What am I doing wrong?! soldering cuff links

Hi
Please can someone help me figure out what I am doing wrong?

I have had so many attempts at soldering 925 ready assembled cuff link backs to my fingerprint cufflinks made from PMC. I am using soldering paste and a gas torch, and think I have follower all the advice I can come across but still no joy. The soldering paste just bubbles and stays brown and then can be flaked away. I have tried heating slowly and quickly but neither way seems to help.

Anyone got any bright ideas? I am starting to think there is something wrong with my paste, but they do say its a bad workman that blames his tools! ha!

Thanks Hannah

Hi Hannah, how big a torch are you using?
What solder (easy, medium or hard) paste or pallions?
Sounds like the cufflink metal isn't getting hot enough
Nic x

Hi Nic

Thanks for getting back to me. I am using easy soldering paste, and a hand held torch which I bought from Homebase, its certainly big enough, i think!?

Each cuff link is approximately 7gms of silver and dense in oarts as its a rustic button shaped, you could be right about the heat, but i have tried applying a lot of heat to the fingerprint before moving the heat to the solder? Is this right?

Have you made sure that the bottom of the fitting and the cufflink itself are dead flat where they meet, and also dead clean?
Lorraine

I am new to this game too and sometimes I think the easy solder is done but it is not , you really have to heat it till it goes like mercury, all shiny and really very obviously liquid, then it is done.

Hi Hannah
Just as a refresher here's my step by step for putting cufflink backs on.
PMC Tips: Soldering PMC or Art Clay Silver Cuff links
I'm teaching tomorrow but if I get chance on Monday I'll video some being soldered

If that doesn't work here's a not quite so neat (but it works) way.
1) First check the cufflink is well bunished and the back fits tightly to it.
2) Blob a good 3-4mm ish blob of solder onto the back of the pmc part
3) Have the cufflink handy in your tweezers (but not on the piece)
4) Heat the pmc until the solder flows then WITH the heat still on it
5) QUICKLY bring in the cufflink and hold onto the base
REMOVE HEAT and continue to hold the cufflink fitting in place for the second or
so it takes the solder to solidify.
Nic x

I had problems recently trying to solder a bail onto a copper clay pendant (first attempt)....after 3 attempts I decided to just drill a hole in it instead (!). It was at this point I realised what the problem was, the clay wasn't properly fired as it just broke into two pieces and resembled a biscuit on the inside. Could this be your problem maybe?

Just added two more mini-vid to my Flickr albums both on soldering cuff-links
One version shows the solder flowed on the base, then the cuff-link finding brought in ~
the other shows the solder being put onto the finding and then brought onto the preheated PMC base.
(Use whichever works best for you)
Soldering Silver Clay onto a Sterling Cufflink Finding on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
PMC to Sterling Cufflink Finding Video on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Sorry about the quality I only made one pair of cuff link fronts so I could do the vid
Hopefully, (combined with the written cufflink blog post) it'll help :)
Nic xx

The first one's the sort of thing where I perch it on top of a small titanium sheet V so I can bounce the flame under the larger piece. Just seems to make for easier heating of the larger piece.

Thanks for all your hints and tips. Nic your videos were a life saver, I finally managed it, just need to finish them now.

Thanks again, Hannah*