Thank you for that Dennis. I will try soldering on the flat a try and see how much that works for me. I've ale to heard some people sand flat the sides to be soldered, flux one side, warm the flux and then add solder balls around. They would then apply heat to premelt the solder before adding the second ring (in the case of a double ring band) on top and using the flame of the torch till the rings settle and the solder tuns around the seam. I haven't tried this method so I'm not sure how effective it is. If I decide to use separate ring method again I will definitely take your advice and place the solder on the inside. How would you go about doing this- using a third hand holding ring in air?