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#1
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advice for resizing palladium wedding band
I ordered a 950 Pd wedding band from an online store. It's a little
tight, so I wanted to enlarge it a bit. I can send it back to the manufacturer, but it's a little inconvenient since it requires a week turnaround time. I called up a couple of local places to see if they could do the resizing, but they said they don't have the Pd material to do it. So I was wondering--what if I were downsizing the ring instead of enlarging it? Would the local places be able to do it then, since they are removing metal? How much would you expect it to cost to resize a ring that was not purchased at the same place? |
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#2
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advice for resizing palladium wedding band
On Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:43:26 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry Bucky
wrote: I ordered a 950 Pd wedding band from an online store. It's a little tight, so I wanted to enlarge it a bit. I can send it back to the manufacturer, but it's a little inconvenient since it requires a week turnaround time. I called up a couple of local places to see if they could do the resizing, but they said they don't have the Pd material to do it. So I was wondering--what if I were downsizing the ring instead of enlarging it? Would the local places be able to do it then, since they are removing metal? How much would you expect it to cost to resize a ring that was not purchased at the same place? Judging by your email address, I'm guessing you're in Madison Wisconsin, right? If so, I'm sure that one or another of the several custom jewelry stores downtown could do this is you take it in, in person. Don't bother with the mall stores unless you strike out elsewhere, but I'm pretty sure of a couple of the jewelers on State Street being decent enough jewelers to not be fazed by a new metal. Technically, if the stores you called don't work with palladium, AND if sizing the ring does need a piece added, then perhaps they are correct. The use of palladium in commercial jewelery is a fairly recent thing in terms of appearing widely on the market (though it's always been there, in occasional use), so it's true that many jewelers and repair shops may not yet have the metal in stock, and may not wish to order it for just one job. But you say this is a wedding band. If that's a plain design, not drilled and set with stones, and not tapered or otherwise weaker in one area than another, then standard ring stretching machines could make a typical band larger in a few minutes or less, including a bit of repolishing. Now, if it needs more than a slight increase, then it can take a little longer, mostly in the polishing operation. Even if set with stones, there are often ways to stretch a ring a little bit. More than a little risks making the metal thinner by a noticable amount, which is why classic ring sizing methods cut the ring and solder or weld in a piece of stock metal. But even that thins a band slightly, just from needing the clean up the joints and polish the ring afterward, so there's no real reason not to use a stretching method for a slight size increase, if the ring's design will tolerate it. If they don't have palladium, you might give them permission to use a bit of platinum. They might have to charge you a bit more, since that's a more costly metal. But the appearance will match fairly closely. Not perfect, but close. To solder seams in palladium, the classic solders used for platinum (not the new "plumb" platinum solders) , in the lower melting ranges like "1100" or "1300" solders, are mostly palladium in any case, and work fine for soldering palladium. So any shop that can size a platinum ring, should be able to also size a palladium ring. If you wish to make the ring smaller, again the first option for a plain band might be to shrink it, rather than cutting and soldering or welding the seam. The same machines that stretch plain wedding bands also can shrink them in size. The rings usually need slightly more polishing after this to remove the marks left by the shrinking die, but that's a minor difference. Shrinking is really more limited to the simple designs like the classic half round bands. Almost any detailed texture, for example, risks damage from the dies, though some, like the classic millgrain edged bands, often can be shrunk down in size a small amount without damage. Depends on the ring, and on the specific machine used. If it cannot be shrunk down, then as with soldering in a piece in enlarging a ring, a bit is cut out and the seam welded or soldered. As mentioned, traditional platinum solders are fine for this, with good color match and strength. If the shop has a laser welder, palladium welds fine if you have an inert gas shield (usually argon) available, but then they'd need some palladium filler wire for the welding operation. And you've always got the option of calling the merchant you bought it from and asking them how to proceed. That might be easy or hard, depending on the merchant... Let me know if I can be of further help. Peter Rowe Seattle now, but grew up and went to college in Madison... |
#3
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advice for resizing palladium wedding band
On Oct 30, 8:04 pm, "Peter W.. Rowe,"
wrote: Judging by your email address, I'm guessing you're in Madison Wisconsin, right? Used to be, but not anymore. =) Thanks for the detailed answer. My ring is a domed, comfort fit, and I need 1/4 to 1/2 size increase. How much of size change can these stretching/shrinking machines usually do? And would most jewelers have this machine? Because when I called a few places, they just said they don't resize palladium, they didn't mention the stretching machine option. |
#4
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advice for resizing palladium wedding band
