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#1
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Soldering Jump Rings
Well, the gas tanks have finally arrived and the "studio" (read
"previously dining room,") is set up, although still missing any type of bench grinder or rolling mill (and likely a few other things that I don't even know, yet, that I will need). While I was waiting for equipment and tools to arrive, I put together a passel of "component" earrings, just to make the time go by. The only thing left to do was solder the jump rings closed - which I have been attempting to do. I would have thought that this would be one of the most basic and simple things to do, yet, here I am asking advice on my very first task. I have looked it up in some books, as well as on the internet, and have tried several suggestions including using a graphite pencil lead instead of a pick, and wedging a tiny pallon between the two sides of the jump ring. I have certainly been able to solder some jump rings closed, but far from 100% success rate - more like 65% or 70%. And only by trial and error have I gotten that. Here is what I have been doing.... First, I am using a Smith Little Torch, #4 tip, with Acetylene/Oxygen. I put the sterling jump ring into a tweezer with the join facing up and, with a brush, dab on a little bit of Rio Grande "Ready-Flux." I hit it for a second with the flame, just until the flux bubbles a little bit. Then I heat up a pallon until orange on a soldering block, and pick it up with my pick. I lock my torch hand and my pick hand and, trying to hold steady, heat the pallon at the join. Sometimes, the pallon then melts onto the join and I can coax it, with the pick, into spanning smoothly. Other times the pallon beads up and falls off, or flows and lumps onto the side or bottom. Still other times I melt the jump ring. Even the ones that work are often not perfect. If you hold it up and look at it, the side with the solder is slightly thicker than the other. I'm not sure the average person would notice, but I do. Is it just practice, practice, practice, or am I doing things wrong? Sigh. I didn't imagine I would be needing advice so soon. On a brighter note....I am working on my first "real" (non-component) piece, and, so far, it is coming along pretty well! Thanks in advance! Raane |
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#2
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Practice practice practice. You might be better off putting the solder in
place before you heat anything and then only use the pick to move the solder back into place if it moves. If the solder bit is not fluxed then it oxidizes between the picking and the placing and the remaining unreacted flux on the jump-ring is not enough to do its job. Another thing to think of is to use an Acetylene rich flame, one with a good feather, because that will help keep oxidation from occurring in the Silver as you heat it. Keep the flame moving. Solder will flow toward the hottest place it is in contact with while molten and the pick should not be necessary to move solder in the molten state on something as small as a jump-ring very often if ever. -- Don Thompson "The only stupid questions are those that should have been asked, but weren't, or those that have been asked and answered over and over, but the answers not listened to." Peter Rowe "Raane" wrote in message ... Well, the gas tanks have finally arrived and the "studio" (read "previously dining room,") is set up, although still missing any type of bench grinder or rolling mill (and likely a few other things that I don't even know, yet, that I will need). While I was waiting for equipment and tools to arrive, I put together a passel of "component" earrings, just to make the time go by. The only thing left to do was solder the jump rings closed - which I have been attempting to do. I would have thought that this would be one of the most basic and simple things to do, yet, here I am asking advice on my very first task. I have looked it up in some books, as well as on the internet, and have tried several suggestions including using a graphite pencil lead instead of a pick, and wedging a tiny pallon between the two sides of the jump ring. I have certainly been able to solder some jump rings closed, but far from 100% success rate - more like 65% or 70%. And only by trial and error have I gotten that. Here is what I have been doing.... First, I am using a Smith Little Torch, #4 tip, with Acetylene/Oxygen. I put the sterling jump ring into a tweezer with the join facing up and, with a brush, dab on a little bit of Rio Grande "Ready-Flux." I hit it for a second with the flame, just until the flux bubbles a little bit. Then I heat up a pallon until orange on a soldering block, and pick it up with my pick. I lock my torch hand and my pick hand and, trying to hold steady, heat the pallon at the join. Sometimes, the pallon then melts onto the join and I can coax it, with the pick, into spanning smoothly. Other times the pallon beads up and falls off, or flows and lumps onto the side or bottom. Still other times I melt the jump ring. Even the ones that work are often not perfect. If you hold it up and look at it, the side with the solder is slightly thicker than the other. I'm not sure the average person would notice, but I do. Is it just practice, practice, practice, or am I doing things wrong? Sigh. I didn't imagine I would be needing advice so soon. On a brighter note....I am working on my first "real" (non-component) piece, and, so far, it is coming along pretty well! Thanks in advance! Raane |
#3
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Right, so as your really trying ill point you in the right direction.
