Unusual job on the bench today

[ecain63]

Variomatic said:

Got the case back from Eddie today and I thought I was joking with the "supplied a new back" comment but now I'm not so sure! Won't post pics because that's up to the owner if he wants to but, yet again, Mr Cain has excelled :

Edited by Variomatic on Wednesday 30th September 20:19

Thanks mate. Happy to have been of service

I'll post up pics in a min.

[ecain63]

When the case back arrived the first thing to do was grind out the old engraving to reveal nice clean metal to solder on to. If we did not do this the solder would be contaminated by whatever dirt or other stuff had become embedded in the engraving:



The case back is then painted with a flux that lowers the melting temperature of the solder and also cleans the metal surface. In this case i used a flux called 'tenacity' which is normally only used for special items. The flux is heated to burn out any contaminants in the metal and to prepare it for the solder.



The solder is applied to the flux in small pieces so we don't flood or damage the original metal. Once all the areas of engraving are filled the case back is boiled in acid to remove the flux and any further contamination. This is the solder applied and cleaned:



The solder stands proud of the original metal so we now have to file it down and buff it to the same level as the case back. As the case back is thin from the start we have to be careful not to take more metal than we need. Buffed down to 400 grade:



A quick polish and a gilding in 22ct gilding salts, the case back is not only smooth and even, but also matches the aged appearance of the case body. We had no issues with warping either



Eddie

[ecain63]

No, 9ct gold solder and then 22ct gilding (not plate) to match the colour.

Approximately £50+ postage for the job

Edited by ecain63 on Thursday 1st October 09:00

[ecain63]

NeMiSiS said:

More magic from Eddie.

Have you noticed how Eddie spreads his knowledge freely, so many people like to keep their 'secrets' to themselves for prosperity....not Eddie.

Now then, I've got this Rolex with a 5 digit engraved number, I would like to change it, to my name maybe, like a private plate, or something, what da ya say ?

I would do it myself but I don't want to get my fingers burnt, so to speak.

Keep up the Magic.

Happy to do it for you so long as it doesn't affect your Rolex warranty (if that bothers you). You'd need to arrange the engraving yourself though as I don't venture into that side of things.

Thanks for the kind words,

Eddie

[ecain63]

NeMiSiS said:

ecain63 said:

Happy to do it for you so long as it doesn't affect your Rolex warranty (if that bothers you). You'd need to arrange the engraving yourself though as I don't venture into that side of things.

Thanks for the kind words,

Eddie

Sorry Eddie, I should have made the WINK smiley a bit bigger , I am joking about removing serial numbers from an imaginary Rolex, my humour rarely translates through text.

Ha! I did think it may have been a baited hook. Unfortunately i fell for it or did not see the joke. But now i do..... lmfao!

Eddie

[ecain63]

Evening all!

Well, I survived! So here is another 'interesting job'.

I was given the task of making a PH-ers wedding ring today. Usually blokes exhaust the wedding morale deciding what the missus wants but for a change we have somebody who wants something different to the usual "I'll just get something plain and cheap" approach. To add a twist of sentiment the customer had his mum send some of her own rings to be used in the ring. Spec: 5mm wide flat-court shape, in 9ct with a platinum centre section, size P.

As mentioned above, the customers mums 9ct gold rings:



Which are then lovingly torched!



Until well cooked:





And melted:





With the melted / mixed metals it was time to make some 5mm wide D-shaped wire:











Now we have the required profil we need to stamp the metal to show what the carat is and any other metals used:

375 is 9ct and plat is........



The metal is then cleaned and turned to make a rough ring shape, which is then soldered. We did have a couple of complications with this one as the metal mix had a very low melting temperature. As 9ct gold is only 37.5% gold we never fully know what the other 62.6% consists of. It could be anything, including brass, copper, tin, aluminium, platinum, silver etc. In other countries you may even get nickel mixed in. Different metal mixes will have different hardnesses and different melting points. Luckily we got away with it today.



Rough band made it is tidied up ready for phase 2:



Phase 2 involves the painstaking job of filing out the centre section to accept the platinum band.

First we cut the borders with a fine saw:



And then using a multitude of files and grinding tools the centre is remove:







An hour or so of graft later and the centre is ready. That grey metal you see above is platinum, ready to be rolled down:

And now it's rolled down:



The trick to getting the platinum band to fit nicely on the main band goes like this:

Main band made to the correct size (P)
Centre section filed out / profiled
Main band compressed down 3 sizes
Make platinum band just big enough to squeeze over the outside of main band
Place platinum band on main band and stretch main band back to correct size (P)
If done correctly the platinum band will be a tight fit in the centre section of main band.

So...... Main band squeezed down and plat band just big enough to go over it:



Plat band over main band and on stretching machine:



And stretched up:



We then remove excess metal and clean it up:







Give it a good polish and it's all done. Happy days!









Eddie

[ecain63]

Gingerbread Man said:

How did you go from the melted ball to the D shaped wire? I'm assuming a mould?

Rolling mill!

Roll down to make 4mm x 4mm square wire and then roll down in 5mm wide d-shaped roller. You have to heat the metal regularly to keep it soft enough to avoid cracking.

[ecain63]

Gingerbread Man said:

Ahh okay.

Resetting some stones as a wedding/ engagement/ all in one ring for the girlfriend soon from some family heirloom rings. They'll provide the diamonds but the setting is wanted in platium or similar over the current gold.
Best source of inspiration gained from browsing current ring designs?

If I was on the South East still, I'd drop in. Alas opportunity missed.

Depends on the stones. Any idea what cut they are? If you want a bespoke job then bear in mind somebody will have to sit down and make it. Simple is often best, especially if the stones are of varying cut etc.

