[Jewelry making - Article 01065] - Re: [Orchid] Ring joins

[Noel Yovovich]

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    Hi, Karen, Here's what I would say, though there are always other
    ways to deal with things. 

    To get invisible joins, 

    1) make sure the parts mate as perfectly as possible. My students
    tear their hair out trying to do this, but there's no way around it.
    Then use minimal solder. 

    2) use the hardest solder you can manage. The harder the solder, the
    closer the color match. 

    3) Assuming this is silver, after all heat-work is done, "bring up
    the fine silver". This means gentle heating and pickling as many
    times as it takes (up to 10 sometimes) to deplete the surface, and
    especially the solder, of copper. Heat the piece *without* flux with
    a soft flame until it just turns yellow, then plunge it into hot
    pickle. It will pickle very quickly. Rinse, dry, do it again. It
    will gradually take more heat to get discoloration, and when it
    stays white, you are done. 

    The last creates a disguise for solder and for firescale, but it is
    just a thin layer of soft fine silver, so don't depend on it to last
    on high-wear items like rings. Concentrate on #1 & 2. But any piece
    (IMHO) worth spending more than an hour making is worth #3, since
    this will also substantially decrease or delay tarnish. It will also
    create that beautiful soft white finish that is so popular these
    days, especially in Europe. 

    I just looked at your post again, and I may see another issue. If
    you file correctly to begin with, the sawing-through is unnecessary,
    and possibly counter-productive. Get the ends flat and square, then
    bend them together. Don't worry about the shape of the ring: they'll
    meet best if they meet straight, so your ring can be quite squashed
    in shape. Then, instead of binding, displace the ends to the side so
    that you can force them past each other (as though they came from a
    coil), then snap them back. Then do the same to the other side,
    and/or to the top and bottom. This can be quite difficult on a heavy
    ring, but it work-hardens the shank and creates spring, so that
    ultimately the ends are pressing hard on each other. This works
    *way* better than binding to create a tight fit. Also, I like to
    solder from the inside, so any mess ends up there where cleanup is
    less obvious. I stand the ring up, against a pin or block if
    necessary, with the joint at the bottom. Easy enough to round it out
    after it is soldered. 

Good luck!
--No=EBl


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