[Jewelry making - Article 00853] - Re: [Orchid] Soldering Silver bezel wire to Copper

[John Donivan]

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    I'm not sure you could have picked a more difficult soldering
    project----- It can be done, though. First, use steel wool on the
    copper to clean it. You would be ahead to also flux it, anneal it,
    pickle it, rinse and then steel wool again. You will never get any
    solder to stick to unclean copper, and it will oxidize again
    overnight in the air. Then, make sure (obviously) everything fits,
    use a heavier flux (Not like Battern's, the yellow liquid) - use a
    paste made for silver solder. Suspend the plate somehow (tripod and
    wire screen is the way, but you may not have that), so that you can
    heat it from underneath, and do that. You need a bigger flame to heat
    the entire plate - a little pinpoint flame just won't do it. If you
    need to, you can put a piece of solder somewhere to melt, so you know
    the temperature, and then flow it into the seam. Then, if it gets
    sluggish or the copper starts turning colors, STOP, pickle, rinse,
    clean, flux, and reflow it. Copper oxides are essentially a stone
    wall to any solder - meaning even plumbers have to do this stuff.....

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