Best places to look for inspiration are shop windows and magazines. Online too obviously. If you can use a pen or pencil then i always find it helpful when a customer can draw what they want rather than try to explain some elaborate design by way of mouth. Often customers come to me with no idea what they want which is of no help so go well armed when you get round to it.

Where in the UK are you now? We have the internet and postage these days. lol

Best of luck,

Eddie

[ecain63]

Gingerbread Man said:

ecain63 said:

Gingerbread Man said:

Ahh okay.

Resetting some stones as a wedding/ engagement/ all in one ring for the girlfriend soon from some family heirloom rings. They'll provide the diamonds but the setting is wanted in platium or similar over the current gold.
Best source of inspiration gained from browsing current ring designs?

If I was on the South East still, I'd drop in. Alas opportunity missed.

Depends on the stones. Any idea what cut they are? If you want a bespoke job then bear in mind somebody will have to sit down and make it. Simple is often best, especially if the stones are of varying cut etc.

Best places to look for inspiration are shop windows and magazines. Online too obviously. If you can use a pen or pencil then i always find it helpful when a customer can draw what they want rather than try to explain some elaborate design by way of mouth. Often customers come to me with no idea what they want which is of no help so go well armed when you get round to it.

Where in the UK are you now? We have the internet and postage these days. lol

Best of luck,

Eddie

Coffs Harbour, Australia.

Ha! Fair play. Happy to come to you,

Enjoy

[ecain63]

Really glad it ticks the boxes Ben. It was a pleasure to do something meaningful for a change. As I said in our emails, I don't always get to do jobs that have a special meaning. Usually it's claw work, sizing's and chain repairs. Anything more substantial is usually on behalf of another outlet so I play the middle man and don't get any of the customer feedback. I'm glad also that your mum had some input in proceedings too, it adds that little extra sentiment to an item that should last generations.

Anyway, best wishes for the future and keep in touch.

Eddie


For those who have expressed an interested in a possible project like that above please do send me an email and we can discuss the options.

[ecain63]

Dr G said:

I am determined turboslippers stole my idea

Somebody must pay me for the exclusive rights to this design before it gets out of hand All offers via usual means please

[ecain63]

Beachbum said:

ecain63 said:

Dr G said:

I am determined turboslippers stole my idea

Somebody must pay me for the exclusive rights to this design before it gets out of hand All offers via usual means please

Is there an IPA Tanker big enough

[ecain63]

Gingerbread Man said:

What is the most common metal you use for male wedding bands? Titanium and Tungsten seem to be in with a look as I work with my hands. Thoughts?

I've also seen some with a wood or carbon fibre inlay which I thought looked cool, but I'm not sure how polished it would remain. Would need to see hands on, might look naff.

Edited by Gingerbread Man on Saturday 14th November 01:58

We don't (and I don't know anyone who does) work with titanium or tungsten. These items are made by machine, usually in the far east and cannot be size adjusted. They are cheap and durable but that's all they are. Not special in my opinion. Many places sell them in the UK but they are all sourced from abroad. Im pretty sure a wood or carbon inlay is a pretty simple addition if made by machine.

Wood and carbon as a ring is a bit niche but it can be done. I'd imagine they'd be costly to work with as they both require a good number of hours labour to achieve a suitable finish. The biggest downside i can see is size adjustment. You could make the wood item larger by shaving the inside out of the ring but the carbon job would be as per the Ti and tungsten rings.

There are other metals out there and i've obviously spent a lot of time with silver, gold and platinum. I plate with gold gilding, silver plating, copper plating and rhodium plating (black and white) but did recently plate a ring with ruthenium. One other metal I won't touch is Palladium. It's utter st. Yes it may look like platinum, but it's light, too soft and is brittle when worked on. It also can't be plated so if we have to cut a palladium ring for sizing purposes the joint will always show.

So, in answer to your question: the most common metals for gents bands currently: 9ct yellow gold or platinum.

Blokes either want to spend nothing or everything. Very few men want the middle ground.

Eddie

[ecain63]

subsea99 said:

Hi Eddie,i have send Variomatic a pm regards servicing my late grandfathers watch its going to need some repairs to it from wear and tear,is that something you would be able to do,no rush for it.

And your work is amazing having just discovered you thread last night

Heres a pick of where its worn,its 9ct (375) marked,its on both sides where its worn

Thanks

Hi. Yeah, no worries working on that. So long as we can have the glass out the rest should be pretty straight forward. Just let me know when you want it doing,

Eddie

[ecain63]

jj2908 said:

Afternoon Edie. I'm about to send you an pvt message through this forum regarding some key chain fobs.....

Responding now

[ecain63]

subsea99 said:

That's great Eddie,yeah Joe said he would remove the glass and workings and just send you the case to repair.

Many thanks

Ross

Roger that!

[ecain63]

JakeT said:

What an absolute cracker of a thread. just read the entire thing and this is definitely a hidden gem (pardon the pun) on PH. Loved the entire read and seeing what sorts of craftsmanship goes into creating such fine jewellery. Also glad to hear you fked up cancer and even had a son in the meanwhile! Do keep it up and should I or anyone I know need anything I will be sure to point them your way.

Thanks for the kind words, glad you enjoyed it. Keep your eyes peeled for further updates

[ecain63]

Jayyy said:

Eddie, i've read various threads on PH that recommend your work in respect of engagement rings etc - are you still taking commissions and if so can i PM you?

Cheers

Jay

Hi Jay,

Yeah I sure am. Message me via PH email or [e-mail]

Eddie

[ecain63]

Ilovejapcrap said:

I'd love this as a job how do you get into it?

My father-in-law lured me out of the Marines in 2008. Since then i've been trapped in the workshop!

[ecain63]

vonuber said:

Excellent thread, shame it's hidden in the bowels of the watch forum.

No pun intended?