Jewellery Making Tips – Soldering With Silver Solder
Soldering is the process of fusing or joining two or more metal items together using a flux and solder and incorporating heat as the catalyst. But before you can begin soldering, there are several things to be considered. The design itself must lend itself to soldering, the parts to be soldered must fit closely and the correct solder and flux need to be used.
There are four basic types of silver solder, classified according to their melting points – ex-easy, easy, medium and hard. An easy grade solder will melt at a lower temperature compared to hard grade solder. Solder has to conform to the same hallmarking standard as the metal being worked upon, so Stirling silver pieces will need to be soldered using silver solder. The first thing to do before beginning to apply any heat to the piece is to ensure that it is thoroughly cleaned. The piece can then be annealed, which is the initial softening of the silver to be joined. Only the area that is taking the solder needs this treatment. A blowtorch at a temperature of around 1200 degrees F will suffice and as the findings heat up they will change in colour to a dull pink.
Once this process has been carried out you can then apply the flux. This is a chemical cleaning agent that cleans the silver findings and the solder of any remaining oxide film and allows the solder to flow freely. The most effective flux is borax, which can be ground with a little water to form a paste that is then directly applied to the piece you are soldering. Check that there are no visible gaps between the two pieces of metal that you want to solder. As solder has a capillary action when liquid, any gaps between the two surfaces will allow the solder to run down one side of the seam and leave a messy finish.
Once the joint is coated on both faces with flux, you can then apply the flame to heat the item. A mixture of gas and compressed air is generally the best combination for torch soldering, as fine adjustments of the flame size and temperature are more easily obtainable. The flame shouldn’t rest over one area but be moved constantly to prevent damaging the surfaces of the piece. If you have preplaced your solder at the joint seam prior to heating, once the correct temperature is reached the solder should flow into the joint. The alternative is to feed the tip of the solder (if it is in wire form) onto the joint where it should melt on contact and again flow into the seam.
Any flux residue can be removed by soaking the piece in hot water. If you find it difficult to remove the residue, soaking the piece in a solution of 5-10% sulphuric acid for a few minutes and then rinsing in hot water should remove any last traces. Do take into account any precious or semi-precious stones that are incorporated into the piece, as the acid (even at low concentrations) may affect the surface of the gem.
As with all hobbies that include the use of heat, make sure that your work surface is suitably protected and that you consider all safety issues before beginning your work.
Adam Hunter – E-commerce Marketing Manager of cooksongold.com. Cookson Precious Metals offer a choice of jewellery making supplies from over 10,000 products including gold and silver solder, tools, precious metal clay and gold and silver sheet – gold, silver, platinum and palladium. Contacts: Adam Hunter E-commerce Marketing Manager Tel(DDI): +44 (0) 121 212 6491 E-mail: adam.hunter@cooksongold.com
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Basic soldering how to video
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You don’t need rosin core solder – I’ve done tons of electronic work with silver bearing solder, and it works just as well.
Can you do a video on Soldering a board? I’m learning to modify my electronics and can’t find any classes in my area..
This is just brilliant. I used to hate soldering but now i love it thanks to this guide.
Nice freaking vid!!! Thanks for taking the time to explain ur reason why on everything! Awesome!!
This was better then half the shit they have on youtube..
Can you saw-der aloo-minum.
All the other bullshit tried to look professional, your vid is simple, easy, straightforward and you use regular words with a good speech.
No comment on this vid, absolutely great! thanks
AWESOME video man really helped me i used to do it wrong but not anymore thanks to you!
I’m just getting into soldering for small electronic projects for my daughter and I to do. This was very informative and helpful, thank you so much for posting. This cleared up nearly all the questions I had.
nice and informative video, can you please demonstrate soldering on a motherboard. bridging connections etc.
anybody know how I would go about desoldering a wire splice like at the 3:50 mark? it’s attached to a component so i can’t really cut it.
“I just FLICK it like that”,i get my toddlers to do that bit.LMFAO!
I ‘ve been doing this kind of work for 30 years and I can still solder like its nobody’s business. I used to be able to solder a PCB and make it look like it was wave soldered.
wow this guy is really nice not only did he take the time to make a well done youtube video about soldering but he also helps in the comments
very nice demo…good vid
what about joints like i wont to make a pop pop boat and i have to solder allkinds of stuff on it but idk how
yup… lets flick it all over your face and your trousers and then burn through the table… i suggest getting some soldering sponge or a brass scrubber
when cutting bith ff the spool of slder you get leftovers of solder that is just too small to use (unless you use pliers) i think it is best to unwind some solder and hold that without cutting it
its pronounced (soul-der)jk
a w e s o m e
I was going to solder wires to circuit boards, what do you recommend I buy? I have never soldered in my life so I’m totally new to all this. Thanks!
Thank you!
This pretty much explains why I cant get a single tone out of my electric guitar
great video, THANKS!
This guy has perfect SAWDERING voice
Awesome tutorial man. Very logical, and very informative. I got frustrated, and was trying to rush through my job. If I had watched this video first, it would have gone much more smoothly. I’ll likely use your techniques in the future