[Jewelry making - Article 00058] - Re: [Orchid] Marble stone as a Soldering Block?

[Ala]

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    A soldering block must be able to heat up instantly and reflect the
    heat up into the object being soldered. Marble will soak up the heat
    and disintigrate. A simple test - does it feel cold? If it does then
    it is sucking in heat and it is no good for soldering on. 

    Fibre cement board will do. Off-cuts are found on building sites and
    hardware shops (the boards break easily and pieces can be picked
    up). It is used for lining walls that need to be water proof and/or
    fire proof. 

    Vermicuilte boards can be found at the wood heater shop and
    kiln/pottery places. They make good soldering blocks. 

    The soldering blocks you buy from the jewellery supplier are the
    best, and not expensive. I use the ceramic honeycomb blocks. 

    A useful addition to your soldering block is a tangle of iron wire
    hammered flat. Heat the tangle red-hot so that the iron turns black;
    this will prevent any solder or jewellery bits from sticking to it.
    When annealing pieces of silver or gold, sit them on the mop of wire
    and the flame will go all around the piece and heat it up quickly. 

Regards, Alastair
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