[Jewelry making - Article 00101] - Re: [Orchid] Bezel Melting Problems

[Katherine Palochak]

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>         Lately I have been having lots of problems accidentally
>     melting sterling silver bezel when trying to solder it to a
>     sterling silver pendant base...I use a little torch oxy/propane set
>     up. Today I was using a number six tip, but have had the problem
>     when using other tips as well. 

    A #6 tip is overkill. Use a #4. Use a #3 if the pendant base plate
    is particularly light, 24-30 ga. Your flame should have three
    distinct zones in dim light. A bright blue inner cone, followed by a
    yellow cone in the middle, followed by an outer cone of blue/green.
    Aim for the area between the inner and middle cone to touch the
    metal, as this is the most efficient heat concentration. 

>         I use pripps flux and medium solder. 

    Pripps is an effective firescale inhibitor, but you need to use an
    additional flux. Try Batterns or Handi-Flux in addition to your
    Pripps. 

>         ...I heat the base and the bezel from the top.  I try not to
>     heat the bezel directly. The bezel seems to melt just as the solder
>     liquefies. 

    With silver, remember your whole piece has to be up to a consistent
    heat level. It radiates heat like crazy. Concentrate your flame on
    the base plate as you have been doing, both around the outside of the
    bezel and the inside of the bezel, but not on the bezel itself. It's
    thinner gauge material and melts more easily than your heavier base
    plate. 

    Remember these things also: 

    If your solder balls, you have surface contamination. Make sure your
    metals are free of tarnish, oil and dirt. 

    Make sure your joining surfaces are flat. Solder cannot jump a gap.
    File both the bottom of the bezel, and make sure your base plate is
    level and hasn't been distorted by heat expansion. 

    If your solder has pits, you've overheated it. Cut back on your
    oxygen, or make sure you're heating away from the join, concentrating
    on preheating the heavier base plate first. 

    If you flux looks brownish or blackish, you have contaminated your
    piece with soot. Cut back on the gas. 

    If solder is clumpy, you have either underheated or used too much
    solder. 

    Are you getting a draft? A draught of cool air across your piece can
    often draw away enough heat to affect your soldering. 

    Make sure your solder is really solder. This is something that
    happens even to old pros. Occasionally we pick up a piece of wire or
    sheet we think is solder, and it's actually a metal masquerading as
    solder. Groan! The first thing I do when I get my solder in is to
    mark it. Sheet solder is marked all over on both sides with a sharp
    awl with the type and color. Example: #75, #70, 14kyh (14 kt. yellow
    hard), 14kym, 18ky, 14kr. Chips are put in film canister tops on my
    bench (keeps them contained and can find it easily), and when I'm
    done with it, the extra chips go in the film canister itself, which
    is marked with the type in enamel pen. Wire solder is kinked on one
    end of the coil, and the piece I cut off, to let me know which temp
    it is: a square for extra hard, a double kink for hard, single kink
    for medium, circle for easy. 

    And finally, find a pro, whether jeweler or rockhound, whine and
    wheedle your way into sitting in while they're working. Observe. 

    Good luck. From an old hand who learned the hard way, and found out
    it's a lot simpler to learn from someone who knows what they're doing.


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