Hello everybody :) newbie looking for a little advice re snake chains...

[Shynsie]

I'm unsure about soldering end caps to 1.2 sterling silver snake chain. I've never done this before, and I have a tendency to overheat, and then annihilate anything delicate. Does anyone have any tips on how I can best avoid melting the chain lol. Would really appreciate any help. Thank you

[Dennis]

Hi you are right to worry, because snake chain is not that strong in the thinner gauges and will get worse when heated. Also excess solder can make it stiff beyond the chain end.

You can use a little easy paste on the very end of the chain, insert it into the cap and heat until you see a very dull red in a darkened room. If you are lucky you will also spot the glint of solder running.

As for me, I make my own from tubing, as per per picture below and then use two part epoxy glue to circumvent the problem. Dennis.

[CJ57]

I usually melt my solder into the cap first and then slot the chain in and heat gently, that way it doesn't run up the chain. Or as Dennis said tubing makes a tidy job

[ajda]

Like Dennis, I make my own from tubing, though for the ring at the end I bend a piece of D-shaped wire back on itself to make a ring and a shaft that fits tightly into one end of the tube, the chain also a tight fit in the other end - see photo. (Before soldering the one on the left in the photo, I'd push it right in so the shaft is inside and the ring is flush with the end of the tube. The one on the right has been soldered, but still needs some finishing.) If you start with the chain fitting tightly inside the tube and make sure the surfaces to join are clean, very little solder should be necessary, so not much risk of excess running along the chain and bonding the links solid. I put a small pallion of solder inside the tube at the cut end of the chain, then heat and feed a little more solder into the end where the shaft/ring part is sticking out. Once it's all fixed, I file away excess metal from the ring end and squidge it a bit to shape it the way I want it. The photo shows 3mm chain, designed to take big-hole beads - end cap needs to be not much wider than the chain itself, so it fits through the bead holes. I start with larger diameter tube and draw it down to exactly the size I want, so the same principle works with thinner chain, though it may be more fiddly.

[Shynsie]

Thank you so much for all your advice folks. I will tread very carefully and heed the warnings. eeek. lol

[Lynn.D]

Welcome Shynsie.

I've wanted to make my own snake chains for ages so am pleased you asked that question.

Lynn

[theresa]

I like your idea. Much neater way than I usually use. I think the d shaped wire looks much better than a ring on the end. Thank you

Like Dennis, I make my own from tubing, though for the ring at the end I bend a piece of D-shaped wire back on itself to make a ring and a shaft that fits tightly into one end of the tube, the chain also a tight fit in the other end - see photo. (Before soldering the one on the left in the photo, I'd push it right in so the shaft is inside and the ring is flush with the end of the tube. The one on the right has been soldered, but still needs some finishing.) If you start with the chain fitting tightly inside the tube and make sure the surfaces to join are clean, very little solder should be necessary, so not much risk of excess running along the chain and bonding the links solid. I put a small pallion of solder inside the tube at the cut end of the chain, then heat and feed a little more solder into the end where the shaft/ring part is sticking out. Once it's all fixed, I file away excess metal from the ring end and squidge it a bit to shape it the way I want it. The photo shows 3mm chain, designed to take big-hole beads - end cap needs to be not much wider than the chain itself, so it fits through the bead holes. I start with larger diameter tube and draw it down to exactly the size I want, so the same principle works with thinner chain, though it may be more fiddly.