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Mercury Amalgam Gilding



 
 
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  #11  
Old October 30th 03, 04:09 PM
m
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BBrown1382 wrote:
Don Wagner wrote:

Another little project that I always wanted to pursue...



Since the hazards of mercury amalgam gilding have already been hit upon, I
thought I'd provide just a bit more historic perspective on the process. The
technique has been used in the west for over 2000 years (Pliny described the
technique in the 1st c. AD) and was extremely popular during the middle ages.
Folks who didn't want to (or couldn't afford to) shell out for expensive and
scarce gold could often afford gilding, which used a comparatively minute
amount of the precious metal. Many items would have been prohibitively
expensive or structually unsound if made with gold, but the patron wanted the
richness of the finish. Numerous gilded copper alloy and silver artifacts still
exist (jewelry, church trappings, statuary, etc) and are available for study.
The remark was made that the process has a distinctive look that modern
techniques don't replicate, and I totally concur. However, our predecessors
understood the serious dangers of the process, and some of the first medieval
guilds were established by gilders (allied terms being gylde, gild,
guild...golden) in order to protect the secrets of the process, and to care for
the families of the craftsmen who almost invariably died prematurely from the
effects of mercury poisoning. The decorative effect of mercury gilding is
unique and beautiful, but not worth the considerable risk.


Yes. During the 19th century the most notorious of the mercury damaged
were the hatters, who used it in working felt. Hence Carrol's Mad
Hatter in Alice.

Kids used to bring it to school when I was young, roll it around
in their hands, and coat coins with it. I was lucky enough to
be warned against the practice. I always wondered how much damage
they sustained over the years. Are some thermometers
still filled with it, or has it been regulated?

--
Cheers, m at http://www.mbstevens.com
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  #12  
Old October 31st 03, 02:54 AM
Abrasha
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m wrote:

Yes. During the 19th century the most notorious of the mercury damaged
were the hatters, who used it in working felt. Hence Carrol's Mad
Hatter in Alice.




Reread my original post.

Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com
  #13  
Old October 31st 03, 02:54 AM
Kaytee
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In article , m
writes:

Are some thermometers
still filled with it, or has it been regulated?


Very few still use mercury-- some special application types
(science/engineering), some "vintage" ones are still available, but generally,
John Q. Public doesn't have access to them.
Kaytee
"Simplexities" on
www.eclecticbeadery.com
http://www.rubylane.com/shops/simplexities

  #14  
Old October 31st 03, 02:54 AM
Don Thompson
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Seems to me that with modern knowledge about the hazards of Hg and how to
ameliorate or even alleviate those hazards then someone who wishes to do
Amalgam Gilding should just go ahead and do it. Taking proper precautions of
course. I seem to recall viewing a web page where the author had either done
just that or had written up the article covering an artist who did.

Hmmmm. Yes.

Here it is: http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nena...ilding-9-3.htm

--


Don Thompson

Ex ROMAD


"m" wrote in message
...
BBrown1382 wrote:
Don Wagner wrote:

Another little project that I always wanted to pursue...



Since the hazards of mercury amalgam gilding have already been hit upon,

I
thought I'd provide just a bit more historic perspective on the process.

The
technique has been used in the west for over 2000 years (Pliny described

the
technique in the 1st c. AD) and was extremely popular during the middle

ages.
Folks who didn't want to (or couldn't afford to) shell out for expensive

and
scarce gold could often afford gilding, which used a comparatively

minute
amount of the precious metal. Many items would have been prohibitively
expensive or structually unsound if made with gold, but the patron

wanted the
richness of the finish. Numerous gilded copper alloy and silver

artifacts still
exist (jewelry, church trappings, statuary, etc) and are available for

study.
The remark was made that the process has a distinctive look that modern
techniques don't replicate, and I totally concur. However, our

predecessors
understood the serious dangers of the process, and some of the first

medieval
guilds were established by gilders (allied terms being gylde, gild,
guild...golden) in order to protect the secrets of the process, and to

care for
the families of the craftsmen who almost invariably died prematurely

from the
effects of mercury poisoning. The decorative effect of mercury gilding

is
unique and beautiful, but not worth the considerable risk.


Yes. During the 19th century the most notorious of the mercury damaged
were the hatters, who used it in working felt. Hence Carrol's Mad
Hatter in Alice.

Kids used to bring it to school when I was young, roll it around
in their hands, and coat coins with it. I was lucky enough to
be warned against the practice. I always wondered how much damage
they sustained over the years. Are some thermometers
still filled with it, or has it been regulated?

--
Cheers, m at http://www.mbstevens.com


  #15  
Old October 31st 03, 07:31 AM
m
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Don Thompson wrote:
Seems to me that with modern knowledge about the hazards of Hg and how to
ameliorate or even alleviate those hazards then someone who wishes to do
Amalgam Gilding should just go ahead and do it. Taking proper precautions of
course. I seem to recall viewing a web page where the author had either done
just that or had written up the article covering an artist who did.

