Gold on Silver

**stu_clouds** · 07-10-2010, 10:40 PM

Originally Posted by leemorris

Thought i would have a play around with the solder today and i couldn't get it to melt , how long do i need to heat it for?
I had a go with some silver wire and it melted within seconds.
Lee

Soldering is not about heating the piece of solder up directly, u need to get the two pieces of metal you are joining upto the temperature so the heat they conduct melts the solder. A piece of silver wire will melt quickly because it has a small surface area.

Someone with a better way of putting it will be along shortly im sure.

Stu

**Joe** · 07-10-2010, 11:35 PM

Ah, hmm, yes...

Those who know me will cringe now as I launch into my standard moan about soldering.

The jewellery community have got it into their head that they are "soldering" with silver - or indeed gold. The whole of the rest of the metal-smithing community have decided that if the temperature is above 400C then it isn't soldering - it's either brazing or welding.

The difference between the melting point of silver solder and the melting point of silver is.... not very much. The number of degrees is not so important, suffice that it is a few seconds longer with the torch. Somehow you have to aim to get the solder to melt before the silver and, by moving a flame to and fro, control the temperature in this critical range.

It is an art rather than a science.

You must prepare yourself for dozens of failures until you get a feel for this tiny spot between melting the solder and the silver.

If you are not wealthy, I recommend learning to solder on copper wire with "hard" silver solder; if you are of good means, just be ready to throw your first attempts into the recycling basket. Get a feel for the melting points of each material; watch how it shimmers then slumps and finally melts away. Learn from your mistakes but do not expect any sort if instant success - this is not that sort of exercise!

**Dennis** · 08-10-2010, 08:47 PM

That's quite lyrical Joe, It's going on my fridge. Dennis.

**medusa** · 16-02-2011, 02:25 PM

Please excuse the bump!

what do people think about using gold solder to add accents to silver? I saw a bit in Tim McCreigton's book which suggested placing paillions of gold solder into small recesses and then letting the heat melt the gold solder so it filled it. I had a go a while back with not great results, but it could be I needed to bash the gold solder a bit thinner.

I do fingerprint jewellery and I'd love to be able to get gold to flood into the grooves, but I don't see it happening!

**Goldsmith** · 16-02-2011, 02:37 PM

Most gold solders will not run like water so what you fancy doing is a no go if you want neatness. What I would do is to get the fingerprint piece gold plated and then remove the plating from the higher surfaces leaving gold in the print grooves.
James

**medusa** · 20-02-2011, 10:05 PM

Hi James, the gold solder didn't even run like quick hardening cement! gold plating could work, the recesses would be protected from wear... At least I won't be wasting more time nor effort trying to do this, thank you.

**cruzxsteel** · 28-05-2011, 09:48 AM

I'm trying to make baby shower favor's for a friend and I wanted to know if there was a way for me to put lettering on ribbon myself. I want to put her name and the shower's date on ribbon in either gold or silver lettering. Has anyone ever done this, or something similar. If so, any advice. The lettering will be approximately 1/4 of an inch tall. I want it to look nice, so i was thinking of stencils, but i'm not sure what paint to use. Any advice would help