just thought i'd share a few things here that i found really useful or have been reading latley.
http://www.thefintels.com/aer/homealuminumanodizing.htm really great tutorial on anodizing aluminum.
http://www.utahrockhounds.com/tooelegem/tips/saltcasting.html basic silver casting
http://technical-articles.hooverandstrong.com/wordpress/improving-your-silver-casting/ more siver casting and troubleshooting.
http://chemistry.about.com/od/jewelrychemistry/a/goldalloys.htm gold aloys and what they are composed of.
http://www.ganoksin.com/index.htm second best resource for on line turorials for jewelry stuffs
http://haroldstudio.blogspot.com/2