Cufflink help

[Bps]

Hello,

I am looking for some advice please.

I make fingerprint jewellery & have had a set of cufflinks returned as the arm has come away from the body. I use the unassembled sort from cookson, the arm fixes into the body with a tiny rod which appears to not really be long enough & keeps popping out & therefore the pieces fall apart.

I have hand soldered the piece to the fingerprint charm & not sure it can be removed to replace with a new set of cufflink backs so I really need to find a way to fix.

Any suggestions?

many thanks

[mizgeorge]

Which fitting is it? Without knowing which one, I would agree with the answer Carole's already given you elsewhere - the pin needs to riveted into place to hold it.

As she also said, it's not hard to unsolder the fitting from the base by reheating.

However, if the problem is with the way the fitting's assembled, you'll run into it again.

[caroleallen]

As I said before, you need to rivet the rod. There's absolutely no way it's going to hold the 2 pieces together unless it's rivetted.

[Bps]

Thank you both for your help. I can't post links to the ones I use but they are cooksons & the codes are NVU-U12 & NVU-U11.

So do I need to rivet them? I wasn't taught that on my training course & don't have the tools. I used to have them soldered by a jeweller & he didn't rivet them either.

Thank you for your expert advice, I really need to get them fixed as they are an item someone has paid for. Thank you

[medusa]

I think that if they were soldered then they wouldn't be able to swivel, which is why you need to rivet them into position. The tools you need can, at a push, be any kind of hard metal block and a small hammer. If you don't have a small hammer then a screwdriver (flathead) and a larger hammer will work if you are very careful.

If you can't rivet it in place, maybe get a set of these? http://www.cooksongold.com/Findings/Sterling-Silver-Triangular-Cuff-Link-Swivel-Assembled-prcode-NVU-001

ETA: Looking at the fittings you linked to, it looks like they ~should~ just snap in because the holes on the U part are square as are the rods on the body part. TBH, I don't think that is very well designed if they are supposed to snap in because again, being square, they won't swivel even if they are riveted.

[Lucie]

I make quite a few cufflinks in a similar kind of style, but in sterling and agree with Medusa - I always use the assembled type. It never crossed my mind to try the un-assembled ones (far too fiddly). You just have to make sure you don't overheat the swivel mechanism when you solder, or it won't work anymore.
Aim the torch very carefully at the actual solder & you should be nowhere near the mechanism.
I use insulating paste just in case, but it's probably not really necessary - just me being a bit paranoid :-"

[Goldsmith]

The square wire fitting on the swivel section is pretty standard on these type of cufflinks, the pin needs to be square so that the strip spring in the swivel section works correctly, clicking in place when the section is at right angles. These fittings should always be rivetted as heating them when soldering is likely to soften the spring and make the swivel useless. Rivetting is relatively easy using a small hammer like these;http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Riveting-Hammer-50mm-Head-prcode-999-617 and a flat piece of steel to hammer on, if you have not got a small hammer then use a flat faced punch and a larger hammer, the square peg through the cufflink swivel doesn't need much rivetting, just enough to stop it slipping through the square hole in the U section that is soldered onto the cufflink face.

If you have never done rivetting, hold the piece so that one end of the rivet is on a piece of steel, tap the other end a few times then rotate the piece and tap the other end a few times, then rotate again until you see that the ends have splayed wider than the square hole in the U section.

It's easy, honest!
James

[medusa]

It's easy, honest!


famous last words!

[Bps]

Thank you so much for your advice. I have riveted them & they seem perfect now. I raided my husbands tool box & used a small hammer & the side of a pair of pliers, may not be professional tools but did the trick! I can't believe I was not shown this on the recent course I attended & that the jeweller I previously used, I believe didn't rivet them. I will order some of the pre assembled ones & see how I get on. Any other recommendations apart from the ones Medusa suggested?

Thanks again, glad is posted on here, was getting into a slight panic!

[caroleallen]

Necessity is the mother of invention! My tips for using the pre-assembled ones are - file off the little pimple on the end and then open up the cufflink and hold it with locking tweezers which protects the hinged bit while you solder.

[ps_bond]

Holding the cufflink arm, not the swivelling bit - the latter is hollow and collapses at heat if you have crosslock tweezers on it while you're doing that.

[caroleallen]

Holding the cufflink arm, not the swivelling bit - the latter is hollow and collapses at heat if you have crosslock tweezers on it while you're doing that.

Yes, I learned that the hard way Peter!

[ps_bond]

Makes 2 of us :)

[mizgeorge]

Three actually...

[MeadMoon]

Make that four :)

[caroleallen]

Oh dear, maybe Cookies could give out fact sheets. Now that there are so many "hobby" jewellers, it's not fair to expect everyone to know how things are used. There's been many a time I've struggled to work out how to use my new piece of kit. Come on Cookies, it would put you ahead of the competition.