Casting White gold question

Get thee to one of the Yahoo "castinghobby" groups . I think there is one oriented towards what you're doing . I'm into lost foam aluminum castings right now myself ... But from my limited (very !) casting , it appears you have the experience and equipment , worst that can happen is you'll get to melt it down and try again ...

Having refined gold for many years, the worst thing that can happen is that the alloy is ruined in melting, yielding castings with porosity. An oxidizing flame should be avoided.
Casting white gold when it is alloyed with nickel can be difficult, so careful heating is in order. If the gold is not new, you risk including silver with the alloy, which will not be in your best interest. Make certain that no solder is included in the melt if at all possible. That can be a source of silver.
For those that think white gold is white because it contains silver-----that is not the case. Gold alloyed with silver yields green gold, not white. White gold is an alloy of gold and either nickel or palladium. Nickel is most common.
Harold

I'll stick with aluminum ... Harold obviously knows a lot more than I about precious metals .

Hi Harold,
I've got about 2.5 oz of dental gold laying around. Is it worth anything?
Tommy

snip-- Heh! It sure can be. Dental gold, assuming that's what you have, is not only high in gold (you can safely assume 16 karat in most cases), but is also alloyed with palladium and platinum. All depends on the nature of the gold (how it was used in the mouth can make a difference in the alloy. There are many dental alloys, not just a few), and when it was put in service.
When gold hit over $800 back in '80, many of the providers of alloys introduced low gold content materials to curb the cost. Therefore there's no guarantee that what you have will be of high value, but know that of all the scrap varieties out there, aside from gold coinage, nothing yields greater values than dental scrap. It was a favorite of mine, and a wonderful source of the platinum metals.
You might try to determine the specific gravity of the material you have. If it's high in gold, it will show by it's weight. Both platinum and gold are exceedingly heavy, gold about 50% heavier than lead, and platinum about 10% heavier than gold. Dental gold of high gold content, therefore, is generally unusually heavy.
If you had the desire, I could instruct you on processing them, but it's rather involved for a guy that doesn't understand refining, and requires nitric acid, which borders on the impossible to buy these days.
Ask if you're interested.
Harold

I'd not be interested in any processing but I can get any chemistry I want from a cousin in the business. I was wondering if I should sell it now. It is very old, probably from the '40s. Where would I sell it?

Greetings Harold, Thanks for the reply and the advice. I will be using white gold casting grain. So it will be new. I know about using old stuff and porosity. Snag, I will check the yahoo groups, thanks. Lost foam casting has interested me for a while. Are you doing this at home? Having much success? I have looked into having some stuff cast using lost foam because of the potential for good surface finish on the parts. Is this your experience? Cheers, Eric

I'm doing it in my back yard , and I'm a rank newby . If I took the time to properly finish a foam core , I'd get a lot better surface finish . That involves painting a film of thinned drywall mud on , letting it dry thouroughly , times three ... I get impatient , bury the bare foam in sand . And the finish shows it . I'm machining most of them , so it's not always important . If you get on the group I'm on ( ) I have some pics of the two castings I've made so far in the "Snag's Castings" photo album .

Thanks Snag. I'll take a look at what you've done. Eric

snip- Indications are guys are getting greater than real value from sales off ebay. It would help for me to see what you have, so I could give you better advice. If you'd like to send me a picture, my address is correct.
I co-moderate a forum for precious metal refining. If nothing else, you could offer it there. Many of these guys are willing to buy, but at a price that permits them to refine the material. Don't expect full value unless you can swing an ebay deal. You may be pleasantly surprised at the selling price.
If you take it to any of the typical gold buyers that advertise, you're likely to be paid substantially under value.
Harold

Thanks, I will attempt to remember where I put all my jewelry making stuff and photo and weigh the gold. It will never be used for a project as I had imagined, sadly.