[Jewelry making - Article 00001] - Re: [Orchid] More TIG type welding for jewelry

[James Binnion]

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>     300 amps! You could weld an aluminum engine block with that much!
>     I've done stick welding with a 1/4" rod(7018) and didn't need that
>     much current. 

    Yes but your aluminum engine block has much less thermal and
    electrical conductivity than the silver. You need huge amounts of
    current to spot heat the silver fast enough to end up with a puddle
    rather than melting the whole item. I work on steel, stainless,
    copper and precious metals with a TIG torch. Copper of the same gage
    as mild steel requires twice as much current as mild steel and silver
    even more than that and stainless needs less current than mild. It is
    all about thermal and electrical conductivity. 

James Binnion
jbin AT mokume-gane.com
James Binnion Metal Arts
http://www.mokume-gane.com
360-756-6550
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