[Jewelry making - Article 00441] - [Orchid] Low temprature solders

[Carrie Nunes]

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Hi all,

    I am interested in learning more about low temp solders. A friend of
    mine has become very interested in metalworking and she is showing
    some innate talent at forming. She is making various copper forms
    that she is turning into garden ornaments and fountains. She has a
    background in making stained glass. So much of what she is making is
    assembled with soft solder containing lead. 

    I work with precious metals and avoid the lead stuff completely.
    Even the copper garden art I have made I used lead-free soft solder.
    My experience is limited though with these types of solders. I can
    tell that compared to the lead-free stuff that I used, she does seem
    to get a bit stronger bond with the leaded solder. 

    I have been reading on the subject in the Brehpol Theory and
    Practice of Goldsmithing book. There is a good section in there on
    various solders. But I wondered if any of you could tell me more. My
    main concern is for her health. How much is exposure is too much?
    Does heating these low temp solders with a torch rather than a
    soldering iron, possibly taking them beyond there normal melt temp,
    expose you to dangerous fumes? Will a copper fountain that is
    assembled with small amounts of leaded solder slowly contaminate the
    water that runs through it? Any thoughts on the longevity of these
    joints when exposed to the elements outside? (She does apply an
    acrylic sealer to the pieces which may help protect the joints a
    bit) 

    I have shared a good deal of metalworking information with my friend
    involving forming and shaping. I have showed her how to create
    greater surface area and contact in her joints to improve the
    stability of her soft solder joins. I have also showed her how to
    hard solder pieces. But she does not currently have a torch that can
    supply enough heat to really hard solder these larger pieces. Also
    the copper tends to get so annealed during the process of hard
    soldering that soft soldering really does show some advantage. 

    Thanks for any info on this topic you can pass along. 

Carrie Nunes 
http://www.metalpetalsworkshop.com

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