[Jewelry making - Article 00176] - Re: [Orchid] Soldering Argentium Silver

[Trevor F]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

>     ... I cleaned the metal with a scotch pad and ... brushed on some
>     Battern's flux. 

Hello Jan,

    Ah, Battern's. In my experience that might be the source of some of
    your difficulties. 

    I have used Batterns too though that was some years ago. It came as a
    liquid, bright yellow in color, basically odorless as I recall. 

    Anyway I found Batterns to be a rather weak flux compared to the
    borax-based paste fluxes and it tended to burn off fairly quickly.
    Generally unsatisfactory for high temperature work on sterling and all
    the base metals IMHO, but quite good on fine silver and higher karat
    golds when using medium grade solder or less. 

    FWIW I've recently been using a new flux, commercial stuff again for
    the first time in years, on my Argentium work and I'm very pleased
    with it. It's Tessco's "F" powder flux mixed with regular tap water
    to whatever paste consistency you like. Very nice! I hear that it's
    similar to Handy Flux but the temperature ratings aren't quite the
    same so who knows. In any case I'm loving it! 

    So I suppose what I'm saying is that you might want to try a few
    different fluxes to see if that helps you. For any work in sterling,
    Argentium or otherwise, I would always opt for a paste flux --Handy,
    Thessco, whatever-- over a liquid like Battern's. 

Cheers, 
Trevor F. 
in the  City of Light

____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________