[Jewelry making - Article 00294] - Re: [Orchid] Afraid to solder

[Alastair]

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Hi Todd,

    I sympathise with your fustration of losing a piece after so much
    work. Some of these tips may help: 

    1. Each time you melt the solder the melting point of the solder
    rises, more so if prolonged heating occurs at or near the melting
    point. As a rule of thumb, hard solder can be melted twice, medium
    solder 3 times, and easy solder 4 or 5 times before serious problems
    arise. When sweating, the first melt should be done with the minimum
    heat, just enough to quickly spread the solder. This will give more
    leeway in the subsequent melting. 

    2. Apply solder to the small piece, then sweat by heating the bigger
    piece. 

    3. Too much solder causes floating, although the right amount of
    solder will also give some floating, the piece will float lower and
    stick more readily. 

    4. Too little solder causes "sticking", by sticking I mean that
    there is no indication that the solder has melted, over-heating takes
    place, and any attempt to move the piece is met with stubborn
    resistance. The best remedy for a part stuck in the wrong place is to
    immediately recognise that it is stuck, lift or peel it off there and
    then, and start again. 

    5. Holding the piece to be sweated is made difficult because the
    solder takes up space which disappears when the solder melts, and
    movement is inevitable. Stitches (small slivers cut with a graver
    that stand up and keep the piece in place) are good as long as the
    piece does not float higher than the stitches. 

    6. Sometimes it is better to solder without sweating. Use very small
    pallions, make sure they are all tucked in against the seam before
    they melt. The piece can be held in place with the soldering probe
    with little chance of moving (it is only floating on the flux, vastly
    different to floating on liquid metal). Cleaning up the footprints
    left by the pallions is often quicker than going through the sweating
    process. 

    The more expensive or painful the lesson, the better it is
    remembered, and it becomes known as experience. 

Keep trying, and all the best.
Alastair
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