Soldering 101

[nammie]

Hi Folks,

I'm very new to all things torch like but I'm wrestling with a piece of silver wire and would like some help if anyone has five minutes.

I'm trying to solder a ring of Sterling wire closed. Its 1.5mm wire, I've bent it into a D shape, snugged the ends up tight, cut through with a saw, fluxed with borax, heated the other side of the ring, then heated join until solder flows. It looks ok but as soon as I give it a tap with a nylon mallet, ping, its just a bent bit of wire again!

Any thoughts before I try again for the fifth time?

Nammie

[mizgeorge]

My immediate thought is that the whole piece isn't hot enough. With 1.5mm wire, I don't even touch the join with the torch, the heat from the back and sides should be enough to make the solder flow.

What grade of solder are you using? Please say it's not medium

[nammie]

Ooooo I'd love to be smug and say that it was hard solder as this forum has taught me it should be.....however, I bought a 'soldering kit' from a company who will remain nameless (mostly because they sold me a torch that melted and their customer service was appalling) and I have two solder options available to me - easy and medium (even they didn't come labelled in the kit).

Do you mind me picking your brains further George? If the piece isn't hot enough I'm just getting the solder to melt and not flow? Have I understood correctly?

Nammie
(not even going to mention the molten pool that should have been an earring....oh bother!)

[mizgeorge]

The reason I ask if it's medium is that I never use it and every time I hear of a really bad problem it seems to involve medium solder!!

Yes, in simple terms, the solder is melting (because you're directing heat straight at it) but not actually flowing to create the bond between the two pieces of silver.

You can help yourself a lot by having the right environment to solder in - I like a charcoal block if I'm using a hand torch as it helps the heat a lot, and if I've got real problems, building a little furnace from bits of soldering block can make a difference too.

Try again with your easy solder, and keep playing the flame (which should be fairly soft and bushy - not too pointed and intense) around the back and sides of the ring before flashing across the join. If you have a spare bit of the same wire, try to see if you can melt it, so you can observe the way the metal looks when it's really hot, and see just how far you can go before it starts to change in appearance. It's a good way of building up the confidence to tackle larger pieces.

And good luck!

[nammie]

Thanks George,

I will have a play with the strip I believe to be easy. I had another attempt about half an hour ago, armed with your initial advice, and I can say that I do now know what it looks like just before (and after!) melting point. Still got that 'ping' but I won't be beaten..... at least not until I decide I fancied an adjustable, bypass ring anyway.

Nammie

[mizgeorge]

Without stating the obvious, you have cleaned up the ends after each attempt haven't you? After pickling, you need to make sure you file away any old flux and solder and make sure the ends fit beautifully against each other (even if that means sawing through the join again) before the next attempt.

[nammie]

Oh yes, the ring is getting steadily smaller :-)

I had a go with the easy solder last night but haven't tried reshaping it yet as I thought my neighbours might not be impressed with hammering at 1am. To the untrained eye did look a bit more promising, fingers crossed

Nammie

[Pauline]

Oh yes, the ring is getting steadily smaller :-)

I had a go with the easy solder last night but haven't tried reshaping it yet as I thought my neighbours might not be impressed with hammering at 1am. To the untrained eye did look a bit more promising, fingers crossed

Nammie

Good luck with it x

[Dennis]

You seem to be doing everything else right, but still lacking sufficient heat. And that frankly is like flogging a dead horse.

If you have tried building a little chamber to concentrate the heat, as suggested by George ( You need a base, a back, two sides and a lid. If you don't' have enough soldering blocks, small tiles or pieces of house brick will do.), then your mini-torch is just too small for projects of this size and you must get something bigger. I have never graduated beyond a hand held DIY torch, except I now have two for even bigger jobs. Dennis.

[nammie]

No ping!

I finally have a closed circle of write that has taken a beating with a selection of hammers and remained closed. I did use the easy solder in the end so either I do have heat issues or, like George, I hate medium solder. I'll try a but of oven building and keep practising.

Thank you all, particularly George, for being patient with my daft questions.

Nammie