Newbie soldering problems....

[marna]

Thanks again for all the advice. I think it may possibly be the torch I'm using - it is indeed quite similar to the one you sent the link to Faith

I do have a torch which is officially a chefs torch and looks similar to the one Dennis showed, I also have a propane torch with a small (ish) burner nozzle but it's quite cumbersome with a large handle and a long gas hose. I'll try the chefs one tomorrow.

Fingers crossed......



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I used a cheffy torch for years (bought it for creme brulee) before it died - you should be fine with that. I use its replacement for little things like jumprings still, all the time.

Do get a soldering block, though - they're definitely cheaper than a new torch. The third hand will be taking a lot of your heat, and that might be the problem, plus it's a lot easier (or so I find, anyway) to do the jump rings flat.

[AndyP]

Just a quick update.......
My torch that I was using had a problem whereby it blew itself out if you turned the flow up to level 3 or 4(maximum), however it would stay lit at 2-2.5. I eventually got fed up and took it back and got another small butane torch from Maplins. This one works fine and if I use it on level 3-3.5 then miraculously I can solder just fine!! I even have success with solder paste in syringe which was my least successful type previously.
I assume that the old torch on a low flame wasn't hot enough to get the metal up to temperature to make the solder melt and flow. I can only guess that it was just baking everything but not heating up to a high enough temperature quickly enough.
So far I've had 100% success on 6 jump rings and spent only a couple of minutes doing it compared to hours and hours and around 25 failed jump rings with the old torch.
Thanks for all the comments - it's great to get help with stuff like this as I'm having to teach myself everything and it's a very steep learning curve!


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[Dennis]

Good for you Andy. now you've got to graduate to making teapots. Regards, Dennis.

[AndyP]

Good for you Andy. now you've got to graduate to making teapots. Regards, Dennis.

Haha! Right now I'll settle for managing a jump ring! I think the concept of trying to solder a large object like that may be a thing I'd never manage!!


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[AndyP]

Good for you Andy. now you've got to graduate to making teapots. Regards, Dennis.

Hi again!

So here's my next quandary ..... I've made a small ring out of silver clay and I was wanting to solder a jump ring on to it which I would than hang a charm from. The idea was that the ring would then slide on to a bracelet.

I placed the ring on its edge, and held the jump ring on top of it using reverse action tweezers.

I applied borax flux and a pallion of medium silver solder. However I noticed that when heated, the ring changed shape/size and pulled away from the jump ring leading to solder failure.

I tried it with the ring laying flat and the tweezers holding the jump ring on the side but the same happened.

The only thing I managed to do, was melt the pallion, and the borax appeared to vitrify or something, leaving a very hard, glassy residue on the silver that was very hard to remove.

Any idea how I would overcome this issue?

I considered making a loop of wire with a small tail (kind of like a table tennis bat shape), drilling the ring and then popping the tail into the hole and then soldering, since this way any movement is irrelevant because the loop will move with it rather than relative to it? The problem is this is very labour intensive because I'll then need to file away any excess tail inside the ring, and I have quite a few to do. I also wonder if I'm going to have the same problem trying to solder to the little charms I've made, although these aren't rings, so maybe any expansion/contraction won't be as much of an issue...

Any advice gratefully received :-)

Thanks
Andy


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[Dennis]

The rings will move apart again when heated mainly due to expansion of the flux.

This can be overcome by forcing some pins into the block as stops.
If you leave a little surplus solder on the jump ring it will remelt when fluxed and heated, to connect to the larger ring.
Use a soft bushy flame mainly on the large ring and it will happen by conduction.
Work in subdued lighting to see where the heat is being applied.

Flux residue is easily removed in a bath of hot safety pickle or alum. This can be done in an open Pyrex dish, or a cheap slow cooker, for instance from Argos. Dennis.

[AndyP]

The rings will move apart again when heated mainly due to expansion of the flux.

This can be overcome by forcing some pins into the block as stops.
If you leave a little surplus solder on the jump ring it will remelt when fluxed and heated, to connect to the larger ring.
Use a soft bushy flame mainly on the large ring and it will happen by conduction.
Work in subdued lighting to see where the heat is being applied.

Flux residue is easily removed in a bath of hot safety pickle or alum. This can be done in an open Pyrex dish, or a cheap slow cooker, for instance from Argos. Dennis.

Hi Dennis - many thanks again!
My second setup was almost the same as your picture, except I didn't pin the ring down.

I just tried your method with pins (I actually used four as I thought this should stop any movement in either direction locally) and it worked a treat!

You're a legend!




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[Dennis]

Good for you. Go from strength to strength. Dennis.

[HattyDamp]

Hi...i am a new user here. I think you should file the jump ring solder surface, don't use emory paper. Then use a milky mix Borax and paint both surfaces before closing the jump ring. Gently heat the jump ring, clean the solder and cut a small piece, holding the solder in tweezers dip it into some milky borax, then place the solder on the inside section of the jump ring, it should stick if placed when the ring is still hot.

[Goldsmithing]

Agree with many of the advice comments so far. Bottom line is: Make sure the surfaces being joined are clean (no hand oils, emery dust or oxidization), close together (solder doesn't fill gaps with strength), fluxed (borax or another commercial hard soldering flux), and the ENTIRE PIECE is evenly heated (a soldering block or slow conducting surface is a must).

Being confident is the key and uncross your fingers! Take a group of jump rings and practice how close you an get them before melting into a ball! Ideally if you can heat up to soldering temp (silver conducts heat fast so heat up the whole piece, not just the join area), melt the solder to water consistency then stop. Too long of an exposure to a unnecessarily soft flame will eventually contaminate the surface with oxidization. Keep the flame moving and as mentioned the solder will flow towards the hottest area (flame). You should see some light "red" or you are not hot enough. Get it hot just before the melting point. It takes practice and will become easy.