[Jewelry making - Article 00297] - Re: [Orchid] Soldering tube settings together

[Karen Goeller]

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Helen,

>     The melting solder onto each bit first - is that what you call
>     sweat soldering? It sounds worth a try anyway. 

    It's a similar approach to that used when sweat soldering. For true
    sweat soldering, you really only flow the solder onto one piece, then
    heat the other piece until the solder flows between them. In this
    case, you're actually using the solder to "seal" the metal underneath
    and keep it clean(er) to reflow without a lot of re-prepping needed.
    In fact, you should be able to do it without intermediate pickling
    and cleanup, unless you really keep the heat on it a long time when
    you flow it the first time and build up a lot of oxidation. 

    When I have things that are really hard to position, this technique
    frequently makes it possible without a lot of frustration. 

    There is a relative of the solderite pads, called Impressionite
    soldering fixtures, made by Krohn industries. It's a super-soft
    soldering pad that is designed for fixturing like you're doing. If
    you are doing multiples of the same piece, you press the first one in
    and get the indentations exactly right, then spray a fixative onto
    the board. The fixative permanently hardens the board so the next
    piece just goes into the indentations. I use it without hardening
    many times, because I rarely do exact replicas... but when I do have
    a line of exact pieces, I just spray that portion of the board,
    leaving the rest soft. 

Hope that helps!
Karen Goeller
No Limitations Designs
Hand-made, one-of-a-kind jewelry
www.nolimitations.com
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