Silversmithing Tip 1
Hard Solder
We have had discussions about hard solders in the past and I just
finished a four week Online Mini Class that teaches my method of making
and soldering on a three wire ring band. After I soldered on the band
and
finished all the photos, I decided to teach my son (he was the camera
man) another reason I use hard solder. Or, a better way to say it, is
"Why I do not teach to use easy and medium solder.)
First we must agree that the only reason to have easy, medium and hard
solder is that they melt at different temperatures. I do not believe any
one will have an argument with that.
And, then, I think we will all agree that they teach us that we want
those different melting and flowing temperatures so that we can use them
in circumstances where we do not want to remelt previous solder joints.
Right?
You, know, so that you can start with hard solder, then do the next
soldering operations with medium and then the last ones with easy. All
this so that you will not remelt the solder joints preceding the next
one, and so that things do not fall apart. Right?
Wrong, there are only three reasons, we still teach using easy, medium
and hard solders.
1. That is the way we were taught! (it is time to stop this non sense!)
2. Solder manufacturers, catalog companies, retail stores, and some
teachers make a good profit by selling all three.
3. We have not tried to use nothing but hard solder for every solder
joint on a few pieces.
I think this series of photos will probably shock most of you,
especially if you are a strong proponent of use all three.
REMEMBER, I am a silversmith, not a goldsmith. I am teaching
silversmithing not goldsmithing.
Photos for this Weeks Tip Can be found at:
http://www.frii.com/~dnorris/sept99tip.html
Photo 1
Just for this experiment, I used a piece of scrap, that we solder on a
bezel and three heavy large sterling silver balls. We made the balls out
of our scrap. Everything was solder on, and filed off as usual. We
soldered a three wire band on to it during a photo session for an Online
Mini Class on Making a Three Wire Ring Band.
Photo 2
I placed the ring in to a third hand and began heating it with the
torch. By the way these photo should shut up the people that tell me
that a $10.00 torch does not get hot enough for silversmithing. By the
way nearly all (95%) of all the jewelry on my web site at:
http://www.frii.com/~dnorris
was made by my students with a $10.00 propane torch.
Any way I began to heat the piece to take off the band. I wanted to save
the band. This is a good way to take off a band.
Photo 3
I just heat it thoroughly and the top piece falls off. As you can see
the band does not come unsolder. The top piece just fell off.
Photo 4
I then picked up the top piece and placed it into the 3rd hand with the
balls facing down, so that if we over heat this piece, they should fall
off. After all that is why we should use easy or medium solder to put on
a band, right?
Photo 5
I heated to a dull red, you can still see the balls hanging on there!
Photo 6
I quickly becomes red and all the solder begins to flow.
Photo 7
The piece is glowing red and of course there is no doubt that the solder
is melted and flowing. Look at them, there balls, they are still in
place. How can that be?
Photo 8
A few second later, the whole piece is heated to just below the total
melt down temperature. HOT! Look close, you will still see the balls,
still in position. Did I use magic?
Photo 9
It so hot in this photo that the entire surface is beginning to melt and
shimmer. Remember the balls, and bezel are hanging down, and they are
not moving, not dropping off!
Photo 10
The entire piece is beginning to melt, you can still see the balls! They
have not moved!
Photo 11
A small portion on the front edge is beginning to melt. Great
ball-o-fire, they are still hanging in there!!!
Photo 12
Oops, about half of the entire piece melted and dropped down on to the
charcoal block in a ball. But the balls are still in position.
Impossible? No it will work this way every time!
Photo 13
I am melting it some more and they are still in position.
Photo 14
I took the torch off to show more of the piece that melted and began to
drip, but the balls on the front edge are still there. They had begun to
melt, but they did not move!
Ok, why did the balls and the bezel not fall off? Why is it that most
teachers will say to use easy solder to put on a ring band, so that all
these things do not fall off? I will bet most have not tried this. The
magic is something called "surface tension"! Surface tension is that
Mother Nature's physics magic that I really can not explain in detail,
but here is my scientific explanation. You can perform this experiment.
On a hot day, go down to the pub, buy a three beers and drink them. The
fourth beer let it set for a few seconds on the coaster. When you pick
it up, the coaster sticks to the bottom of the glass. Surface Tension!
The glass and the coaster are not sticky, just wet. But this moisture
makes the coaster "stick" to the bottom of the glass. How? Physic's, I'm
sure! By the way, I do this experiment with ice tea!
Any way, surface tension will hold almost all design elements in place
once they have been soldered in to place. Especially on pendants and
rings. Surface tension actually over comes gravity.
Now did I cheat?
Yes, in a way!
I used hard solder as I always do. Lots of it! I like hard solder!
You cheated to when you had three beers before trying to pick up the
coaster. It takes enough moisture to create enough surface tension,
before the effects of gravity are over come. As long as the coaster is
dry, there is no surface tension!
If I had used easy or medium solder, sparingly (as most teach, because
you do not want to see that junk.) there would not be enough solder in
place to create enough surface tension to hold the balls in place.
So the warning is that if you are soldering something like a large leaf
and you use a small amount of solder. If you turn it up side down, and
the solder melts, it will not have sufficient surface tension to hold it
in place. Gravity will become the stronger physical force and the leaf
will fall off. There are many other ways to keep it from falling off.
Using easy and medium solder to keep previously solder on elements from
falling is just plain unnecessary, time consuming, and unattractive.
Just use hard solder for all your solder joints!
Silvertips Ball Burs
Ball Burrs
When using ball burrs, use the largest one that can possibly do the job.
This really means the largest one you have that
will fit in the space that you are working in. I keep 1/4 inch ball
burrs for nearly all operations. The larger the burr,
the easier it is to control. Small burrs have a tendency to catch and be
jerked around. Thus, marring surfaces that you
do not wish to have scarred. It can also lead to the burr bouncing, or
slipping, off the surface and grinding in to you.
They will eat right through a glove, even a leather one, and then in to
your fingers. This is a very bad cut, because it
chews in to the skin, and rips it up in to chunks, instead of just a
nice cut. A large burr, cuts faster, is easier to see
what you are doing and by having more teeth on the metal at one time, is
easier to control. You can actually sculpt
with a large ball burr. I do keep some small burrs handy to get to the
small areas when needed, but actually try not to
use them. A larger burr will require less pressure, hence more control.
The more teeth it has the fine the cut, but the
longer it takes to do the job. This falls in to the matter of
preference category. Use a fine one or a coarse one, the
speed of the tool can make either work just fine. A coarse burr, at high
speeds will give the same cut as a fine burr,
and I prefer high speeds. It works faster and gives a smooth cut. Smooth
enough to go on to polishing with a bright
boy wheel or even just white diamond on a yellow treated buff.
http://www.frii.com/~dnorris/apathetic/oxidize10.jpg
http://www.frii.com/~dnorris/apathetic/oxidize11.jpg
