Hi Janet,
I use a corner of my soldering pad for this, if I need larger beads
than the surface tension of the molten metal can support, I use a
round burr to create a depression in the soldering pad. Nearly all
of the oil or wax burns away cleanly, but as the pad does absorb the
oil, ( the pad acts as a wick, releasing the oil to burn slowly like
a candle) there may still be a residue left in the pad. If this is a
problem then use a separate or dedicated pad, or an old broken
piece of soldering pad. I don’t see this as a problem as any burning
oil near where you are soldering is reducing the available oxygen in
the area. I have considered trying to take advantage of this
reducing atmosphere as an alternative to using borax based fluxes,
but have not developed the idea yet. Using this method would be
similar to blanketing the soldering area with an inert gas, or
soldering in a vacuum, only this is a lot easier to implement in a
small workshop. Another interesting tip for when you want to
restrict or confine where solder can flow on a piece is to dab the
no flow area with dialux polishing compound. Flux the joint first,
warm the piece, and dab the no flow area with the dialux. Works
really well. I tried to send this earlier in the week, I don=E2EURTMt
think it worked, so I=E2EURTMm trying again.
Regards,
Allan.
Mornington Jewellers