Torch Soldering vs. Soldering Iron

There are several posts on my blog regarding making soldered glass slide and pebble jewelry. That application calls for using a soldering iron, like those used for connecting pieces of stained glass. The basic elements of that method of soldering apply to torch soldering as well.... metal-to-metal contact, the use of flux to flow the solder, the use of solder & a heating tool that reaches the temperature that is necessary to melt the solder. But the methods are not necessarily interchangeable. For example, you cannot use torch soldering to make the glass slide pendants. The heated area is too broad and too hot. The copper tape & paper artwork would melt and the glass would shatter. But the torch method is the best choice for heat connecting precious metals like silver. A soldering iron tip must be touching the solder to melt it and therefore, it would get in the way when trying to make the small unnoticeable connections that are desired for finer jewelry, whereas the torch only needs to be in proximity to the area of connection to form a heat source that will melt the solder and draw the molten liquid to it. The torch is hot enough to melt solder with a higher precious metal content than the soldering iron generally, so for that reason it is preferred for fine jewelry as well.

There are a few pre and post solder steps that are required when torch soldering silver. When silver (other than pure fine silver or argentium silver) is exposed to high heat, it gets something that is called "Fire Scale" which totally discolors the silver and it is very difficult to remove because it goes deep into the metal. This happens because of the copper content that is alloyed in sterling silver. For this reason, I work with fine silver only, but sometimes the strength of sterling is necessary.

To avoid fire scale, you can prepare the pieces of silver by soaking them in a prep solution designed specifically to address fire scale. Also, some people lay the silver on a chunk of natural charcoal (not BBQ charcoal!) when soldering to help absorb oxygen which is in part to blame for fire scale.

I found this information in the Art Jewelry Mag forum by "bleugurl" but I have not personally verified it:
"To prevent fire scale, stop oxygen from getting in contact with the metal. Fire scale is formed whenever silver and sterling is heated above about 1000 degrees F. Oxygen combines with copper to form cuprous oxide which exhibits as firescale.

Prips Flux, denatured alcohol/borax solution, Cupronil…any of these products will work. You might try coating the whole piece in flux before soldering. Be generous with the flux. To properly apply anti-firescale-fluxes, the metal must be heated slightly. Paint, dip the piece or spray on the anti-fs-flux. A mist atomizer bottle works well here. If the metal temperature is correct a white grainy coating will form. Quickly play a flame across the wet fluxed metal to dry it. This will evaporate the alcohol, leaving a white coating of tiny borax crystals."

After soldering, the piece must be pickled to clean all of the residue and flux from it.

This video created by http://www.cooltools.us/ demonstrates how to coat your pieces with prep solution and some handy tricks for soldering small parts like jump rings with a torch. Check it out. I hope it helps you as much as it helped me.

Here is another video demonstrating another method for coating with flux & torch soldering on a piece of charcoal:

Happy soldering!

How to Create Soldered Glass Slide Jewelry, Part 3

OK. Well, I FINALLY am going to wrap up my blogging 3-parter on soldering glass for jewelry, and with some good news! I thought I was solder challenged but it turns out I just had bum supplies. I am the proud new owner of a functioning soldering system now and armed with some real live class instruction from Lisa Blum of Simply Swank. "SS" offers a full line of soldering products and a book. I purchased the kit and several packets of glass shapes to have some fun creating beyond the 1x3 slide. Check out their website http://www.simplyswank.net/. They teach classes all over the country so look for them in a location near you in the U.S.. I recommend the class. It was very fun and had a nice relaxed "you can do this" atmosphere.

Turns out soldering is really pretty doggone easy with their kit that functions well together. In addition to the kit, I recommend the "third hand" clamp tool they sell on their site and the heat resistant surface sheet. I also got some of the wavy foil. I really like the way it looks. Something to note about foiling... use one continuous piece if possible & burnish it to the glass well or it may lift from the heat during soldering.

