[Jewelry making - Article 00333] - Re: [Orchid] Struggling with soldering sterling silver

[Bruce Holmgrain]

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

>         James in So Fla makes some excellent safety points about using
>     alcohol-based flux.  I'd suggest using a jar/container that is
>     wider than it is tall.  It will be much harder to knock over!! 

    This is in the archives, a couple of times now for all of the years
    that I have subscribed to his listserver. 

    I no longer use the alcohol with boric acid. It only acts as a
    carrier for the boric acid. Long ago, I learned that it is often
    necessary to clean the jewelry before firing, so rinsing the work in
    boric acid/alcohol for cleaning becomes redundant. After cleaning,
    between static, moisture and oils frmm my hands, boric acid powder
    clings quite nicely to my work before I fire it up. I am sure that
    boric acid crystals would not. Boric acid roach killer works great. 

    The last time I used boric acid and alcohol, I had about a decade on
    the bench. I used an old wide mouth Handy&Harman flux jar for just
    this purpose. Large enough for a bangle or charm bracelet and a lid
    to extinguish it quickly when it did catch fire. That last time, I
    didn't realize the it was burning. I just noted a little stinging
    sensation around the webbing between my left thumb and forefinger.
    In trying to put it down gently, I bumped into something in my
    benchpan, mandrel, pliers, mallet ... who knows? I managed to slosh
    it all over my hand. It left me with a huge blister on the inside of
    the hand. The back of the hand lost something like 3 layers of skin.
    The outer layer that might have formed a blister fell off in
    minutes. It took a full 6-9 months to heal, I don't remember
    anymore. The guy I was working for offered no compensation and I
    even had to pay my own hospital bill. 

    Here endeth the lesson. Take from it what you will. 

Bruce D. Holmgrain
http://www.goldwerx.com
guy AT goldwerx.com
JA Certified Master Bench Jeweler / CAD/CAM Solutions

____________________________________________________________________
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
____________________________________________________________________