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Thread: Soldering Woes

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nick martin View Post
    As has been said, I also find that medium solder doesn't flow particularly well. Tried silver solder paste to but as per Peter's experience, it left the join pitted no matter how precise and clean I was. I will never ever use paste again as it is bloody awful stuff!

    Nick
    Have to say it - but if you had bad results, you might not have been using it correctly. I've switched to paste for a huge number of things and get on with it brilliantly. Part of this is that I have to work very quickly, and don't have time to mess around with flux and snipping. It does involve a bit more care in heating metal, rather than solder, but the results can be excellent, especially for small pieces or awkward spaces.

  2. #12
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    I find the opposite, as in its easier to work with small snips of solder and I can be very accurate. Whatever works best for each of us I guess, just like anything really.

    Nick

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by mizgeorge View Post
    Have to say it - but if you had bad results, you might not have been using it correctly.
    What I found with the hard paste was that it was vital to get the metal up to temperature as fast as possible without heating the paste if at all possible, otherwise the stuff sat in a charred lump. Then it flows wonderfully. The medium - not sure, I might try holding the heat fractionally longer.

  4. #14
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    I use paste quite a lot too. It's great for "glueing" little hearts and flowers onto rings and bangles and of course, I wouldn't use anything else for chains and jump rings. You do definitely have to heat the piece before the solder though, but isn't that true of all solders?
    Last edited by caroleallen; 17-04-2014 at 02:54 PM.

  5. #15
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    You will note however that paste solder is advocated by two of our most highly experienced members.
    It is no quick fix for a beginner, as they soon find out that their joint comes apart in the pickle, because they have reduced the paste to a cinder before it could flow. Dennis.

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