After wraping your glass edges in copper foil tape & burnishing it, plug in your iron. On the iron stand in the kit, there is a sponge that you should wet too. The iron gets hot pretty fast. Don't leave it sitting idol and cooking away for a long time. When it's hot and sizzles on the wet sponge, go for it. The first time you use it the blue protective coating will burn of the tip. Wipe it off on the sponge. Then roll out a few inches of solder and touch the end to the tip of the iron on both sides until a tiny bit melts to cover the tip, then wipe a few times on the sponge, leaving just a thin silver layer on the tip. This is like "seasoning" the iron. Do it every time you start it up and again before you put it away.

Put your glass in a clamp so it can sit hands free on your heat resist surface with a foiled edge up. (I recommend starting with a square piece of glass the first time as it is a bit easier.) Brush flux just on the foiled edge pointing up. Now place your iron just slightly above the far left corner of the foiled edge and press the tip of the solder on to the top side of the flat tip until a bead forms and rolls off the tip and on to the foil. Now use the tip of the iron top smoothly "paint" the solder blob from left to right with the tip just barely touching. Don't press hard or you can burn through the foil. The solder should flow like melting butter over the fluxed area. Use tweezers to reposition the glass in the clamp, flux the next side, and do the same process with the solder. Continue until all sides are soldered. You may choose to go over it again to build up a thicker bead of solder.

When you are done, you will probably want to add a bail at the top center to put a necklace through. You can use a jump ring or a metal bead with a large hole. (Note, pewter and aluminum will not work.) Don't flux this time. Just make a mound or blob of solder on the top center and let it cool. Grab the bail with plyers and position just over the top of the mound. Now touch the tip of the iron to the top of the mound. As soon as you feel it give way/melt, move the iron and push the bail into the molten solder and hold it there until the solder sets (a few seconds). If it's crooked, melt it off with the iron and start over.

You can now use a fingernail file & sand paper to smooth the solder. Then use solder polish to bring it to a shine or patina to change it to black or copper. Polish is available through "SS". Patina is available from stained glass suppliers. (Note, the patinas are pretty harsh chemicals so not for the faint of heart. Use caution.)

Pretty simple & fun stuff! Granted, to get a really nice plump and smooth bead takes practice, but you can make a perfectly wearable piece of art jewelry on your first try with the right tools and instructions! Go for it!

How to Make Microscope Slide Pendants, Part 1.5

OK. So I promised a "Part 2" post about making glass slide pendants. It has taken me a while because I have been doing a little research so I can offer the best advise and resources out there on this blog for you as a reader, but selfishly, for my own sake too.

I have two soldering irons, flux and solder from hardware stores that I or my husband bought and they just don't work for me. They are too large and not the right temp, and for all I know, the flux & solder are not right for humans to wear on their skin. The more I read, the more I realize just how dangerous it is to solder with the wrong compounds and in an area that is not well ventilated. PLEASE read all warnings on the packaging if you try this hobby.

When purchasing solder, BE SURE that it contain no lead and no antimony which is commonly used in hardware grade lead-free solders and is toxic. The jewelry you make should not make you or the wearer sick! That would be terrible!

I have made slide ornaments (thankfully none as jewelry with harmful solder), but I admit I am not as good at soldering as I would like to be and have wasted many projects that I started because I messed up. I appear to be "Solder Challenged", so, OK, I give! I am talking a soldering class next month at a local craft store and I can hardly wait.

I think it was meant to be... I was just thinking about looking for a new soldering iron set up when I saw a whole section of soldering, slides, books, etc. at my local Ben Franklin store. Right above it was a class announcement. The teacher is Lisa Bluhm, who wrote a book called "Simply Soldered Jewelry & Accessories" (see Amazon link below) and designed many products specifically for slide jewelry crafting under the trade name "Simply Swank". I almost purchased a whole kit (Around $55.00) of her stuff and the book on the spot, but I decided to wait to see how the class goes. Maybe I truly am solder challenged for life, but if that Lisa can teach this Lisa to solder better, then I will gladly buy all of her wares.

I will let you know how it goes in Part 2 of this blog saga after the class in May!

In the mean time, check out these books about soldering jewelry using glass and collage: