[Jewelry making - Article 01541] - Re: [Orchid] Argentium soldering

[Cynthia Eid]

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Hi Jan,

>     I think one of my problems is that I switch back and forth between
>     regular sterling and the AS. 

    I've been unable to keep up with Orchid----distracted by various
    family things, including helping my youngest son move into his
    freshman college dorm yesterday. I think it can be tricky to switch
    back and forth between traditional sterling and AS, though it
    certainly is possible to do---just as one needs to make a mental
    adjustment about tactics when switching between traditional SS and
    gold. The most important thing to remember with AS is to forget about
    trying to heat the whole piece of metal at once, or trying to have
    all the solder flow at once. Give the whole thing an overall heating,
    and then start at one area, and heat along the seam--I usually use a
    back and forth movement with the torch over a half to one-inch area.
    When that solder flows, move to the adjacent area, and heat til that
    flows. Then move to the next area. Etc. You'll find that the first
    area takes the most time, and then each subsequent area takes less.
    With a one-inch diameter piece, I find that the solder flows as fast
    as I can turn the soldering turn-table. A larger piece moves more
    slowly. As we know, there are many "right ways" to do something.
    Nevertheless, I was surprised at Nancy's description of her soldering
    method--using lots of tiny bits of solder close together. My method
    is perhaps more "quick and lazy". I use big pieces of wire solder,
    placed far apart. When I tested gel flux recently, I applique
    soldered 1" pieces of wire to sheet using a single piece of solder at
    one end. For the gel flux samples, a 1/8" piece of wire solder flowed
    along the entire piece. The yellow liquid flux pieces mostly flowed,
    but one or two did not flow the entire length of wire. I do think
    that, for many people, AS solder does not melt completely. I think
    this usually happens because the flame is too small, and the person
    is heating very tentatively, because of being nervous, resulting in
    the lowest temperature components of the solder flowing before the
    entire piece of solder flows. If this happens, it is pointless to
    keep heating, in hopes of having the entire piece of solder flow.
    Clean up the excess solder, and heat with a larger flame, and more
    boldness next time. (Personally, I rarely have solder flow
    incompletely.) It is important to wait a few moments after finishing
    soldering before touching or moving the piece. With a flat piece, I
    like to slide it onto a flat steel plate to cool----it helps it cool
    flatly (is that a word?!?). Air cool a flat piece
    completely----quenching warps the metal. I'll be giving a talk about
    Argentium Silver at MJSA in Providence, RI October 11 at 11 am, and
    will have either video of soldering, or a bench demo, depending on
    the rules about torches at the facility. 

    http://www.mjsa.org/press/press_read.php?id=119
    http://www.mjsa.org

    I also teach workshops about working with AS,
    http://www.cynthiaeid.com/schedule.html#WORKSHOPS

    which include plenty of hands-on work-time. Upcoming workshops
    include: October 28 in San Antonio, TX, Feb 2-3, 2008 at Metalwerx,
    and April 26-27, 2008 in Hanover, NH. Feel free to ask your favorite
    school to contact me about setting up a workshop in your area. Wow,
    this is the longest post I've ever written to Orchid, I think! It's
    super-hot here, and we've been advised to stay indoors, and not to
    over exert. I hope the info is helpful. 

best wishes to all,
Cynthia
http://www.cynthiaeid.com
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