[Jewelry making - Article 01052] - Re: [Orchid] Soldering Enormous Bezels

[Peter W . Rowe]

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>           An alternate strategy, suggested by a fellow silversmith, is
>     to heat the piece on a soldering pad (from the top) with the flame
>     in the playing the flame around the outer edge of the bezel to flow
>     the solder. Her theory was that the soldering pad retains enough
>     heat to make this work. Viable? 

    yes.  viable.  important to use the largest torch tip you've got,
    preferably with an air/fuel torch, not oxy/fuel.  A prestolite or
    smith air/acetylene type is perfect, using a large tip.  that big
    soft flame will let you heat the whole thing.  If you've got a
    charcoal block big enough, that will be better than standard
    soldering pads, as it reflects heat better.  Often what I'll do is
    use a large charcoal block, and lay down a bunch of pieces of coat
    hanger wire, or something similar (large cotter pins are good),
    spaced about 1/4 inch apart, parallel.  The silver goes on top.  Now
    the torch flame can be directed not just at the top, but also circled
    around the piece just outside the edge, with the flame then being able
    to travel between those pins under the piece.  On charcoal this works
    especially well to help heat things evenly. 

    if you have trouble with the backing sheet warping,  use a
    planishing hammer very lightly in the center portion of the sheet,
    supported on a flat steel surface, before soldering it.  This will
    very slightly dome the sheet.  it should be only barely perceptible,
    perhaps only when held against a straight edge.  When domed, thermal
    expansion is then controlled in the direction the metal can move, and
    simply changes the curve of the dome, instead of letting the sheet
    twist.  So your soldering can still occur, and the sheet will relax
    back down again as it cools.  if it's still domed more than you can
    tolerate, a mallet with the work on a flat surface, or your
    planishing hammer again, used judiciously (very lightly), can also
    again flatten it a bit again, but likely, you won't need to do this. 
    This is a trick I learned trying to put boxes together, with sizes
    probably a bit larger even than your buckle.  it works. 

Peter


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