Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Ring soldering advice

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Posts
    5

    Default Ring soldering advice

    Hi all,

    I'm making wedding bands out of a meteorite. I'm about done forging the bars, so I'm almost ready to start shaping. I've got rods for each of the ring sizes to bend the bars around, but I'm unsure as to what solder would be best to use to close the ends.

    The meteorite is about 92% iron, 8% nickel with some other trace bits. I'm thinking silver solder would probably blend the best, but I don't know anything so my opinion isn't worth much! Can anyone offer any advice what to use? Thanks.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    3,392

    Default

    I know nothing about this but would that not be a welding job and not a soldering if it's predominantly iron? My other thought from a female point of view and is only a thought, might there not be a reaction to the skin with iron and nickel for everyday use

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Central London
    Posts
    8,845

    Default

    Any silver solder would do the trick, with borax as a flux.

    However as mentioned by Caroline your metal might well be allergenic and once a person is sensitised they will react badly to all sorts of metal objects including handles, cases and key pads. Dennis.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    dear old Blighty - (in deepest Wiltshire)
    Posts
    1,638

    Default

    my penneth... meteorite tarnishes and rusts. the silver solder would show up once the meteorite starts to change colour.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Cardiff
    Posts
    988

    Default

    Any allergy issues aside, don't do what I did and forget that the meteorite needs to be marked as '+Metal' when hallmarked! I'm really interested how you formed the rods (if you don't mind sharing)
    I've a desk full of meteorite fragments and tektites as have been using them in some resin filled pieces recently.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Posts
    5

    Default

    Thanks for the replies. Silver it is then! I think I've got some borax lying around to use with it. My other half has iron and nickel jewelry so there shouldn't be any allergy problems, and since they're for us there's no hallmarking needed either.

    LydiaNiz, I've done it by hand so far. I cast my own forge into a 25L oil drum, filled and surrounded it with bricks and got some Zoeller burners to use in it. I drew the rods out from slices of the meteorite sample with heating and hammering. I've never done any of this so everything took at least 10x longer than it would take a professional, but I wanted to do it myself, and it's been fascinating.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Wolverhampton
    Posts
    142

    Default

    Could you show us a picture of the finished piece please, personally I would use brass solder (melting temperature of over 1000c)

    Carlton
    Be careful what you wish for.......... It might come true

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Posts
    5

    Default

    I could only show you pictures of a couple of unfinished bars at the moment. Wouldn't brass solder be a different colour?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Wolverhampton
    Posts
    142

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by electricaltill View Post
    I could only show you pictures of a couple of unfinished bars at the moment. Wouldn't brass solder be a different colour?
    Yep! the join would be a dull copper colour ..... Carlton
    Be careful what you wish for.......... It might come true

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Posts
    5

    Default

    I was going to post an image of one of the slices, but the board won't let me yet. The slices I've used so far have been silver in cross-section. I'm assuming after finishing it would be approximately that colour, so I don't think brass solder would match would it? Or are you suggesting a sufficiently narrow join would be invisible?

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •