[Jewelry making - Article 00734] - Re: [Orchid] Precision soldering

[LSHancock]

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>     Natural adhesives (such as gum arabic or hide glue) are used in
>     granulation to help the metal fuse together. Would they help in
>     soldering, too? 

    Janet, The ultimate in natural adhesive; Use spit!  I have a solder
    pick that I use exclusively for the purpose (so it's clean).  Take a
    clean solder pick, place it to your tongue and collect some spittle.
    Place a small amount on the object to be soldered.  Without adding
    more spit to the solder pick, touch the solder pallion.  The surface
    tension from the residual saliva will usually be enough to make the
    solder adhere to the pick.  It's best to have less spit on the solder
    pick than on the piece, that way the added surface tension from the
    extra spittle on the piece will cause the piece to easily transfer
    from the pick to the jewelry.  If you have too much spit on the piece
    it will cause the solder to jump off if the torch is applied too
    quickly, so practice and use the least amount needed. Once the
    solder is placed you can move it around to a new place if your hand
    has twitched.  You will get to the point, with practice that you use
    so little that it will evaporate before you even pick up the torch. 
    This is very useful with the new plumb platinum solders that don't
    work well by picking them up hot with the solder pick.  I also use
    spit to pick up diamonds when setting them in pave; Works great with
    melee! 

Hope this is useful.
Larry  


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