[Jewelry making - Article 00253] - Re: [Orchid] Argentium Sterling and solder

[Cynthia Eid]

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Hi Janet,

    In my experience, all of the Argentium Solders melt incompletely. I
    think that a lot of the problems people are having are from
    over-heating, in an attempt to melt that left-over
    bit/ghost/dreg/whatever-we-call-it. 

    It turns out to be quite a complicated feat to develop 3 good
    solders that melt at 3 different temperatures, match the color of
    Argentium Sterling, flow well, and are non-toxic. Oh, if only cadmium
    were not toxic! 

    My personal preference is Rio Grande's My-T-Flux, but I don't think
    the fluxes matter as much as the heat control of the person doing the
    soldering. My advice is: Put the heat on the area around the solder. 

    I agree about using Easy or Med rather than hard. 

    I think that there are a couple of choices her: 

    -use regular silver solder, while getting accustomed to the
    different heating required by Argentium Sterling, which does not
    conduct heat as well as traditional SS. 

    -use AS solder, and stop heating when the solder flows. Clean up the
    excess. Plan placement of the solder so that it is easy to get to. 

    -Use a soldering pick to encourage the solder to flow---I think of
    it as giving the capillary action some encouragement, and getting it
    started. 

    I hope these thoughts help! 

Cynthia Eid
http://www.cynthiaeid.com
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