Jewellery Making Supplies Blog

Annealing is the process of heating a metal before being worked on, through which this is softened and made pliable. This process will allow you to shape the metal into the jewellery piece you want. You might need to repeat the process in case your metal work-hardens.

When annealing your metal will turn into an obviously darkener colour follow by blackening, a chemical process known as oxidizing. The heating process has to be continued throughout oxidizing until it reaches a red colour. This is known as “quenching” the metal (cooling it) and the colour will last for a few moments until the metal relaxes.

It is not possible to predict the exact moment a metal needs annealing and you will only learn the difference between a soft and hard state through practice. There are however a few basic tips that can help you:

• Remove protective plastic before annealing. This can sometimes be kept when performing various piercing applications;
• Sheet: When buying sheet, always assume that it will need annealing;
• Wire: it will be easier to decide whether 1-mm round wire is soft, however less easy when working with a 5-mm wire therefore always anneal thicker wire;
• Note pure 999.9 silver and 24-carat gold do not oxidise as they are intrinsically soft. They will only need annealing if extensive work has been performed;
• Perform your annealing with a soft flame by gently pushing it up the length of the metal rather than waving it from side to side;
• Ensure your metal is completely dry after quenching. This is essential as you do not want to rust the tools you work with. Check that your tools have no marks as they can be passed on to your metal.

Annealing thin wire: wrap it into a coil and tuck both ends back into the coil. This will prevent it from springing apart when heated. Place your coil on a soldering block and heat it will a soft flame. Keep moving the torch up the metal to avoid melting the wire. Turn the metal with a pair of insulated tweezers and anneal the coil on the other side.

Annealing thick wire: unlike with thin wire, you will have to support your metal when heating it. Place the metal on the soldering block. Use a soft flame until it turns red then move along the wire to complete the process. Let the metal cool for a few seconds then quench in water. You can bend your wire to fit the pickle. Leave it until it has turned white. After removing it from the pickle, rinse and dry and you are ready to work!

Annealing  silver sheet

• Cover your silver with a protective non-oxidizing powder. Keep the powder away from your soldered joints to avoid making the solder run;
• Remove the plastic coating from your silver wire and rub dry paper over both sides of your silver to remove the silver shine;
• In a saucer, form a thick paste by mixing powder and methylated spirit or water. Add a little more spirit or water to make it easy to paint over both sides of your metal;
• Place silver on a soldering block and heat it with a large soft flame. Like with wire, use the torch on your sheet until it has turned red and then move along the surface to complete.
• After cooling the metal place it in warm pickle for 5-10 minutes. This will remove the protective powder.

Soldering is the process that most jewellers use to join pieces of metal together to form a permanent, invisible bond. Once mastered, it is one of the most satisfying jewellery techniques that you can learn. Soldering allows you to create professional, beautifully finished pieces of jewellery suitable for sale or simply for your own enjoyment.

Many people are nervous of soldering at first and choose to ‘cold fix’ their jewellery using pliers and wire. However, with a little practice and just a simple selection of inexpensive tools, soldering can become a very portable and versatile technique which can be incorporated into any workspace regardless of size.

For beginners and more advanced jewellers alike, here is a list of what should be found in your basic soldering tool kit:

1. Soldering Torch: There are torches available to suit all skill levels and to suit all types of work. For most beginners, a hand held butane torch will provide enough heat to complete most small scale jewellery jobs. For larger scale work and for silversmiths, a bigger flame will be needed for example, the Sievert Torch Kit.

2. Flux and brush: When metal is heated, a dirty oxide layer forms which, left untreated, will inhibit the flow of solder. To prevent this from happening, the pieces of metal to be joined must be cleaned. You do this firstly by degreasing using emery paper and secondly by applying flux. Flux seals the surface of the metal, creating an airtight layer, which in turn allows the solder to run.  (Note: Only apply flux where you want your solder to run). A range of fluxes are available to suit all requirements but if you are unsure, start with a borax dish and cone.

3. Solder: Although strictly a material not a tool, you cannot solder without it. Most jewellers use gold or silver solders which are sold in strips or panels in Hard, Medium, Easy or Extra Easy. This relates to the melting point. Hard has the highest melting point and is what you will use most of. Solder must be clean and cut into tiny pieces as required.

4. Shears: the variety of shears existent are used to cut your solder strip into small pieces or bending sheet metal and wire into shapes.

5. Heatproof Surface: Preparation is key when soldering and ensuring you have a safe, clean area to work is essential.  Most people like to create a designated soldering area using heat-resistant blocks which are usually made from charcoal, ceramic or asbestos substitute.

