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Post by Donnie's Rocky Treasures on Dec 27, 2009 13:20:53 GMT -5
Had a request for this & this is what I came up with. The niobium was 20g, kind of hard to work with. Also, can someone tell me what this rock is, please!
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Post by Donnie's Rocky Treasures on Dec 27, 2009 13:23:31 GMT -5
another pic
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Post by Donnie's Rocky Treasures on Dec 27, 2009 13:24:28 GMT -5
last one
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Post by sitnwrap on Dec 27, 2009 23:03:15 GMT -5
The person who requested is sure to like it. What is niobium wire? I don't think I have ever heard of that.
I checked out your etsy shop and those crab claws are really cool.
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Post by superioragates on Dec 28, 2009 9:02:17 GMT -5
Very cool design, I really like it. I bet they will be very pleased with this! Marie
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Post by Donnie's Rocky Treasures on Dec 28, 2009 9:37:00 GMT -5
Niobium is a reactive metal. There is a bunch of info on the net if you are so inclined to look it up. Not the best for wrapping.Thanks for the compliment on the crab claws. Will be doing a necklace with lava & coral with the crab claw as the pendant. Should match pretty good! Here is a tidbit from The Ring Lord's website: Anodized niobium is strong, corrosion resistant and hypo-allergenic. The colors are beautifully vibrant. Before anodizing niobium is a dark silver/grey color. Our niobium has the same strength as our sterling silver. They are quite similar in terms of workability and quality and look good together. Niobium weighs about the same as most common chainmail materials - its 6% heavier than steel and 22% lighter than sterling silver. Anodizing niobium creates an oxide layer. The thickness of this layer creates the colors. The color will vary from batch to batch. The color will also vary and blend shades on individual wires and in batches of rings. For example peacock blue can have blue with hints of violet. You can always expect hints of the adjacent colors in niobium spectrum in the batches. This color variation in niobium should be considered a feature. It makes this material more beautiful. If you want consistant even colors you should consider enameled copper. The anodized layer has appropriate properties for jewelry, but it is not indestructible. It can wear off with rubbing against a harder material - care must be taken with pliers as well.
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Post by superioragates on Dec 28, 2009 9:40:28 GMT -5
So why is it not good for wire wrapping, is it the color wearing side of it? Or is it not malleable enough?
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Post by Donnie's Rocky Treasures on Dec 28, 2009 9:48:23 GMT -5
Well for one - it's not cheap! But then again, neither is gold or silver! The color can be scratched off if you nick it. I really didn't have a problem with that though. The main thing is that it was stiff, not very malleable. I wasn't able to find a softer gauge wire other than 20g. I mainly wanted to use it to make ear wires but because of the color requested to match the beads and stone I used the niobium.
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Post by superioragates on Dec 28, 2009 9:51:07 GMT -5
OK. I was just curios. I am also looking for something to work with that is naturally hypoallergenic, so many people are allergic to metals now days. Thanks for the infor on first hand experience with it! Marie
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Post by Donnie's Rocky Treasures on Dec 28, 2009 10:00:00 GMT -5
I wore a pair of earrings that I made using the niobium for the earwires and had absolutely not problem with them. Anything I ever wore that was silver or gold plated surgical steel made my ears itch and get sore, so it is a very good alternative. Donnie
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Post by sitnwrap on Dec 28, 2009 15:06:48 GMT -5
Donnie, thanks for all the great info.
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