is what you're describing how gold plating is done?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Is what you're describing how gold plating is done?

Very similar, but plating uses a different mixture and system set up.

 

[Hillcrest]

Just my uninformed 2 cents but I suspect Briar wood would not hold up over time and use (unless you start with a Marxman 400 ) BUT they do make Briar wedding bands that are gold that emulate the intertwined leaves and flowers of the briar plant which will pay homage to both of your loves ... just a suggestion ... search Men's briar wedding band ...

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Just my uninformed 2 cents but I suspect Briar wood would not hold up over time and use (unless you start with a Marxman 400 ) BUT they do make Briar wedding bands that are gold that emulate the intertwined leaves and flowers of the briar plant which will pay homage to both of your loves ... just a suggestion ... search Men's briar wedding band ...

+1 and also, you may be able to size up briar on your lathe, but you can't size down. And, wedding rings typically get resized about half a dozen times in their lifetime. It seems like some rings I have seen at least a dozen times in a few years. Uggg!

 

[El Capitán]

I have no opinion on the matter other than to say Congratulations to you and your wife. My parents will have been married for 35 years next year. Magical nowadays in the age of divorce.

 

[Ahi Ka]

I made this for my wife’s 40th birthday this month. I agree that briar and gold look nice together

 

[bullet08]

Go the other way. Gold ring with briar veneer inlay.