[Jewelry making - Article 00289] - Re: [Orchid] Struggling with soldering sterling silver

[Trevor F]

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>     I agree with you that using a particular flux is a very individual
>     thing. ... You feel the Batterns is too weak for higher temp work
>     whilst I have no problem with it. 

    Don, too true!  Stuff like this is so individual that sometimes it's
    almost embarrassing to say things like "use this" or "that's better".
     In the end it's all "your mileage may vary" and one can only hope
    that the reader takes it in that spirit. 

    As to Battern's being weak for higher temp or dirty work I think it
    might be worth mentioning that I'm not the only one who has found it
    thus. In Tim McCreight's "Complete Metalsmith" in the "Fluxes" section
    he says pretty much the same thing: 

          "Battern's: a flouride-based flux ... does not have the oxygen
          absorbing power of the borax fluxes and is not recommended for
          metals that oxidize rapidly such as copper, brass and nickel
          silver." 

    Clearly he's talking about the same Battern's formulation that I had
    used and discarded.  I think they've switched formula in recent
    years, no?  Maybe that's made some difference in it's performance too.
     I wouldn't know. 

    The torch one uses is obviously going to have some effect on this
    too, as I think you mentioned.  I've used cheap, un-adjustable
    torches for much of my metalworking career and that's certainly made
    the flux issue a larger issue than it might have otherwise been. 

>     ... I use a plastic Skippy Peanut Butter jar to mix and store this
>     firecoat. ... Close the lid before you burn, and keep it separate
>     from your workbench, off to the side. 

    James, it sounds like we're on the same page in terms of our ways of
    using our alcohol-based flux though I tend toward the paranoid side.
    What I do is mix in a large jar but transfer to a teeny 10 ml jar for
    use on the bench. That way if something goes wrong, or the working
    jar gets contaminated, then it's not a big deal either way. Less
    intimidating too. The basic cap-it-and-move-it procedure still
    applies though, of course. 

Cheers,
Trevor F.
in The City of Light

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