Hmmmm. Yes.

Here it is: http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nena...ilding-9-3.htm


Also p.666 (!) ff in Untracht's "Jewelry Concepts and Technology"
He claims that "by taking teh appropriate precautions, craftspersons
can completely eliminate any chance of mercuric poisoning."

Think I'll stick with electroplating, though.


--
Cheers, m at http://www.mbstevens.com
  #16  
Old October 31st 03, 07:31 AM
Mike72903
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One can still buy mercury in glass thermometers from a wide variety of
scientific and metrological sources (coleparmer.com) . I purchase them by the
dozens from the manufacturer in my job as a metrologist (calibration). We also
purchase special clean up kits to keep on hand when one is broken. Mercury is
also available from sign supply houses. It's used in making neon and it's
danger is one of the reasons I gave up making neon as a hobby. The other was
the lethel voltages/currents used to process the tubes. Plus the constant
burns from heating the glass. ouch
  #17  
Old November 1st 03, 06:24 AM
Abrasha
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Posts: n/a
Default

Don Thompson wrote:

Seems to me that with modern knowledge about the hazards of Hg and how to
ameliorate or even alleviate those hazards then someone who wishes to do
Amalgam Gilding should just go ahead and do it. Taking proper precautions of
course. I seem to recall viewing a web page where the author had either done
just that or had written up the article covering an artist who did.

Hmmmm. Yes.

Here it is: http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nena...ilding-9-3.htm

--



Hey, that's Prof. Dr. Erhard Brepohl who wrote "The Theory and Practice of
Goldsmithing", back in the days when there was still an East and West Germany.
The original title is "Theorie und Praxis des Goldschmieds"

That's the book I (as well as everybody else in school) studied from at the
"Goldschmiedeschule" Pforzheim in Germany, long before it was translated by
Charles Lewton Brain and Tim Mc.Creight. AFAIAC the "Goldsmith's Bible".

The original German book was full of political references to the correctness of
the Socialist State and the decadence of the Capitalist State, which
unfortunately the translators were forced to leave out.

Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com
  #18  
Old November 1st 03, 06:24 AM
vj
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vj found this in rec.crafts.jewelry, from m
:

]Kids used to bring it to school when I was young, roll it around
]in their hands, and coat coins with it. I was lucky enough to
]be warned against the practice. I always wondered how much damage
]they sustained over the years.

if we were good, our dentist used to give it to us to play with, in
the 50s. to the best of my knowledge, i'm still "okay", but that's a
relative term. my father put a stop to the practice as soon as he
knew there might be a problem. of course, HE used carbon
tetrachloride to clean typewriter keys. that was common then, too.


-----------
@vicki [SnuggleWench]
(Books) http://www.booksnbytes.com
(Jewelry) http://www.vickijean.com
-----------
It's not what you take, when you leave this world behind you;
it's what you leave behind you when you go. -- Randy Travis
  #19  
Old November 1st 03, 06:25 AM
Marilee J. Layman
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On Fri, 31 Oct 2003 06:31:50 GMT, ojunk (Mike72903)
wrote:

One can still buy mercury in glass thermometers from a wide variety of
scientific and metrological sources (coleparmer.com) . I purchase them by the
dozens from the manufacturer in my job as a metrologist (calibration). We also
purchase special clean up kits to keep on hand when one is broken. Mercury is
also available from sign supply houses. It's used in making neon and it's
danger is one of the reasons I gave up making neon as a hobby. The other was
the lethel voltages/currents used to process the tubes. Plus the constant
burns from heating the glass. ouch


DC is expecting a million dollar bill for a mercury clean-up that
started out as a prank. A teacher was moving things from an old lab
to the new lab and didn't lock the doors as he went between, so a
student saw the mercury bottle and stole it. He didn't know what it
was. He played with it, other students threw it at each other, it was
hours before anybody who knew it was mercury found out what happened.
In the meantime, the entire school was contaminated, a Metro bus was
contaminated, and the home count stands at 11. Nobody was seriously
hurt. The Ballou students are attending school at non-school places
until the air report comes back on their school.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2003Oct28.html

--
Marilee J. Layman
Handmade Bali Sterling Beads at Wholesale
http://www.basicbali.com
  #20  
Old November 1st 03, 06:25 AM
BBrown1382
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Also p.666 (!) ff in Untracht's "Jewelry Concepts and Technology"
He claims that "by taking teh appropriate precautions, craftspersons
can completely eliminate any chance of mercuric poisoning


Call me skeptical, but I think I'll pass. I do seem to recall hearing that some
old world gilding is still done in England by one or two firms, but the OHSA
and EPA regs here in the States make it a losing proposition. If one has access
to a good chemical hood and protective gear I guess it could be done.
However...
Brian Brown )
 




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