The day job has been getting in the way of my jewellery making practice but thought I’d post my attempts so far. Started but making copper band rings and think the solder join is getting better so thought I’d venture into the realms of sweat soldering.
I was trying to practice Andrew Berry’s video on sweat soldering with the ring. Went for a polished finish on then inside and satin finish on the outside. Any tips on how to get the edges cleaned up? I was rather overzealous with the sandpaper and have ended up with very curved edges to the shapes and still have a halo of solder! Would radials be aggressive enough to get rid of excess solder?
For the teardrop shape I was trying to get a mirror finish on one side and satin on the other. Used wet and dry paper 400 to 1200, eveflex large round burrs (all 4) then yellow Menzerna with Alcantara. What am I doing wrong? Do I need longer on each stage? I covered the shiny side with masking tape then tried to use a scotchbright wheel on the other side but managed to rub the masking tape off at the edges. If I finished the base before soldering instead, would I be able to get rid of the halo of solder after without ruining the satin finish?
Also, how do you clean up in small areas between soldered bits?
Sorry for all the questions! I know a lot of it is trial and error but any advice welcome.
Tess
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