6. Reverse Action Tweezers: These tweezers are essential for holding and positioning work whilst soldering.

7. Precision and Plastic Tweezers: When flux is heated it bubbles and moves. Pieces of solder in turn jump and move out of position which can be immensely frustrating. Precision steel or titanium tweezers will allow you to accurately position solder and pieces of work ensuring successful soldering. Plastic or brass tweezers should be used to place and remove items from your pickle: anything containing steel will contaminate the pickle and produce copper plating all over your work.

8. Steel plate: A small steel plate or block is used after soldering is complete, to gently cool work down before cleaning.

9. Pickle: is a solution made from sulphuric acid, which is used warm or cold to remove the build up of oxide produced during soldering.  Pickle should be kept in a ceramic, glass or acid proof plastic container – NEVER STEEL!

10. Brass brush or pumice powder: After cleaning, jewellery will need to be rinsed and scrubbed to remove any traces of dirt. A small brass brush or toothbrush dipped in pumice powder will reveal a clean bright surface ready for polishing.

You will notice that many of these essential tools are for the preparation and cleaning processes, not the actual soldering itself, but all are of equal importance.  If you approach each stage in a measured and methodical way, you will be ensured some good results. And if, for some reason things don’t work first time, don’t be disheartened, clean your work thoroughly and start again.  Remember practice makes it perfect, so why not start today?! You will be enjoying the results in no time!

What other products do you use? Do you have any soldering advice for fellow jewellers?

THE JEWELLERY GUIDE

We’ve just launched the 32-page Jewellery Guide for those of you who are going back to work, starting work or just looking for new pieces to buy for your workshop!!  It contains the essential products to every jewellery maker’s workshop: machinery, clay, starter kits, books, chains and bullion are amongst the many products you will find in this useful catalogue.  Our Top 20 Essentials at discounted prices -UP TO 25% OFF – will most likely catch your eye too! It’s sure you’ll find something you love or need for you next piece!!

and the best part…COOKSON TECHNICAL INFORMATION BOOKLET

What makes this guide even better is the booklet inside, which you can download here or order for FREE here (where you get the whole mini catalogue for a change). The booklet includes useful data sheets and answers frequently asked question on various techniques like soldering and polishing. It provides you with the best hints &tips you’ll want to know before starting to make an art piece.

We’ve been in the jewellery industry for quite a while and now you can benefit from Cooksongold’s resourcefulness even further by login onto http://www.cooksongold.com/technical/. Here you’ll find the jargon used in the trade explained, even more data sheets and instant conversion calculations. Our knowledge base is easily accessible: you can search specific words and you  can almost instantly view “Hot topics”, “Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions” or “Latest articles” .

If you have a question that hasn’t been answered already (or to which you simply cannot find the answer) you can always opt for “ask a question” and you’ll quickly receive a personal response!

So what do you think of it? Have you used it already? If so, is there anything else you would’ve wanted to see in it?

If you’d like to make a comment about this article, or post a question please click here

Making jewellery doesn’t require a large space or big pieces of equipment or even furniture. A selection of key workshop pieces combined with basic hand tools provides everything for the first workshop. Cooksongold.com provides a full range of jewellery tools - everything from basic hand tools, pre-packed tool kits, consumables, larger machinery right through to the professional jewellers bench.

Your first workshop
Often the beginner or student will start making jewellery on ‘normal’ desk, worktop or even kitchen table!  Adapting the table can be easily be achieved by clamping a G clamp bench vice or anvil.  The jewellers peg/pin can then be held in place securely giving a simple, yet sturdy place to work.

Work Benches - Click here

The peg is perhaps the most vital part of any setup allowing the jeweller to work quickly and efficiently. This wedge or triangle of wood supports the piece, holding it in a notch or v shape insert. This holds the piece rigid, allowing the jeweller to saw, cut, & file. 

If adapting an existing desk, the desk should be elevated, so that the working area is at mid chest level when the jeweller is sat upright, thus allowing maximum control of your tools and metals.

Let there be light and ventilation

Although normal desks can be adapted, two factors must be in place when setting up your ‘bench’ – light and ventilation. The work area needs to well ventilated to ensure a safe working environment combined with good bright and direct lighting. Natural light can be complemented by adjustable lamps ensuring that no shadow falls over your piece from the jeweller or the equipment.