1. use a paillion of silver brazing alloy placed between the ends of the cuts of the jump ring. Only use just enough to go between the ends. Make sure the paillion is oxide free, ie clean and firmly held. 2.only then flux it. Preferrably with a reactive flux, NOT a passive one like borax. The reactive fluxes are so much easier to use and will give 100% perfect results every time.What you can get over the water where you are depends on a lot of things. here I use Johnson Matthey commercial stainless steel brazing flux on just about everything except aluminium bronze. ?this needs something special. 3. Heat it with the fully burned part of a neutral flame, not oxidising nor reducing flame coming in slowly so as not to melt the whole work. Preferably a smaller tip running at a higher pressure,Thats assuming your using a pair of tweezers held together with an elastic band. Only tight enough to stop it from falling out of their grip. If its too tight it will mark the jump ring. 4. Put your torch into its bench side holder and dunk the jump ring asap into cold water. This will thermally crack off a lot of the flux residues. Leave in water till youve a few then bring them gently to the boil, rinse off to see if all the flux is gone. 5. If its a jump ring without anything else through it, put on a tapered tooth pick, and hold it against your polishing mop whilst it spins on the wood. this will polish it inside as well as the outside. you can use this polishing technique on all rings right up to bracelet size. However you will need to make up the right size mandrels to suit, in hard wood first. Good luck and keep us informed how you get on. |
#4
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Raane wrote:
= = Is it just practice, practice, practice, or am I doing things wrong? Sigh. I didn't imagine I would be needing advice so soon. = It is indeed practice, practice, practice (many years of it), and you are= most likely doing things wrong. Beginners do not realize that solder picks are not tools that push meltin= g solder into seams. That is not the purpose of a solder pick. The only p= urpose of this tool is to move pallions (notice spelling, it's a French word), i= nto the right spot in relation to the seam as the piece is heated and the pallion= tends to float away from the intended spot. So it is a tool for placement only= , BEFORE the solder melts into the seam. You control the flow of the solder with the heat of your torch only. Not= hing else. The solder will flow, where it is hottest. This is very difficult= with a Little Torch, because these torches have a small sharp oxidizing pointy f= lame, instead of a reducing soft enveloping flame. (Didn't I tell you NOT to g= et a Little Torch? I have had one sitting in my bottom bench drawer for over = 20 years now, haven't figured out a use for it yet.) So if your solder flow= s towards one side of the seam of the jump ring, it clearly means that you = heated the jump ring unevenly. I bet, that the solder flowed towards the side A= WAY from your tweezers. That is so, because the tweezers act as an enormous = heat sink, that draws away heat from the seam to be soldered. So, in order to= heat the seam evenly, so the solder will flow into it, you must heat the side = of the jump ring that is towards the tweezers a bit more than the other side. H= ow much? That is practice, and will vary for every damn jump ring you will = ever solder. It depends on size, material, thickness, moon phases and whether= Mercury is retrograde or not! Read this article online: =93Solder flows toward heat!=94 http://www.lapidaryjournal.com/tech/1299tech.cfm The article has several serious mistakes and flaws, but it will have some= value for you. One of the mistakes being the illustrations, which are rediculou= s, since "Little Torches" are used for solder jobs that are much too large f= or them, and will never work as illustrated. = BTW, in Germany we used to call the solder pick "Gottesfinger" - God's fi= nger. = Forget about the pencil leads, use a Tungsten pick, they will last foreve= r. For years I have used old needle files and bicycle wheel spokes, but since th= ese are made of steel, they are to be avoided. Another thing that you do wrong in my opinion, although many goldsmiths d= o this, is balling the solder up on your charcoal block, and picking it up with y= our pick to place it onto the seam. By doing that you are melting the solder= at a time when it is not yet necessary, some cadmium will evaporate and the so= lder will no longer be the same as it was intended to be. By the time it flow= s into the seam, it has already been overheated, which can lead to seam pits. F= or placing solder, all you need is a bit of flux around the seam, which hold= s the solder quite easily during the heating process. Get yourself a very fine= set of pointy watchmakers tweezers, round the points so they will not bend or br= eak on you, and use these tweezers to place your solder. Do not use these tweez= ers for anything else, like picking up hot work, or you will destroy them. You will also have to learn to judge the size of the solder pallion to us= e. = That is very difficult for beginners, especially when soldering jumprings= , because you cannot place the solder in a place where it becomes invisible= after soldering or where it can easily be cleaned up. (Which is the rule, abou= t where to place solder on any piece to be built) = Abrasha http://www.abrasha.com |
