[Jewelry making - Article 00232] - Re: [Orchid] Afraid to solder

[JA]

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Hello Todd,

>     I used a piece of binding wire and a third hand to put a small
>     amount of force straight down on it so it WOULDN'T move around. I
>     have seen things 'float' around when sweat soldering. Well, it
>     moved anyway, and made quite a mess." 

    I'm going to take a stab in the dark and suggest that you have too
    much steel absorbing your heat. Try not using the third hand,
    especially when you have the binding wire already absorbing your 
heat.
    The third hand will absorb enough heat to both not allow the solder
    to melt (or just melt into a ball) and to direct the solder toward 
the
    hottest part ( the third arm) rather than the base of your bezel. The
    only time I have been successful with the third hand is to go in with
    a hot flame, paste flux, and do the job as quickly as possible... and
    always, it is just on the edge of melting (and that is sans the
    binding wire). Btw, I hate the way paste flux bubbles, but it stays
    long enough to melt that solder. Its kind of a tricky dance of
    bringing in the flame tenderly at first (to control the intensity of
    bubbling) until it turns white, and then eagerly toward the end.
    Also I use silver so I imagine gold would be even more temperamental
    juxtaposed to steel. 

Good luck
Jenn
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