The Metal Basics: Which Metal will rust first?
Positive thinking, a factor that keeps me going... What will happen when the positive 'fire' in me dies off one day and what is left are nothing but black ashes? Being positive, I hope that this day would never come though i know it bound to happen someday... It's just like how various kind of Metal would rust first, under different circumstances - It's only a matter of time.
- Rust - normally used for iron-based metals, the name for the familiar dusty or flaky red-brown iron oxide that slowly builds up on these metals.
On copper, bronze, or silver, we talk about “tarnish” if we are thinking about the degradation of the metal surface, or a "patina" if we are thinking about the pretty and sometimes artistic effects that tarnish can produce on the surface of these metals.
- Steel - large number of different metal alloys, containing mostly iron, a little carbon, and varying amounts of different other metals.
- Tungsten steel - very hard and strong for use in tools; your tools will rust quite badly if you leave them out in the weather for a few days.
- Stainless steel - resist rusting and other sorts of attack by chemicals in a wide range of situations, but it is quite soft.
Different steels are designed and made for different purposes. It is almost impossible to compare the rusting rate of "steel" with anything -- it depends what sort.
- Iron reacts very slowly with ordinary oxygen, but reaction is catalyzed by water, acid or salt.
- Copper hardly reacts with oxygen at all but does react quite slowly with carbon dioxide, water and oxygen to form a green tarnish. It reacts more quickly with salt spray and acid to form a different green tarnish.
- Silver does not tarnish at all in ordinary air but if it is used in the kitchen, it will rapidly forms a black tarnish when traces of gases produced during cooking are found.
- Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin and it reacts very slowly with ordinary oxygen to produce whitish tin oxide tarnish, or more rapidly in the various types of polluted air to form the same products as copper.
Final deal: Always play safe by choosing stainless steel as well as, keep them away from perfume water and oil traces.
Source: John Christie, Faculty, Dept. of Chemistry.
10:01 PM
Monday, October 1, 2007
The Jewelry Basics: Findings for a perfect piece of work
To catch up with the reality, i gave up my interest. To pursue the needs in reality, i put a pause to my real-life. Once in a while, i looked back and i asked: "Is it really worth my while for all these?", "Are these the things that i should sought after?", "Will all that I've done bring back what i really wanted?". I pondered and I wondered, but I shall strive and prove that... yes, it is worth it, and i'm on the right track. I've not given up my interest and love, postings will be done once researches have been done and found out. Do stay tune for more information...Findings help each piece hang correctly and should be the right size for your jewelry; if they are in proportion to the materials for your jewelry, they will help balance the overall design.
- JUMP RINGS are circular or oval metal rings that are not completely joined together. They come in a variety of sizes & thicknesses to suit all kinds of jewelry projects. Use them to link two findings together.
CLASPS usually consist of two pieces, attached to each end of the necklace or bracelet. They come in an assortment of designs, sizes & colors (including the screw clasps, spring rings, barrel clasps & S-clasps. You can also buy decorative two-part clasps that have preformed holes for more than one thread. Choose a style / design that suits your jewelry best.
HEAD PINS/T-PINS and EYE-PINS are wire pins that come in various lengths to link beads to each other or to a necklace / bracelet / earring chain. A headpin, which has a flat head at one end like a blunt dressmaker's pin, is particularly useful for making pendant drops and charms. Eye-pins have a preformed loop at one end and are most often used to link together beads or findings.
CULOTTE CRIMPS conceal & secure knots at both ends of a necklace / bracelet. They help make a finished jewelry polished. Culotte crimps come in different sizes to suit the thread you are using & in slightly different styles.
The most important findings are jump rings, calotte crimps, crimp beads, head / eye-pins, jeweler's wire, clasps, spacers & beadcaps. These may all sound rather strange to you now but by the time you have worked through jewelry projects, they will be much more familiar to you.
12:40 AM