#5
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A few thoughts Raane,
First off... cleanliness; are your jump rings totally clean? As far as poker soldering is concerned, I've used a straightened & pointed coat hanger for years (I've since switched to "fancy" ones a few years back & really the only difference is the new ones look nicer...LOL). With poker soldering you want to heat the jump ring to soldering color & touch the pillion to the joint. Solder will always follow the heat in a clean joint, so if you heat the joint from below & touch the pillion to the top... the solder will flow into the joint. It sounds like you're cutting the pillions too large; a jump ring typically has a VERY small joint. Hope that all makes sense & helps, Ian www.skylinesilver.com "Raane" wrote in message ... Well, the gas tanks have finally arrived and the "studio" (read "previously dining room,") is set up, although still missing any type of bench grinder or rolling mill (and likely a few other things that I don't even know, yet, that I will need). While I was waiting for equipment and tools to arrive, I put together a passel of "component" earrings, just to make the time go by. The only thing left to do was solder the jump rings closed - which I have been attempting to do. I would have thought that this would be one of the most basic and simple things to do, yet, here I am asking advice on my very first task. I have looked it up in some books, as well as on the internet, and have tried several suggestions including using a graphite pencil lead instead of a pick, and wedging a tiny pallon between the two sides of the jump ring. I have certainly been able to solder some jump rings closed, but far from 100% success rate - more like 65% or 70%. And only by trial and error have I gotten that. Here is what I have been doing.... First, I am using a Smith Little Torch, #4 tip, with Acetylene/Oxygen. I put the sterling jump ring into a tweezer with the join facing up and, with a brush, dab on a little bit of Rio Grande "Ready-Flux." I hit it for a second with the flame, just until the flux bubbles a little bit. Then I heat up a pallon until orange on a soldering block, and pick it up with my pick. I lock my torch hand and my pick hand and, trying to hold steady, heat the pallon at the join. Sometimes, the pallon then melts onto the join and I can coax it, with the pick, into spanning smoothly. Other times the pallon beads up and falls off, or flows and lumps onto the side or bottom. Still other times I melt the jump ring. Even the ones that work are often not perfect. If you hold it up and look at it, the side with the solder is slightly thicker than the other. I'm not sure the average person would notice, but I do. Is it just practice, practice, practice, or am I doing things wrong? Sigh. I didn't imagine I would be needing advice so soon. On a brighter note....I am working on my first "real" (non-component) piece, and, so far, it is coming along pretty well! Thanks in advance! Raane |
#6
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Raane wrote:
... The only thing left to do was solder the jump rings closed - which I have been attempting to do. ... I have certainly been able to solder some jump rings closed, but far from 100% success rate - more like 65% or 70%. And only by trial and error have I gotten that. Here is what I have been doing.... First, I am using a Smith Little Torch, #4 tip, with Acetylene/Oxygen. I put the sterling jump ring into a tweezer with the join facing up and, with a brush, dab on a little bit of Rio Grande "Ready-Flux." I hit it for a second with the flame, just until the flux bubbles a little bit. Then I heat up a pallon until orange on a soldering block, and pick it up with my pick. I lock my torch hand and my pick hand and, trying to hold steady, heat the pallon at the join. Sometimes, the pallon then melts onto the join and I can coax it, with the pick, into spanning smoothly. Other times the pallon beads up and falls off, or flows and lumps onto the side or bottom. Still other times I melt the jump ring. Even the ones that work are often not perfect. If you hold it up and look at it, the side with the solder is slightly thicker than the other. I'm not sure the average person would notice, but I do. Is it just practice, practice, practice, or am I doing things wrong? Sigh. I didn't imagine I would be needing advice so soon. Being a little heavy on the soldered side, while not perfect, should usually be acceptable. Lots of practice will help. Are your JRs truly _closed_? They need to be touching, preferably with a little pressu When closing JRs, first offset the ends and push them past each other slightly, then offset them slightly in the other direction and tweak until the ends line up. Flux the bit of solder. Brace your pick-hand/arm on the bench, independent of the torch. Keep the torch moving, bring both sides to temperature at the same time. At the beginning is when you need the most advice, the need will ease over time but never go away. -- If you try to 'reply' to me without fixing the dot, your reply will go into a 'special' mailbox reserved for spam. See below. -- Carl West http://carl.west.home.comcast.net change the 'DOT' to '.' to email me "Clutter"? This is an object-rich environment. |
#7
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#8
