When the solder melts is the glib answer. There are degrees of redness in the metal to look for, but experience is worth more than trying to describe colours in words
Well done!
When the solder melts is the glib answer. There are degrees of redness in the metal to look for, but experience is worth more than trying to describe colours in words
Well done!
Hi Anna, when you get into making more jewellery and you have some scrap silver, it's a good idea to practice melting solder on some scrap, then you will soon get an idea of the colour of silver when it gets near to the temperature that the solder flows. Obviously each grade of solder will be different. If you are planning to make more items then some binding wire that Caroline showed would be a good addition to your tool kit. Then perhaps a bit further down the line you may like to try making soldering clamps as they can be useful securing items when soldering, check out this older posting on the forum; http://www.cooksongold.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5928
James
What's your opinion about trying to heat thick silver please. Tried using four soldering blocks to make a "cave" but still couldn't get it hot enough. Some of your work must have entailed some pretty chunky metal.
Hi Anna,
Another trick for use when soldering is get yourself a sharpie pen, its a felt pen if you don't have that particular type, but when you make a sharpie mark on the piece you want to solder, the mark goes out once it reaches annealing temperature! So then you keep on using your torch and eventually the solder will flow. Good luck.
Jules
Would that be safe in a spare bedroom. I have a blue Calor Gas small bottle under my bench (the ones about a foot high) not sure about the capacity unless I go back upstairs again and look, but dont have the space or desire to keep big bottles in the room next to where I sleep. Need small similar to what I have now. Never used anything I have to balance i.e propane and oxygen etc. I dont normally make bangles bigger than 4mm wide, think I bit off more than i can chew this time, 6mm x 3mm thick and a mans bangle, so big around too.
Last edited by Patstone; 29-07-2016 at 05:19 AM.
I am not sure about any rules regarding workshops in the house, my workshop is now in a shed at the bottom of my garden. As for whether having oxygen cylinders in the house is safe, well there are plenty of people with health and breathing problems who have oxygen cylinders in the house, or if you have the funds those oxygen concentrators seem good;http://www.tuffnellglass.com/content...centrator.html
That looks interesting, presumably that is more concentrated than a bottle. Not sure I can justify buying that just for a hobby.
Got a new gas cylinder and I have managed to solder the bangle. Torch must have been running on empty so not so hot. Thank you for all your suggestions and help.
Hi Pat,
Portable oxygen concentrators were developed predominantly for medical use in the home and other places where cylinder oxygen was not practical or safe to use. Air is made up roughly of 79% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. A concentrator effectively scrubs the nitrogen from the air and delivers the same oxygen as you would get from a cylinder. The 2 big advantages are that it wont run out as long as you have an electrical supply and a well maintained machine and there is no stored energy in the form of a high pressure gas. With regards to safety, its very much about understanding what you are using and ensuring you assess the risks and maintain your equipment. I use both a Sievert propane only torch and a Smiths oxy/propane Little torch. Both from the same propane supply cylinder. I regularly check for leaks, I make sure pipes, joints and regulators are not damaged, I have flashback arrestors installed and have a small fire extinguisher handy. When in use I make myself aware of other combustible materials around me and if necessary remove them. E.g. my jar of argotect mixed with meths.
As James says, many people have oxygen in daily use at home. I Would be far more wary of an old butane portable fire with perished hosing and leaky joints than I would a well maintained oxy/fuel system used by a competent and disciplined operator. Oxygen in itself will not burn but it will help any other fuel be it wood, paper or a fuel gas, burn very quickly and at high temperatures. Hence its use with propane, butane, acetylene etc to achieve higher temperatures than the fuel gas on its own.
That said, Tavistock is not a million miles away from Exeter and if you are thinking of improving your soldering and possibly casting arrangements you are more than welcome to drop down here and I can take you through my system and explain some of the pros and cons of other systems.
Feel free to PM me if you want to visit or want further info on gases and I'll do my best.
I certainly don't know everything but I did a fair bit of training on medical and industrial gas installations and use during my NHS engineering career.
Hope the info helps.
Tim
An oxy-con performing well will typically produce around 90-95% oxygen purity at relatively low pressure - much safer than oxygen cylinders and more than adequate for a torch like the Smith. I have two large oxy-cons yoked together and two large glassworking torches, plus the Smith for silverworking, all running off the same propane tank and oxy-con setup. As Tim said, it's important to have tight joins and to check for leaks, at least with the gas - but with the oxy-cons it's not a problem to have leaky joins or excess oxygen vented around the room since the quantities and the purity of the oxygen being released are not a cause for concern.
Alan
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