Workshop lighting - Click here

The professional jeweller’s bench

The traditional jeweller’s bench is a purposed designed and provides the perfect working area for any project. Often mistakenly seen as expensive luxury, a good bench will last you a lifetime and most importantly will help in improving your technique. Benches are higher than a normal desk (mid chest level if the jeweller is sitting uptight) ensuring that the jeweller does not stoop to work. Most benches have the semi circle cut out ensuring that you can sit close to the to the work, and with the aid of a bench skin collects scrap and protect the jeweller from hot or sharp objects.

Organising jewellery tools  

Keeping a workshop tidy, and the tools organised will help the jeweller when working, creating an efficient working environment. Both tools & materials should ideally be kept close to the bench, with the aim of trying to keep all materials within arms reach. Practically many of the basic jewellers tools will be actually left on the bench – Pliers, files, cutters, tweezers are used so often that they can be left on the work top for immediate access. 

As a large part of jewellery making involves heat often a section of the bench will be dedicated to the equipment needed for soldering. Often the soldering area will be based around the placement of a torch, with the soldering block placed alongside a borax cone and dish.

For other materials such as jewellery findings, settings, and metal, storage containers should be used. These ideally have sliding draws to allow you to split different carats, sizes or types of findings.

Storage - Click here

Once the workshop is established all that remains to be added is the essential basic selection of popular jewellery tools such as files, saw & saw blades, emery & polishing sticks, pliers, cutters, verneirs along with forming tools and heating/soldering equipment.

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Satisfactory soldered joints in precious metal articles must be strong yet unobtrusive. The basic principles of soldering practice must be applied to ensure strong consistent joints along with the following points:

(i) The design must lend itself to soldering.

(ii) The parts to be soldered must fit closely and accurately.

(iii) The correct solder and flux must be used.

Soldering

Gas and compressed air mixtures are generally the most satisfactory for torch soldering. Fine adjustment of flame size and temperature are possible.The flame should be kept constantly on the move over the whole joint area or over as wide an area as can be conveniently joined in a single application of solder.

Joint Preparation
The joint areas must be free form dirt and grease and ideally cleaned with a file or emery paper to ensure the solder will wet the parent metal. Flux should be applied to the joint area and solder prior to heating. Fluxes promote wetting of the workpiece by the molten solder. They do this by removing any oxide films present on both the parent metal and solder and prevent further formation of oxides during heating.The flux must be completely fluid and active before solder liquidation and should remain so until after the solder solidification. If the size of the joint or the duration of heating is large further flux additions may be made during the process. It must be noted that warming of the workpiece may be required to ensure full retention of the flux paste over the whole joint area. The torch should initially be held some distance from the workpiece so that the flame heats the work generally. If components of different size are being joined the torch should predominantly heat the heavier item.

Techniques

There are two general techniques used to apply solid solder: 

(i) Preplacement; small pieces of solder are placed at the joint seam prior to heating. Heat is then applied until the solder flows into the joint.
(ii) Feeding; the fluxed joint is heated to temperature and tip of the solder wire is fed into the joint and should melt on contact.

Using both these techniques the part of the joint to which the molten solder is required should be heated more strongly than the remainder ensuring the solder will flow towards the hottest section. Continued flame impingement on the molten solder may result in the vaporisation of lower melting point constituents, higher temperatures may then be required to complete the joint. The time and temperature to complete a joint must be kept to a minimum. 

Solder Strip, Paste, Syringe and Wire

Gold and silver flux residues may normally be removed by soaking in hot water. Any further residues that persist may then be removed by brushing. In difficult cases the workpiece should be immersed in 5 – 10% sulphuric acid solution for 2 – 5 minutes, rinsed in hot water and brushed again.  For large scale soldering a small furnace may be used to provide sufficient uniform heat to the workpiece. For mass production batch or conveyer type furnaces may be used. However, the quantities of components to be soldered must be large enough to justify the relatively high capital expenditure and development of a method for each particular soldering operation.

All workpieces can be successfully finished by the standard practices and processes currently available. It must be noted that powdered borax does not always meet the requirements for all applications where the extensive range of solders now available may be used.

Which Solder to use – Gold, Silver and (particularly) Platinum
Solders are typically classified according to their melting points – “easy”, “medium” and “hard” therefore refers to the ease of melting the solder. Hence an “easy” solder melts before a “hard” one and this can be used where a sequence of joints are to be made. Usually a solder must conform to the same hallmarking rules as the metal being joined – for example, a 9ct solder must contain at least 371⁄2% gold. However, there are some concessions, which are: – Platinum solders must contain at least 95% precious metals by weight, chosen from silver, gold, platinum, palladium, iridium and osmium. There is no minimum platinum content specified. – Solders for white golds may be Hallmarked on concession down to 50% gold content. – 22ct solder must contain at least 80% gold.