george wilson
10-15-2010, 7:26 PM
Some have asked to see the gold heart and earrings that were made in the die.
As I mentioned,these are 22 karat gold. I coined them in a 50 ton press I made from a 50 ton bottle jack in a powerful steel framework. That jack can bend the 3" thick steel top! So,I keep a piece of precision ground steel on top of it. When the top bows 1/32",I let the pressure off. Any more bow than that may set a permanent bow into the top.
I also made a "inflated" heart die from polished brass. This is placed behind the heart,and pressed into a nylon block to puff up the flat heart.
The recipient's initials are hand engraved into the center of the pieces. I got the Master Engraver to engrave the monogram,though. Too nervous to put a chisel on the expensive gold!!
As I mentioned,these are 22 karat gold. I coined them in a 50 ton press I made from a 50 ton bottle jack in a powerful steel framework. That jack can bend the 3" thick steel top! So,I keep a piece of precision ground steel on top of it. When the top bows 1/32",I let the pressure off. Any more bow than that may set a permanent bow into the top.
I also made a "inflated" heart die from polished brass. This is placed behind the heart,and pressed into a nylon block to puff up the flat heart.
The recipient's initials are hand engraved into the center of the pieces. I got the Master Engraver to engrave the monogram,though. Too nervous to put a chisel on the expensive gold!!