[Jewelry making - Article 00740] - Re: [Orchid] Soldering Argentium Silver

[Eddie Belll]

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    Peter Johns was at Expo NY early this week and he asked me about
    Batterns flux and how suitable it is for silver solder jobs. I have
    used liquid flux all my life, even on large silver projects with good
    results. I have also used Handy Flux with good results, but I
    learned with the liquid and I think it is faster and more convenient.
    That doesn't make me right, only opinionated. I have not used
    Argentium yet (I will soon), but lets just think about this from a
    technical point of view. If we think about the purpose of flux and
    how flux works any proven commercial flux should work if the job is
    conducted in the temperature range the flux is good intended for and
    everything is clean. The most important thing is that the metal and
    the solder are clean before you start. Peter says that a good flux
    can clean the metal and I don't doubt he can solder a dirty joint and
    probably make it look easy to boot. My experience is that good
    preparation is important if you don't want to do rework. I wasn't
    there to see so this is pure speculation. Classic sterling tarnishes
    and gives us a visual indicator of cleanliness. Consider that
    Argentium doesn't discolor and might fool one into thinking that the
    surface was clean enough to solder. It is plausible that some oxides
    were present, or that the flux was not applied completely to the
    whole area. If it was me, I would try again. Clean the surface to be
    soldered with a file or sanding stick and clean the solder with fine
    sand paper just to make sure. Start with some clean flux and see what
    happens. If it doesn't work the second time with everything prepared
    and clean before heating, then I would like to know and have a
    picture of what you are doing. Maybe we have something to learn about
    flux and this new material and it would be time to do some research. 

Eddie Bell
Neutec/USA


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