[Phil Coggan]

Hi Ron,
Red gold is very hard, it does tend to be a little softer the more copper content it has, but the more copper the pinkier it is.

It is inlayed as you would a piece of sheet except it relies on the undercut only to hold it in, if the bass is crosshatched as with say yellow gold, the red will just squash this down.

So, cut out say a flower, cut the same shape out in the steel, make sure the gold fits in snuggly, undercut the edges, tap around the edge of the gold with a steel punch, make sure the gold spreads into the undercut. If the gold is too thin, (this is for flush gold) after dressing down with wetordry it will 'spring' in the middle, so always make it a little thicker than you would with yellow.

Don't forget to anneal it before you start, heat it to red and dunk it in water.

Hope this helps.

Phil