new guy on the block

[tbird]

HI , New to jewelry making , looking to find some tips ,answers on soldering silver jump rings to clasps ,

[CJ57]

Hi tbird, welcome to the forum

You might want to be a bit more specific :)

[tbird]

hi sorry CJ57

i seen i can use a silver flux paste , to solder the jump ring , but what i need to know is how and what is needed to clean after, i seen something on pickle but i read not to use on a clasp ,because of the spring,so i am lost !!! , so any help on this , and i hope you understand , ,

[CJ57]

If you are using solder paste or pallions of solder you will need to pickle after soldering. You can buy either a safety pickle from Cookson http://www.cooksongold.com/category_select.jsp?query=Picklean+Safe+Pickling+P owder+500g&queryFromSuggest=true. or alum powder from eBay or Amazon, often sold as a cooking ingredient. The easiest way is to buy a really cheap slow cooker and make your pickle solution in that, it works best when warm and can be heated up when needed.
It's soldering and not pickling that will ruin the spring in a clasp.
Many of us don't solder clasps but use hard silver rather than annealed for jump rings they can then be fitted to clasps without soldering. It means that if the necklace is caught or grasped then it would break at the clasp and not throttle you!
I hope this answers your question but just ask again if not

[Dennis]

hi sorry CJ57

i seen i can use a silver flux paste , to solder the jump ring , but what i need to know is how and what is needed to clean after, i seen something on pickle but i read not to use on a clasp ,because of the spring,so i am lost !!! , so any help on this , and i hope you understand , ,


There was a young student called Patch
Who heated a spring loaded catch
The result of their mission was fusion, or fission
And the catch was congealed in mid latch. Dennis.

[Goldsmith]

When attaching a sprung clasp to a chain, I always use a thicker gauge jump ring that does not require soldering. Why risk destroying the clasp's spring mechanism.

James

[tbird]

well thanks for your input ,, might have to looking in to getting better jump rings,

[Goldsmith]

well thanks for your input ,, might have to looking in to getting better jump rings,

You could always make some of your own thicker gauge jump rings.

[CJ57]

well thanks for your input ,, might have to looking in to getting better jump rings,

As James also said buy some heavier gauge hard wire and wind it around the desired size, I use a drill shank sometimes if I only want a few. Saw them off and not snip which should give a clean edge and then using 2 pairs of pliers they should close with a really clean finish et voila

[Patstone]

I use for pickling pot a baby bottle warmer, just a basic one with a jamjar inside with pickle in. Its much quicker than a slow cooker if its only smallish things you want to pickle.

[tbird]

thanks for you guys help. i will try a harder wire , but when you say use a harder wire did you mean half hard or hard ,

[CJ57]

I would buy hard tbird , if you don't need it all then you can use it for soldering other uss but it's good to lay aside for future use

[tbird]

Thanks Cj57 yours and goldsmith info is very much needed .

[Dennis]

As Caroline has already said, you can standardise the size and make about twenty at a time, by using the stem of twist drills to wind them on. So you could get a set quite cheaply.

Also remember that wire springs back when you wind it, so it will end up a bit bigger. It's a good idea to practice first with copper. Old electric cables often have an earth wire suitable for this.
Have a look at these videos on how to do it: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=U+Tube+making+jump+rings&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=qji8VpK6NMn-UuCehJgO

Dennis