[Jewelry making - Article 00582] - Re: [Orchid] Flux & Fire scale

[Peter W . Rowe]

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>     This piece is two sided so now I must yellow ochre the previously
>     soldered gold pieces and turn it over and Prips the second side
>     and solder the gold on that side. I can't use Prips over the
>     ochered side or it will "bleed" the ochre or white out and then
>     it's not safe any more to assume it won't remelt those soldered
>     pieces. 

    Annette, Yellow Ochre only prevents molten solder from flowing out
    onto the ochred areas.  think of it as just dirt.  Solder likes
    clean metal, not dirty metal, so it doesn't flow out onto the ochred
    areas. BUT.  Ochre does not prevent the solder from melting at all. 
    Pieces soldered on, and covered with ochre, can still fall off or
    shift just as easily, though the solder holding them won't, in the
    process, flow onto the ochred areas.   The key to this sort of work
    is simply not using an excess of solder in the first place.  When a
    solder joint is made, the solder at least partially diffuses into the
    metal being joined, and in the process, the composition of the solder
    is altered towards that of the joined metal.  That both raises it's
    melting point a bit, and makes it harder to flow again.  So if you
    don't over use the solder in the first place, then you should be able
    to turn the sheet over and solder again, without needing ochre to
    hold the previous joint in position.   Try it.  solder your first
    pieces, and clean up any excess solder.  Then try your other side,
    with prips, and without any ochre.  It should work just fine.   You
    actually only quite rarely need ochre.  It's needed when you're doing
    things like reheating the intricately mated parts of a catch or
    hinge, where any slight solder flow into the mechanism would freeze
    it up, or similar situations. Just to keep pieces in place that are
    just soldered to the side of sheet metal isn't what it does well,
    since as I said, it doesn't actually hold things down, nor does it
    prevent the solder from melting.  If the piece would fall off without
    the ochre, it can fall off just as easily with it.    Now, if you DO
    have a situation where you need ochre, use just a little bit, as a
    narrow line where you need to block solder flow, or itself flowed
    into the gap you wish to keep solder out of.  Exposed outer areas
    rarely need it.  Dry it well with a torch, even letting it slightly
    discolor, and then spray on your prips right over the top.  If the
    metal is properly pre heated, the prips won't go on wet, and won't
    disturb the ochre.  Should work fine. 

Peter


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