Soldering cuff links

[DaisyDaisy]

I've recently started working with silver clay and would like to offer my customers some new products, one being cuff links. Can anyone point me in the right direction for a good online tutorial for beginners soldering, please? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

[Kwant]

Well you could start with these two from Andrew Berry on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J95soMXxhNc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhShz...feature=relmfu

[Dennis]

Hi Daisy, if you put 'Help With Soldering' into the search box top right, you will also find quite a bit, including this: http://www.cooksongold.com/forum/sho...with+soldering

Fired metal clay and castings have the annoying property of blotting up solder without it joining as expected, so using a jump ring as an example you would solder the jump ring closed first, using excess solder so that a blob forms. Then you would place the blob in contact wit the piece you have made from clay and begin to heat the piece. As soon as sufficient heat is being transmitted from your piece to the jump ring, the solder will flow and join the two.

It is also useful to search 'what torch'. Please call out if you want more help and we will all join in. Dennis.

[DaisyDaisy]

Thanks for the responses, very helpful, especially the link to your thread about soldering, Dennis. I had searched the forums but had missed that one, so thank you.

I know Cooksons sell starter kits....would you recommend that sort of thing for someone just starting out? My main plan is to use discs which I've made from silver clay, I hand stamp them with names/dates and then I want to attach them to the cuff link fitting.

Thanks again for the help and advice so far.

[Dennis]

the advice given most frequently on this forum is: buy the best tools you can afford. This conflicts somewhat with my experience when starting up, that you don't always know which direction you will eventually take.

As a result you could buy the best possible tools, which you will set aside after a few projects, or even not use at all. This creates an expensive tools graveyard. It is also worth trying out tools on courses at the expense of the college.

So having confused you so far, my advice is to buy only the tools you need for each project in hand and if the starter kit fits the bill, then get that.
You might also give some thought to a hearth to contain your soldering activities safely, such as an old roasting tin. When I started I found a cheap barbeque in a sale and used it first on its legs and later on my work surface.

Here it is and also my minitorch Dennis.