soldering gun/iron recommendations?

Hi all,
I'm thinking of purchasing a soldering tool for some of my silver wire
work. Any recommendations? I've spent a little time on google groups
but didn't find too much specific to jewelry or silver craft. Any info
y'all have on brands, prices, retailers, etc would be great!

tgif : )
Jennifer

On Fri, 21 Nov 2003 12:11:57 -0500, Jennifer Moore
wrote:

Hi all,
I'm thinking of purchasing a soldering tool for some of my silver wire
work. Any recommendations? I've spent a little time on google groups
but didn't find too much specific to jewelry or silver craft. Any info
y'all have on brands, prices, retailers, etc would be great!

Silver solder melts at too high a temperature for
a solder iron to be useful.
You might look at a Blazer mini torch. They run
on butane (the gas used to fill lighters). They are
inexpensive. They are easy to control when making
small pieces (as with wire).
For larger items, you will require something bigger.
Like the plumbers torch you can get at any
hardware store, Home Depot, etc. They also will
sell the gas tank refills. They are very
inexpensive.
Barbara
Dream Master
www.dreamweaverstudio.com

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
~~ Albert Camus

On Fri, 21 Nov 2003 15:42:11 -0800, vj wrote:

okay - now i'm confused again. [no surprise there]

i have a soldering pencil and silver braze solid wire and flux.
shouldn't i be able to solder jumprings closed and solder two pieces
of ss wire together with these?

Is the soldering pencil the type that is filled with
butane? If so, no problem. It puts out a much
higher heat than any soldering iron can.
Barbara
Dream Master
www.dreamweaverstudio.com

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
~~ Albert Camus

On Fri, 21 Nov 2003 16:22:55 -0800, vj wrote:

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from Barbara Otterson
] Is the soldering pencil the type that is filled with
]butane?

no - i'm trying to avoid open flames.

Sorry, unless you are planning to buy a
Sparkie welder, you will not be able to silver
solder without an open flame. No solder iron
will reach the necessary temperature.
You can solder with Tix, or some other
low-temp solder. But any solder of this type
will discolor over time. And not that long a
period of time...........
Barbara
Dream Master
www.dreamweaverstudio.com

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
~~ Albert Camus

you will not be able to silver solder without an open flame.

My dad had a solder pencil and he used it to solder sterling silver rings
closed all the time. It didn't have an open flame. I have a modern version of
his, and it doesn't have a flame either.

Carol in SLC
My latest creation (11/12): http://members.aol.com/CarolinSLC/rock.jpg

On 23 Nov 2003 03:35:08 GMT, ospam (Carol in SLC)
wrote:

you will not be able to silver solder without an open flame.

My dad had a solder pencil and he used it to solder sterling silver rings
closed all the time. It didn't have an open flame. I have a modern version of
his, and it doesn't have a flame either.

What is the heat source? What type of
solder did he use? Maybe I'm thinking of a different
tool. The only one I know of uses butane.
Barbara
Dream Master
www.dreamweaverstudio.com

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
~~ Albert Camus

What is the heat source?

The end of the "pencil" is the heat source. It's electical, and the concept is
kinda like a curling iron. The tip gets hot enough to melt the silver solder.


Carol in SLC
My latest creation (11/12): http://members.aol.com/CarolinSLC/rock.jpg

Barbara -- the kind Carol is talking about is the only kind I have seen (or
used). It is electrical.


Becki
"In between the moon and you, the angels have a better view of the crumbling
difference between wrong and right." -- Counting Crows

On 24 Nov 2003 01:46:43 GMT, uybeads (BeckiBead)
wrote:

Barbara -- the kind Carol is talking about is the only kind I have seen (or
used). It is electrical.

Becki


There is also a type of (cheap) mini-torch that is
sometimes called a pencil torch. They can be filled
with butane lighter fluid. They don't hold much and
don't last long. The last time I saw one it was on a
rack of odds and ends tools at a car wash in CA.

Barbara
Dream Master
www.dreamweaverstudio.com

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
~~ Albert Camus

I haven't purchased this yet, but one of the jewelry artists on another list I
subscribe to recommends the micro torch and paste solder sold at
www.solder-it.com.
Mary Lind