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"Raane" wrote in message ... Well, the gas tanks have finally arrived and the "studio" (read "previously dining room,") is set up, although still missing any type of bench grinder or rolling mill (and likely a few other things that I don't even know, yet, that I will need). While I was waiting for equipment and tools to arrive, I put together a passel of "component" earrings, just to make the time go by. The only thing left to do was solder the jump rings closed - which I have been attempting to do. I would have thought that this would be one of the most basic and simple things to do, yet, here I am asking advice on my very first task. I have looked it up in some books, as well as on the internet, and have tried several suggestions including using a graphite pencil lead instead of a pick, and wedging a tiny pallon between the two sides of the jump ring. I have certainly been able to solder some jump rings closed, but far from 100% success rate - more like 65% or 70%. And only by trial and error have I gotten that. Here is what I have been doing.... First, I am using a Smith Little Torch, #4 tip, with Acetylene/Oxygen. I put the sterling jump ring into a tweezer with the join facing up and, with a brush, dab on a little bit of Rio Grande "Ready-Flux." I hit it for a second with the flame, just until the flux bubbles a little bit. Then I heat up a pallon until orange on a soldering block, and pick it up with my pick. I lock my torch hand and my pick hand and, trying to hold steady, heat the pallon at the join. Sometimes, the pallon then melts onto the join and I can coax it, with the pick, into spanning smoothly. Other times the pallon beads up and falls off, or flows and lumps onto the side or bottom. Still other times I melt the jump ring. Even the ones that work are often not perfect. If you hold it up and look at it, the side with the solder is slightly thicker than the other. I'm not sure the average person would notice, but I do. Is it just practice, practice, practice, or am I doing things wrong? Sigh. I didn't imagine I would be needing advice so soon. On a brighter note....I am working on my first "real" (non-component) piece, and, so far, it is coming along pretty well! Thanks in advance! Hi Raane. Ok, let's see if I can help you here. Firstly, - "...and wedging a tiny pallon between the two sides of the jump ring". If you tried this and got some failures, then something *is* wrong because if you 'wedge' a paillon between the two ends of the jump ring, then it SHOULD solder 100% every time as long as you have enough flux applied to the join and the ends of the join are really close. The problem is probably that you're not passing the ends of the jump rings PAST eachother and then pulling the ends backwards and aligning them properly to complete the join. If you do this properly, you can then open the gap 'against' the spring of the jump ring and insert your paillon - it will hold tight in the gap once the 'spring action' closes. Now imagine when the solder melts: the two ends of the jump ring will move closer together because of the spring that you introduced when aligning the two ends. You should have a nice join. Don't be afraid to add more flux than a 'dab' - a dab is not good, but more than necessary 'might' hinder you, so find the right amount of flux that you're happy with. Secondly, and personally, I use a 1oz reel of solder wire with a propane flame (any flame can be used), and 'wire-feed' my soldering, i.e. I hold a small reel of solder wire in the palm of my hand with about three inches of wire available and then heat the end of the wire quickly in the flame, dab it in my 'Easy-Flo' flux powder, (Cookson Precious Metals, Walsh and Sons, etc.) then apply heat to the component, apply the flux to the join, keep heating the join, and then just 'dab' the end of your solder wire to the join when hot enough - no lumps and bumps. THIS takes practise of course, but well worth trying if you want 100% soldered joins fast. Another tip with jump rings? If you have a soldering board, (or if not, go to your local woodmill, and see if they have 'scraps', 'cut-outs' of 'fire-retardant' board, very cheap this way), then lay your jump rings, (say, 20 or so), in lines of five ON TOP OF EACHOTHER, but with the joins upwards of the lower jump ring and facing you, (the join of the second jump ring in a line will be in the centre of the first jump ring), and so on down the lines. You then heat the first jump ring in the first line, which in turn heats the next jump ring, (get your flame at the right temperature), making the next jump ring faster to solder. "Repeat". ~ (Didn't someone get $1000,000 for that word in a shampoo advertising campaign?) Again, practise. Hope this helps, and good luck with your ambitions, there's a lot of competition out there, especially price-wise, let alone 'design'-wise, and that's where your problems will start... -SP- Raane |
#9
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#10
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In article , "-SP-"
writes: f you tried this and got some failures, then something *is* wrong because if you 'wedge' a paillon between the two ends of the jump ring, then it SHOULD solder 100% every time as long as you have enough flux applied to the join and the ends of the join are really close. The other necessary thing is to apply enough heat to the jump ring. |
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