10
votes
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How to create a metal ring?
What do you need?
You can make rings out of all metal that can be bent by hand and all that can be hammered into shape.
Wire comes in many sizes. Unless you have a hobby involving metal wire, you will ...
- 2,926
8
votes
Accepted
What type of glue will work well on wood and metal?
2-part epoxy is my usual recommendation when it comes to mating different kinds of materials together. That is usually one of the selling points.
I would caution with the use of Gorilla Glue for ...
- 11k
7
votes
How can I affix a ball bearing to a metal shaft without welding?
As much as I like the brazing answer, it's unfortunate that it won't work for your purposes.
A search using the terms "drilled steel ball" resulted in many returns for of threaded and non-threaded ...
- 7,231
7
votes
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Money clip rubber cement/hot glue?
I've glued strong magnets to various other things in an industrial context, and even fairly rigid substrates have a tendency to peal off the magnets.
Hot glue is good if it sticks well to both ...
- 6,544
7
votes
How can I force metal sheet to rust rapidly?
The corrugated certainly looks like galvanized steel where some galvanized has corroded. You need to remove the remaining zinc . Dissolving it with hydrochloridic / muriatic acid would be fast , 10% ...
- 1,245
7
votes
Restoring a wooden box with metal inlay
Thought it would be useful to show what I did and the results. So, in the end I:
Cleaned the metal corrosion off using vinegar. Initially with a cotton bud but then I switched to gently rubbing using ...
- 253
7
votes
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Beginner Question: How would I cut this shape out of 6061 Aluminum?
Don't overestimate the difficulty involved in filing aluminum. One can nearly sculpt aluminum into any shape in a very short time, using a sharp file and a file card. It is even practical to use only ...
- 7,231
6
votes
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Differences between silver jewelry alloys
Stainless steel ( assuming 316 ) is more corrosion resistant than silver and would not darken in air. Silver darkens with exposure to hydrogen sulfide ; yes I know there is "no" H2S around the home. ...
- 1,245
6
votes
Is there a tool that will make a rounded cut in flat metal wire?
As you're only working in thin aluminium, I suggest a gouge chisel. It will need sharpening fairly often (a diamond file is probably easiest) to go through easily but should do a good job. Use ...
- 6,544
6
votes
Accepted
Cheap metal discs?
I assume a hole in the middle doesn't matter.
Penny washers (also called mudguard washers, fender washers, or repair washers) are thick enough (often 1.2mm) and made of steel. The smaller sizes are ...
- 6,544
5
votes
Accepted
Is there a cheaper alternative to aluminum wire for armatures?
A couple of alternatives.
Firstly, cheap and cheerful, use metal clothes hangers (normally given free from the dry cleaners). However, this would only offer you a limited range of gauges.
Secondly, ...
- 1,338
5
votes
What's the best way to blacken metal jewellery to this quality?
A reverse image search suggests that the item of jewellery in that picture is plated in black gold; an alloy made of cobalt and gold. This might be ...difficult to do at home. Let's look at some ...
- 2,325
5
votes
Which steels are most suitable for knife making?
Looks like there was already an answer here, but there are a lot of variables not considered:
If you are going to send out your blades for heat-treatment, then any steel with medium carbide volume is ...
- 51
5
votes
Accepted
What safety precautions should I take when working with 316L/A4 steel?
Main precaution ; Do not touch it while it is hot. No vapors will come off the steel . What does A4 mean ? Your heating would be about right for forging. But for bending , try room temperature. It ...
- 1,245
5
votes
Accepted
What is a castable gold-coloured metal that is less expensive than gold?
There is no other easily available alloy than Copper based ones that are gold colored.
Brass is the most readily available that will have a gold color.
There is also a very wide variety of bronzes ...
- 256
5
votes
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How easy to cut a turn light?
Cutting out the truck and trees would be pretty straight forward. Just find equivalent vector art in whatever format your laser likes. Online trace and format transformation websites are available ...
- 3,235
5
votes
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What is the cheap (copper color) metal underneath items plated to look like silver?
It is indeed copper, but a cheap alloy instead of the chemically pure copper that's needed for high quality cables and circuit boards.
I cannot say exactly of which different metals it consists, but ...
Elmy♦
- 12.6k
5
votes
How to clean neodymium magnet spheres
I'm revising this answer after further research.
Considerations
Neodymium magnets are made from an alloy of neodymium and other metals. The magnets are typically plated with nickel. Pure ...
- 11.5k
5
votes
How can I force metal sheet to rust rapidly?
The least expensive method to rust a sheet of metal would be a light spray of salt water. Even ordinary water will rust steel if it's not particularly rust resistant. I've used 4130 chromoly steel ...
- 7,231
4
votes
How would I cut out lettering from a stamped piece of thick-sheet metal
A jewelers saw (also known as a piecing saw) should do the job these have very thin, fine toothed blades, almost a like a flattened wire which can handle very intricate cutting jobs.
Image from ...
- 1,979
4
votes
Is there a cheaper alternative to aluminum wire for armatures?
So I asked a Tinsmith friend and he suggested the followings:
Iron wire: it is cheap and has the big advantage that it can be fold at the same place several times without breaking. So you can reuse ...
- 1,205
4
votes
How to create a metal ring?
There are a few ways to make rings but they all suggest a tool budget. I consider copper your best alternative. It is malleable and soft, so you can hammer and bend. As Willeke said, it will ...
- 619
4
votes
Accepted
How to remove coating from metal ring?
Start with acetone (nail polish remover) and see if that does the trick. Agitating with a Q-tip can speed things along. It all depends on what the coating is, but acetone won't hurt the copper so it's ...
- 775
4
votes
How can I create a custom lamp shade frame?
What materials you use depends on the design of the lamp shade you want to make – is it a hanging ceiling lamp, a desk lamp, etc. How sturdy the frame needs to be depends on what material it is ...
- 41
4
votes
Accepted
What is the equivalent to niello for brass?
I think you will have to age the alloy first, and clean the higher areas afterwards.
For tarnishing, you can use Palmolive, or any kind of washing liquid that has sulphates in it.
Another, more ...
- 10.4k
4
votes
Money clip rubber cement/hot glue?
Those flexible sheet or strip magnets are made from magnetizable metal particles in a rubbery binder. The mixture is melted and extruded. After it's cooled down, it's magnetized.
Since the leather ...
- 11.5k
4
votes
Accepted
Durability concerns with damascus steel and rose gold ring
Former goldsmith here. I used to work with gold, a lot, but not so much with steel, and I never did damascus or mokume gane. From your question I'm guessing it may be the opposite for you ?
Before ...
- 156
4
votes
What is a castable gold-coloured metal that is less expensive than gold?
Maybe you could use epoxy resin instead of metal. It's not exactly cheap and you'd have to do some research as to which resin is best suited for your purpose (or suited at all), but there are tons of ...
Elmy♦
- 12.6k
4
votes
Is there a tool that will make a rounded cut in flat metal wire?
I think the best option are sheet metal cutting shears, either manually handled ones (like heavy duty scissors), or electrical ones (power tools), although the latter one seems a little overkill for ...
- 10.4k
4
votes
Accepted
Restoring a wooden box with metal inlay
Let me start with a disclaimer. If it was my box, I wouldn't try to restore it. There's a good chance of turning it into a mess. Right now, it shows the character of age. Trying to restore it ...
- 11.5k
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