Help with soldering sheet

[YloG]

Hi all.

I just recently tried to solder two pieces of sterling sheet together on top of each other. They measure 56mmx5mmx0,8mm...it's for a ring shank, and instead of the shank being 0,8mm thick i want to double up and go with 1,6, i know the easy way would be to buy some 1,6 sheet, but i would rather use what i have instead of buying more, trying to not use to much money plus i want to learn this skill. The way i did it was the way i've read it, melted some solder on piece A, quench, pickle, file the "bumps" down, put piece A on top of piece B solder facing down of course and heat, remembered flux at every step to. The results i got was the solder didn't flow all the way around or when i tried to bend the shank the soldering came apart i guess indicating that solder hadn't flown into the whole gap. Any tip or advice appreciated.

Anton

[Dennis]

This is called sweat soldering and should work ok. Here are some reasons why not:1.Not enough solder(no need to file it off, you will see the top sheet settle). 2.Residue of pickle (wash well and brush with a soapy brass brush, or glass brush). 3.Not enough flux. 4.Not enough heat, a mini-torch is not hot enough for this.
Because solder is very hard, your finished sheet will be harder to bend than plain sterling, but I have often done this for a ring, making the top sheet narrower to create two levels. In this case the lower edges of the top sheet are bevelled to keep the solder from spreading. Hope this helps , please let us know, Dennis.

[YloG]

I tried it again. Didn't file the solder down and i used a propane/oxygen torch at work...and it did the trick, i guess i wasn't using enough solder. It's funny, i solder metals almost every day for work..and still i have problems soldering something i can't see... when i solder for dental stuff i don't put solder on then heat, im used to applying solder on the spot that needs solder when metal reaches correct temp, but i don't have enough experience with jewelry metals to know when that is..yet! Thanks alot for the advise dennis...yet another helpful reply from you.

Anton

[Dennis]

Good on you, Anton. For the same reason I am still slightly apprehensive with sweat soldering until I see the telltale shiny edge appear. If you want something to use at home, you can get a hand held Taymar, or Go-System torch, preferably self igniting, from a DIY place. You should use a propane/butane mix and make sure there is a nearby stockist for spare cylinders. They are quite fierce so they need to be moved about a lot to avoid overheating the silver. I also prefer a darkened area so that I can keep an eye on this.
You probably know this but I'd like to mention that for silver you bring heat to the soldering block and the whole of the silver before homing in on the joint. If you are careful you can use the same grade of solder for several repeated add-ons, but when you use easy solder, also change to easy flux.