I am sure there is a way to take springs out of bolt rings so that
they can be soldered, does anyone have any suggestions?
Richard
I am sure there is a way to take springs out of bolt rings so that they can be soldered, does anyone have any suggestions?
'Scuse please. What is a bolt ring? If you are talking of a spring
ring, most can be successfully soldered with the spring ring intact.
Um,
Do you mean springs (coils) out of bolt rings or bolt rings out if
springs (coils)?
If it’s the latter you may find my pages at
http://www.goldandstone.com/mainpages/project/workshop/jumpringer.htm
helpful.
Tony Konrath
Gold and Stone
tony@goldandstone.com
www.goldandstone.com
Sorry, transatlantic translation is spring ring. I need to remove the
spring from the spring ring so that the spring ring (without the
spring) can be soldered. Usually the spring is made from brass or
stainless steel, this will not stand up to silver soldering
temperatures. Any suggestions?
Richard
Sorry, I mean spring rings. The spring inside the spring ring will
not stand up to the heat required to solder silver. So therefore I
would like to remove the spring so that I can solder the spring ring
without the spring. I hope this is not totally confusing!! If you US
people would call them bolt rings there wouldn’t be so much confusion?
Richard
Hello Richard,
From what I have seen there are several types of bolt ring with
different methods of removing springs.
With the smaller mass produced bolt rings the spring is prevented
from coming out the opposite end to the bolt end by a small pointed
tab of metal pressed from the main tubing. When I’m deciding to pull
apart a bolt ring or not I look in the end of the tubing to see
whether the spring is caught in this tab. If you can see the spring
above the tab it will prevent you from removing it without stretching
& destroying the spring. ( If anyone has a way of removing this stile
of spring I’d like to now the answer please) If the spring is on the
other side of the tab & not caught it can be removed easily when the
bolt is removed.
A tip to get hold of the spring. I use a broken saw blade. The teeth
on the blade act as a barb to catch the spring & hook it out. There
the right size & if you are anything like me you won’t have to look
far to find one.
The bolt section of the bolt ring needs to be removed to get at the
spring.
Some bolt rings are not joined at the very top where the ball used to
open them rests in the closed position. These are easy to remove by
opening the tubing with a sharp knife being careful not to over
stretch the metal.
If this section is joined it is still possible to open the tubing
carefully along each side of the ball until there is enough room to
get the bolt out. The bolt may need to be bent very slightly to get it
out & reshaped when replaced.
Some of the larger Bolt ring { especially older Bolt rings } have the
ball & the short post it is attached to threaded. To remove these
grab the ball with a pair of pliers & unscrew the ball & post from the
bolt section. Then slide the bolt out of the tubing. It may be
necessary to flex the bolt ring ends sideways to get the bolt past
the other end of the bolt ring. Be careful not to flex too far as the
tubing can collapse.
I’ll be interested to see other people’s ideas on this one.
Good Luck
Dean Watson
Australia.
Hi Richard Regarding the spring ring or bolt ring. In the US, you can
purchase these either way, with a soldered jump ring or unsoldered.
In the less expensive pieces they just attach the spring ring. In a
better piece you can add a jump ring and solder the chain and the
jump ring together.
It is not practical to remove the spring ring to solder. Check your
findings catalog. The soldered variety is not that much more
expensive. But if you ever worked for most of the US mall type
stores, they want everything done the cheapest way, i.e., the
unsoldered jump ring.
don
Richard - On some more expensive spring rings, the posts that you
open the rings with are threaded and can be unscrewed. You can then
twist the spring ring and slide out the curved post and the spring
(use the teeth of a broken saw blade to catch the spring and pull it
out if necessary). Solder the connector ring closed and put the
pieces back together again. An alternative would be to buy spring
rings where the connector ring is already soldered during the
manufacturing process. They might be a little hard to find but I have
seen them in catalogs. Steve.
Steven Brixner - Jewelry Designer - San Diego CA USA
mailto:@Steven_Brixner4
http://www.brixnerdesign.com
If I covered to bolt/spring ring with heat resisting paste, would
that prevent heat reaching the spring in the bolt/spring ring to
anneal it?
Richard
I’d like to put in 2 cents on this bit about “bolt rings” or what
I’ve always referred to as “spring rings”. I once worked for a man
who insisted that every spring ring have the small loop that held the
chain (usually the “squash bead”), soft soldered (soldered with a
lead-tin based solder). I always felt that besides being unsightly,
it was a waste of time. They aren’t intended to be soldered. The
things are so delicate that you will most likely pull them apart
before you’ll put enough strain on the little ring to pull it open.
You might also break the chain as easily as you’d pull it open. If
you are dealing with an expensive chain, why bother with a spring
(bolt) ring? A lobster clasp is much nicer and more secure, and you
can solder them on, since they’re held on with a jump ring which can
be held up for soldering so as not to expose the clasp to heat. My
opinion, on a delicate chain, don’t worry about it. . . on a heavier
chain, opt for a lobster.
David L. Huffman