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Thread: Still learning

  1. #21
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
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    Guildford, United Kingdom
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    Learned another lesson the hard way today. I soldered a cabachon to a pendant. I had read to be careful with overheating the stone so I soldered by heating underneath the piece using my "helping hand" device. The actual soldering went fine, I am using hard silver solder for the first time and like it. But...after pulling the piece out of pickling the stone has changed colour and has a rough texture. I can maybe peel it out of the soldered bezel and replace it, hopefully. I think I should install a live videocam in my workshop so someone could stop me when I'm doing something obviously WRONG!

  2. #22
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
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    dear old Blighty - (in deepest Wiltshire)
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    Hi Sandra,

    Learning curves can be steep.

    Not sure what medium you are using, but where possible, you should be setting the stones last of all.

    Picking solutions can be fine for many non-porous stones.

    Get that cam installed! Lol

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
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    Central London
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    I second that motion. Finish the metal work entirely and cover in copious masking tape (from a hardware shop), but leave the bezel (setting) showing. Set with a soft tool such as a shaped brass rod in a handle. Then you will only have the bezel to finish.

    Any slight residue from masking tape can be removed with meths, or sticky stuff remover. Dennis.

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
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    U.K
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    Another self learner here, mainly from books, but since joining the forum this is my first port of call, I've found when i visit for a quick catchup there needs to be a big cup of tea at my side :-)
    Sandra your pendants are lovely, and the first one with the flower is lovely as it is, I know sometimes it's hard to find the *stop* stage.
    Jackie

  5. #25
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
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    Guildford, United Kingdom
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    Thank you Summer!

    I don't have my live webcam installed yet so I have some comments and questions about today's jewellery making adventures.

    First, I bought what was supposed to be copper rod from Ebay. After trying to anneal, hammer and forge this copper rod into a pendant and having it shatter I discovered it wasn't copper after all but a mystery metal with copper plating.......

    More soldering issues - had a pendant with jump ring that I wanted to solder shut held in a "Third hand". The jump ring was nicely snug with ends touching tightly. Everything clean and fluxed. Well the piece of easy solder wouldn't even melt! My third hand however looked like it was about to. I came to the conclusion the third hand was drawing too much of the heat away from my jump ring & solder. So, took the jump ring with attached pendant and placed it on a charcoal block and proceeded to solder. This time the solder beaded up into a lovely silver ball and then dropped off. Filed the jump ring and tried again, same thing happened. Tossed it in pickling solution and tried again. Same thing.

    Conclusion: add jump ring to my salvage heap and make a new one & try again tomorrow.

    And this was a fairly good day for me compared to most
    Last edited by Sandra; 15-03-2014 at 11:28 PM.

  6. #26
    Join Date
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    Central London
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    Hi Sandra.

    If your easy solder won't melt under the circumstances described, then:

    1. It might not be easy solder at all, but a piece of sterling that has got into your solder box.
    2.Alternatively the solder is not clean enough, and needs rubbing all over with sandpaper, or a rough green washing up pad.

    The easiest way to attach a jump ring is to solder it shut first, flat on your block with a little more solder than necessary. Putting the solder under the join and resting the jump ring on it stops it escaping.

    Now rest the solder join on the pendant, or whatever and re-heat the piece. The solder will re-melt and attach. Dennis.

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
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    1,743

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    I loathe soldering jump rings on stuff. I have a scarab which was beautifully enamelled sitting reproachfully on my bench because my attempt to replace a bust chain ring simply resulted in molten silver and solder and ruined enamel

  8. #28
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    Jul 2013
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    Guildford, United Kingdom
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    Dennis I shall try that technique. Somehow though the solder join opening and reattaching sounds almost too magical. (Oh Medusa I thought those sorts of things only happened to me!). It was definitely solder as I clipped it off the strip just prior to soldering, also hammered it a bit and used steel wool on it. Maybe it was the jump ring itself not clean enough with built up flux and maybe firescale? I don't know, I'm headed into the workshop now to give it another go.

    Wait a second, I think we are talking about two different things. I'm just trying to solder the jump ring shut with my pendant already looped through the jump ring. I think though I can still use the first part of that technique.
    Last edited by Sandra; 16-03-2014 at 10:53 AM.

  9. #29
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    Feb 2011
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    For soldering jump rings shut I hold the jump ring with soldering tweesers and if its anything delicate, I either clag with thermogel or balance the tweezers over a small shot glass of water with the stones submerged. This is the one time I use solder paste.

  10. #30
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
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    Guildford, United Kingdom
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    Soldering tweezers? I shall have to look into that!

    Well....if this hadn't happened to me I'm not sure I'd believe it. I took a new piece of wire to create a jump ring and annealed it on my charcoal block. Unbeknownst to me was a small bit of solder left on the block which then adhered to the end of my wire. I just filed it a bit to smooth it and continued on bending it into a circle. I had to anneal it again because it had hardened too much - and then it soldered shut from the bit of solder that had attached previously! To think all times I tried and failed yesterday then to have it happen accidentally. I am pretty sure the jewellery gods are having a laugh at me.

    Then I had to reheat to open it back up and loop my pendant pieces on and resoldered using Dennis' advice of laying the ring onto the solder and it worked perfectly.
    Last edited by Sandra; 16-03-2014 at 12:24 PM.

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