neural
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2019
Posts: 114
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Post by neural on Jun 29, 2021 15:44:17 GMT -5
Going from memory, and having watched a few refresher tutorials... please correct me if I'm wrong on any of these... Copper tongs are used in the pickle because ferous metals mess up the solution. Silver and brass are ok to pickle together. Use harder solder for initial soldering, and then medium, easy as you progress. Quench in water immediately after reaching annealing temperature to soften the metal. Sharpie marks vanish at annealing temp for silver Optimal bezel heigh, for starters/beginners, is about 1mm above the edge of the cabochon, so it has plenty of grip, but doesn't obscure the stone. Reticulated silver is made by holding silver sheet at annealing temperature for "too long" Flux not only helps solder flow, but can help prevent fire scale, so using it liberally is not necessarily a bad thing (really not sure about this one). Not that I'm jumping into it today, just starting to organize.
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Post by Rockoonz on Jun 30, 2021 1:34:21 GMT -5
Yes Yes, but when working with brass you should know the alloy you're using. Some had lead in them, or lots of zinc, both health hazards if soldering. Yes When you melt solder it hardens with a higher melt point, so you can concievably use any hardness of solder for 2 consecutive operations if you're careful. Dunno, don't use sharpies Yes 1mm tops above where the bezel gives way to the dome, some cabs with angled bezels are fine with a shorter bezel. Many variations. Reticulated is more like exceeding hard solder temperature almost to the melt point I have used borax to prevent scale, but flux the solder areas as well.
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Post by opalpyrexia on Jun 30, 2021 13:25:40 GMT -5
Copper tongs are used in the pickle because ferous metals mess up the solution. ... Flux not only helps solder flow, but can help prevent fire scale, so using it liberally is not necessarily a bad thing (really not sure about this one). Copper tongs are used in the pickle to prevent your silver pieces from being plated with copper. If your pickle solution is used (not freshly made) and you touch any silver in it with iron or steel, the silver will immediately be given a coating of copper. The copper builds up in solution as the pickle is used.
Regular soldering flux is a poor fire scale (firestain) preventer. "Prip's Flux" does an excellent job of preventing fire scale. Here's the recipe:
- 1 liter of water, boiling - 120 grams boric acid - 80 grams borax - 80 grams TSP (needs to be actual TSP; hard to find these days)
To use, heat the silver and spray Prips in short bursts so that it dries on contact. Cover the entire piece, especially around the soldering area. It's not a substitute for flux. (Multiply those numbers by 1.9 for 1/2 gallon of water.)
The only risk to liberal flux use is solder pieces or melted solder potentially traveling to areas where they're not wanted.
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