A little off topic... is there a way to remove soft solder? Years ago, I
found a Tiffany bud vase in a junk bin @ an antique store. The vase was in
terrible shape; it looked like a dog chewed on it & someone tried to "fix"
it with soft solder. I've been using a flat graver to get the bulk of the
solder off but was wondering if there's an easier approach.
thanks,
Ian
www.skylinesilver.com

"Peter W. Rowe" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 07 Jul 2004 07:51:46 -0700, in ¤ô Jack Schmidling
wrote:

In spite of the flack, I have aquired a good deal of useful information
here
but I am really hung up on the criticism of soft solder.

Jack, you're correct that soft solders can work in terms of a mechanically
functional joint. but there are significant differences between jewelry
soldering needs and electronics soldering needs.

For one thing, in electronics, virtually all but the tiniest (surface
mount)
componants use the solder more for the electrical connection, having
established
a pretty decent mechanical connection first. Leads go through circuit
board
holes, and often get bent away from the holes a bit. even without the
bend, the
componants are mechanically held. In other cases, wires wrap around
terminals,
or otherwise are mechanically held prior to being soldered. Also, in most
electronics soldering, there is a considerable excess of solder used. the
solder usually forms a mound over the joint. Plus, is often flows into a
complex shape, ie the hole in the circuit board, or around a wire, etc.
This is
mechanically quite different from jewelry soldering where often one has a
thin,
tight, capillary joint between only two small flat surfaces, and one
desires no
solder outside of that seam to show. The soft solders are stronger in the
previous example, where the solder layer is substantially thicker.
Indeed,
jewelry findings made especially for soft soldering are usually made with
a
hollowed out pad that gets filled with a small puddle of the solder, and
this is
then applied to the work, so the joint, while it appears capillary to the
eye,
actually consists of a considerably thicker mass of the solder.

But the main objections to soft soldering are aesthetic. The stuff just
doesn't
match silver or gold, and as you observe, makes a mess. once used, one
can no
longer use higher melting solders or repair methods, as at higher temps,
even
traces of soft solder quickly etch deep holes in the precious metals. We
jewelers prefer to use methods, when we can, which give the best looking
results, give the strongest joints, and are as versatile as possilbe in
terms of
letting ourselves, or the next repair jeweler, work on the piece if needed
without running into a time bomb. Soft solder does indeed have a place in
jewelry work, but it must be a carefully considered one, since it's use is
often
less attractive, adaquate but still less strong, and subsequently more
limiting
to later work, than the use of hard solders.

Note that much of the above applies mostly to work in silver or gold. The
moment you get into working on plated vessels, pewter, or some of the base
metals, there can often be much better reasons to use soft solder. With
pewter,
it is in fact the fully correct solder to use unless you're actually
welding the
stuff without solder at all. With plated or costume quality work, often
the
work cannot withstand the temps of hard soldering without damage. In
these
cases, sometimes the best result will be obtained by preparing the items
to be
soldered by attaching a pad or footing, with hard solder, that can then
provide
a more solid joint with soft solder.

Peter