[Jewelry making - Article 00271] - Re: [Orchid] Afraid to solder

[Neilthejeweler]

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    Todd, You have a challenging situation, joining light and heavy
    objects.

    Flux...too thin and it can burn off, especially with silver. Too
    thick and it can deflect heat away from where you want it. Try a
    smaller amount of moderately thick flux, or reflux with thinner flux
    as you heat. 

    Relative mass...silver soaks up heat much more than gold. keep the
    heat on the larger mass til the flux gets that particular look,
    circle in with the torch. 

    Soldering pad...some people like those heavy metal screen things, to
    me it just acts like a heat sink. I've had good results with a hard
    charcoal block. you may also try suspending your piece with a third
    hand, you can apply heat from underneath then move up top. 

    Flame..silver likes a neutral flame but it might be too large for
    your small gold bezel, hence melting. try adjusting to smaller,
    slightly oxidizing flame after the piece is heated enough, circle the
    flame around the bezel without actually touching it, let the heat
    seep in. 

    Sweating...your solder is in the middle of two different masses,
    hidden from the source of heat. You might try paste solder, without
    sweating, its smaller mass is more reactive to heat, I think. You
    should see a bright line appear along the join when it flows. Check
    that the location of the solder is indeed making contact with the
    other piece. A little goes a long way. Too much solder and you can
    get that floating effect, and the dreaded squishing out. 

    You say the bezel fits in a recessed area. This shields the bezel
    from heat. As an alternate, make what amounts to a peg setting and
    solder from the back, just make the peg large enough to hold up under
    the pressure of setting. 

    Since you feel the piece is ruined anyway, experiment on it. 

    Any one or combination of these suggestions might work for you. I
    hope so.
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