Thursday, December 20, 2007

Why not to cast Palladium with a torch

I shot this video when testing some pure palladium samples from different sources to see if one had more or less gas than another. The torch was a propane torch, the crucible was a fused silica that is typical for platinum work. This illustrates the exotic nature of palladfium beyond doubt. Palladium is the most exotic metal commonly used in fine jewelry.

I have this theory based on my experience and this video-The best way to get gas out of palladium alloys is to melt in a vacuum and allow to resolidify a at least twice.

3 comments:

Art Jeweller said...

Quite plainly, Friggin' BRILLIANT
Hans Meevis

billbrook said...

I've noticed that if you let the palladium solidify with a soft flame, the "spitting effect and porisity is greatly reduced. Anyone know why this is?

Daniel Ballard said...

I suspect the gas had already left the metal for the most part. The softer flame may have been a coincidence. Liquid palladium holds much more gas than solid, if a soft flame let it cool gradually, the gas venting would be more gentle as well I suspect.