On Wed, 31 Oct 2007 19:39:31 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry Bucky
wrote: On Oct 30, 8:04 pm, "Peter W.. Rowe," wrote: Judging by your email address, I'm guessing you're in Madison Wisconsin, right? Used to be, but not anymore. =) So you might then wish to change your email address to one that works... (an email reply to your post bounced.) Thanks for the detailed answer. My ring is a domed, comfort fit, and I need 1/4 to 1/2 size increase. How much of size change can these stretching/shrinking machines usually do? And would most jewelers have this machine? Because when I called a few places, they just said they don't resize palladium, they didn't mention the stretching machine option. If you specify palladium, they'll play it safe and say they don't. Just don't mention it, or say it's platinum. (correct that info when your at the shop) The trick is who you call. Many retail jewelry stores sell jewelry, but don't actually do work on the stuff in the shop. Most mall stores and many chain stores are like that. You need to find a store that has a workshop in the store where they can do things like sizing rings. Instead of asking them if they size palladium, just ask them if they have a ring stretcher for wedding bands. If they're not sure they can do it, tell them it does not need to be cut and have metal added, but can simply be stretched, same as a gold or platinum band. Tell them you've been told this by an expert goldsmith... Your main problem is getting past the smoke screen of the sales counter or phone help, to the person who actually knows how to run the stretcher. (It's simple. put the ring on the tapered spindle, pull the lever, and measure the ring size. repeat as needed till the ring is stretched up enough. Then buff it up. If you can't find someone local, and don't mind paying postage, contact me by email. Like I said, this is really simple to do. Peter |
#5
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advice for resizing palladium wedding band
Peter W.. Rowe, wrote:
On Wed, 31 Oct 2007 19:39:31 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry Bucky wrote: On Oct 30, 8:04 pm, "Peter W.. Rowe," wrote: Judging by your email address, I'm guessing you're in Madison Wisconsin, right? Used to be, but not anymore. =) So you might then wish to change your email address to one that works... (an email reply to your post bounced.) Thanks for the detailed answer. My ring is a domed, comfort fit, and I need 1/4 to 1/2 size increase. How much of size change can these stretching/shrinking machines usually do? And would most jewelers have this machine? Because when I called a few places, they just said they don't resize palladium, they didn't mention the stretching machine option. If you specify palladium, they'll play it safe and say they don't. Just don't mention it, or say it's platinum. (correct that info when your at the shop) The trick is who you call. Many retail jewelry stores sell jewelry, but don't actually do work on the stuff in the shop. Most mall stores and many chain stores are like that. You need to find a store that has a workshop in the store where they can do things like sizing rings. Instead of asking them if they size palladium, just ask them if they have a ring stretcher for wedding bands. If they're not sure they can do it, tell them it does not need to be cut and have metal added, but can simply be stretched, same as a gold or platinum band. Tell them you've been told this by an expert goldsmith... Your main problem is getting past the smoke screen of the sales counter or phone help, to the person who actually knows how to run the stretcher. (It's simple. put the ring on the tapered spindle, pull the lever, and measure the ring size. repeat as needed till the ring is stretched up enough. Then buff it up. If you can't find someone local, and don't mind paying postage, contact me by email. Like I said, this is really simple to do. Peter Like the man said. It's simple. As long as the ring is well annealed. -- Abrasha http://www.abrasha.com |
#6
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advice for resizing palladium wedding band
In rec.crafts.jewelry almost on Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:04:50 -0700 a
smoke signal from "Peter W.. Rowe," rang out, which was heard to say : On Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:43:26 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry Bucky wrote: I ordered a 950 Pd wedding band from an online store. It's a little tight, so I wanted to enlarge it a bit. I can send it back to the manufacturer, but it's a little inconvenient since it requires a week turnaround time. I called up a couple of local places to see if they could do the resizing, but they said they don't have the Pd material to do it. So I was wondering--what if I were downsizing the ring instead of enlarging it? Would the local places be able to do it then, since they are removing metal? How much would you expect it to cost to resize a ring that was not purchased at the same place? Judging by your email address, I'm guessing you're in Madison Wisconsin, right? If so, I'm sure that one or another of the several custom jewelry stores downtown could do this is you take it in, in person. Don't bother with the mall stores unless you strike out elsewhere, but I'm pretty sure of a couple of the jewelers on State Street being decent enough jewelers to not be fazed by a new metal. Technically, if the stores you called don't work with palladium, AND if sizing the ring does need a piece added, then perhaps they are correct. The use of palladium in commercial jewelery is a fairly recent thing in terms of appearing widely on the market (though it's always been there, in occasional use), so it's true that many jewelers and repair shops may not yet have the metal in stock, and may not wish to order it for just one job. But you say this is a wedding band. If that's a plain design, not drilled and set with stones, and not tapered or otherwise weaker in one area than another, then standard ring