Asked by: Jianxiong Zollweg
hobbies and interests jewelry making

How do you solder jewelry?

31
  1. Place your metal pieces on the firebrick where you're going to work. Cut a small amount of solder wire using sharp scissors.
  2. Working with a few small pieces is preferable to one larger piece of solder.
  3. Apply a small amount of flux to the area that's going to be soldered using a paintbrush.


Moreover, what do I need to solder jewelry?

What you need to get started soldering jewelry:

  1. Kiln brick, charcoal block or a ceramic honeycomb block.
  2. Microflame butane torch.
  3. Cooling cup with tweezers.
  4. Soldering pick.
  5. Silver solder paste.
  6. Penny Brite, pickling components.

Also, can I use a soldering iron for jewelry? Because first of all, it won't reach a high enough temperature to melt lead-free solder, and that's what you have to use to make jewelry. Most soldering irons are made for the stained glass industry and so they are made to melt lead which is used to create stained glass, and lead melts at a low temperature.

Keeping this in consideration, what kind of solder do you use for jewelry?

Silver hard solders work for assembling silver jewelry and can also be used to fuse brass and/or copper (as long as you don't mind the joints being a different color).

How do you solder silver jewelry?

Steps

  1. Find a charcoal soldering block or other appropriate work surface.
  2. Purchase silver solder.
  3. Use a torch, not a soldering iron.
  4. Select a general purpose flux or brazing flux.
  5. Use a fan for ventilation if necessary.
  6. Find tweezers and copper tongs.
  7. Take precautions with goggles and an apron.

Related Question Answers

Rozella Micola

Professional

Why does my solder not stick?

A classic reason solder won't stick to something is because you're not getting it hot enough. Touch some solder on it, and it should melt almost instantly. Put a nice little blob of solder on the tip of the iron. Press the blob of solder into the metal to be soldered.

Walid Fudym

Professional

Does Hobby Lobby have soldering irons?

25 Watt Soldering Iron | Hobby Lobby | 1379767.

Gwyneth Winklmaier

Professional

How do you attach jewelry without soldering?

You can fuse metal together without having to solder it. By using a butane torch, you can heat your pieces of metal until they are almost but not quite melted. Once they reach this flashpoint, you can easily fuse the pieces together.

Amarjit Ashton

Explainer

What can be used in place of solder?

Wire-wrapping is a substitute for soldering but wire-wrap supplies can get very expensive unless you buy in very large volumes or happen to find a surplus deal. You could also crimp the wires together. There are terminals called butt splices. You could insert multiple wires into the terminal and then crimp.

Seydi Thuns

Explainer

Can I solder silver with a soldering iron?

CAN I SOLDER STERLING SILVER WITH A SOLDERING IRON? A soldering iron will not be suitable for soldering sterling silver. You will need to use a gas torch to achieve the correct temperature.

Kashif Podolinsky

Pundit

Do you have to pickle after soldering?

The metal should also be pickled before the soldering process to clean it. Pickle works best when it's heated. A small crock pot with a lid is recommended for containing the pickle.

Armenio Vaz

Pundit

How do I start making jewelry?

Use them to launch yourself into the world of jewelry-making so you, too, can proclaim it the world's best hobby.
  1. Choose One Type of Jewelry to Try First.
  2. Master a Few Basic Skills.
  3. Invest in Good-Quality Tools.
  4. Learn the Lingo.
  5. Stock Up.
  6. Create a Dedicated Work Space.
  7. Look for Inspiration.
  8. Take a Class.

Winston Gavira

Pundit

What are the three different types of solder?

In summary, there are three main types of solder: lead-based, lead-free, and flux.

Tibor Lennard

Pundit

What flux is used for jewelry?

This is called the flow flux. Batterns and Handy Flux are the top choices. Boric acid and water is also used. Batterns Self-Pickling Flux is used for hard soldering (solder that melts at a high temperature) of gold, silver, and platinum.

Deyanira Irazabal

Teacher

Is soldering gold the same as silver?

Gold solder is available in different colors to match various alloys. Because brass and copper solder, also known as brazing rod, has a high melting temperature and is brittle, silver solder is usually used on these metals as well as on silver.

Primitiva Gazzo

Teacher

Is there gold solder?

Purchase gold solder.
Any metal alloy designed to melt and join metal together is called a "solder," but most solders will not work to join gold. Solder with a lower gold content will melt more easily, and is recommended for small repairs. Use "repair solder," "easy" solder, or solder below 14 karat.

Rosalbina Freeman

Reviewer

How do you use hard solder?

A typical soldering technique is as follows :
  1. wire the joint together with soft iron binding wire,
  2. 'paint' the joint with Flux,
  3. place small 'Paillons' of solder along the joint,
  4. use a gas torch to heat gently to start, allowing the Flux to dry out and melt without disturbing the solder,

Rbiha Allouch

Reviewer

Can you solder without flux?

Is it “okay”, sure it is, so long as you don't demand anyone else solder without flux. Bear in mind though, most common solder wire is rosin-core, it has one or more cores of flux inside of it. The kind of solder plumbers use has no flux because they apply the flux externally. So you could solder with that solder.

Ridha Carmuega

Reviewer

What is cold soldering on jewelry?

How to Solder Gold & Silver Without Heat. Experienced jewelers and manufacturers know that typical "cold soldering" is more accurately described as "resistance soldering." Cold soldering tools, like the popular ColdHeat Soldering Pen, have a split tip with electric current running through each point.

Weixiao Tran

Supporter

What does solder flux do?

As cleaning agents, fluxes facilitate soldering, brazing, and welding by removing oxidation from the metals to be joined. By preventing the formation of metal oxides, flux enables the solder to adhere to the clean metal surface, rather than forming beads, as it would on an oxidized surface.

Ouafaa Haradze

Beginner

What is gold solder made of?

Solder Compositions
Most solders are based on the coloured gold-silver-copper alloys with additions of low melting point metals such as zinc, cadmium, tin and indium to lower the melting range. These additions will tend to whiten the solder alloy and so usually the copper content needs to be increased to compensate.

Sahagun Uthenwoldt

Beginner

How do you prepare your metal to be soldered?

Start by using sandpaper to clean the metal on the tip faces until it is bright and shiny, then heat the iron until the metal starts to darken. Coat with flux by dipping the tip briefly into a can of flux, or by spreading flux on with a small brush, then apply a little solder to each face.

Kasper Truve

Beginner

How do you know if solder is acid core?

Electronic solder is usually much thinner - less than 1/16 inch. You can tell if solder has a core by melting some on a piece of paper - it will leave a greasy, maybe sticky spot if it has a core. Thin solder that leaves a sticky spot when melted should be electronic solder.

Odelia Bausa

Beginner

What metals can be soldered?

Basically all metals can be soldered, but we are looking for a low melting point soft solder and a flux. With the soft solders and a zinc chloride flux (most common), these metals will bond very easily: copper, tin, and brass. These metals will NOT bond: Iron, stainless steel, steel, and aluminum.