stretching machines could make a typical band larger in a few minutes or less, including a bit of repolishing. Now, if it needs more than a slight increase, then it can take a little longer, mostly in the polishing operation. Even if set with stones, there are often ways to stretch a ring a little bit. More than a little risks making the metal thinner by a noticable amount, which is why classic ring sizing methods cut the ring and solder or weld in a piece of stock metal. But even that thins a band slightly, just from needing the clean up the joints and polish the ring afterward, so there's no real reason not to use a stretching method for a slight size increase, if the ring's design will tolerate it. If they don't have palladium, you might give them permission to use a bit of platinum. They might have to charge you a bit more, since that's a more costly metal. But the appearance will match fairly closely. Not perfect, but close. To solder seams in palladium, the classic solders used for platinum (not the new "plumb" platinum solders) , in the lower melting ranges like "1100" or "1300" solders, are mostly palladium in any case, and work fine for soldering palladium. So any shop that can size a platinum ring, should be able to also size a palladium ring. If you wish to make the ring smaller, again the first option for a plain band might be to shrink it, rather than cutting and soldering or welding the seam. The same machines that stretch plain wedding bands also can shrink them in size. The rings usually need slightly more polishing after this to remove the marks left by the shrinking die, but that's a minor difference. Shrinking is really more limited to the simple designs like the classic half round bands. Almost any detailed texture, for example, risks damage from the dies, though some, like the classic millgrain edged bands, often can be shrunk down in size a small amount without damage. Depends on the ring, and on the specific machine used. If it cannot be shrunk down, then as with soldering in a piece in enlarging a ring, a bit is cut out and the seam welded or soldered. As mentioned, traditional platinum solders are fine for this, with good color match and strength. If the shop has a laser welder, palladium welds fine if you have an inert gas shield (usually argon) available, but then they'd need some palladium filler wire for the welding operation. And you've always got the option of calling the merchant you bought it from and asking them how to proceed. That might be easy or hard, depending on the merchant... Let me know if I can be of further help. Peter Rowe Seattle now, but grew up and went to college in Madison... Whew! Hey OP, lose a few pounds. Cheaper and easier. My 2¢ |
#7
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advice for resizing palladium wedding band
On Thu, 01 Nov 2007 08:57:59 -0700, Frosty wrote:
Whew! Hey OP, lose a few pounds. Cheaper and easier. My 2¢ Hey, losing weight other places doesn't necessarily affect your hands. Or the other way around. My left ring finger has gone back down to the original 3.5 from 5* in the last year (no use measuring the right ring finger, too much arthritis and gout) and I still weigh 338. When I put jewelry on, I spend 10 minutes sometimes trying to find a ring that matches what I'm wearing and will fit on a finger. *I gained about 200 pounds during the two long hospitalizations and my ring fingers went up to 5. -- Marilee J. Layman http://mjlayman.livejournal.com |
#8
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advice for resizing palladium wedding band
Hi,
I have repairing jewelry for more than 25 years and I vote defenitally for streaching rather than extentionning with a stock material,especially these days high quality (sound like) finnish maybe constructed from seemlase tube with cnc machines, those one can tolarate lots of stress by streaching, 950 Palladium is soft anyways. George. "Abrasha" wrote in message ... Peter W.. Rowe, wrote: On Wed, 31 Oct 2007 19:39:31 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry Bucky wrote: On Oct 30, 8:04 pm, "Peter W.. Rowe," wrote: Judging by your email address, I'm guessing you're in Madison Wisconsin, right? Used to be, but not anymore. =) So you might then wish to change your email address to one that works... (an email reply to your post bounced.) Thanks for the detailed answer. My ring is a domed, comfort fit, and I need 1/4 to 1/2 size increase. How much of size change can these stretching/shrinking machines usually do? And would most jewelers have this machine? Because when I called a few places, they just said they don't resize palladium, they didn't mention the stretching machine option. If you specify palladium, they'll play it safe and say they don't. Just don't mention it, or say it's platinum. (correct that info when your at the shop) The trick is who you call. Many retail jewelry stores sell jewelry, but don't actually do work on the stuff in the shop. Most mall stores and many chain stores are like that. You need to find a store that has a workshop in the store where they can do things like sizing rings. Instead of asking them if they size palladium, just ask them if they have a ring stretcher for wedding bands. If they're not sure they can do it, tell them it does not need to be cut and have metal added, but can simply be stretched, same as a gold or platinum band. Tell them you've been told this by an expert goldsmith... Your main problem is getting past the smoke screen of the sales counter or phone help, to the person who actually knows how to run the stretcher. (It's simple. put the ring on the tapered spindle, pull the lever, and measure the ring size. repeat as needed till the ring is stretched up enough. Then buff it up. If you can't find someone local, and don't mind paying postage, contact me by email. Like I said, this is really simple to do. Peter Like the man said. It's simple. As long as the ring is well annealed. -- Abrasha http://www.abrasha.com |
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