Hey Trevor The ziploc bag trick is a fantastic idea. I think that you
have solved my problem. Thanks for the great suggestion!!!
Regards
Milt Fischbein
Calgary Canada
I was taught to pinch off solder snippets as needed. I use a small
pair of chain nose pliers and pinch off as needed. I like this
because I can clean the sheet solder if needed. I use Stainless
steel wire .031 thickness twisted in to a small solder pick ( one
piece twisted handle. These are disposable and are also easily bent
into shape. The solder is melted into solder balls for application.
Bamboo skewers with the end frazzled out into a fine brush tip are
also used when I pick up snippets. Much cheaper to repair / replace
than brushes, when the tip becomes burned
ROBB.
With silver solder I agree with rolling down wire. A few years ago I
mixed up the stock numbers when ordering and ended up with an ounce
of 20 ga. wire solder which was useless for my work. In desperation I
rolled it down to about 26 ga. thick by about 18 ga. wide. This
gives an endless strip of sheet solder with no curl. You can take it
down to 30 ga. thick, which most sheet solders are, by about 16 ga.
wide.
If you’re feeling lucky you can draw the wire solder down a little
bit before you roll it. I’ve, so far, denied myself the pleasure of
annealing solder so I’ve only reduced it to around 24 ga. and it
takes a very long taper to do this.
When I cut the chips I use airplane shears held parallel to the work
bench and feed the rolled wire down into them as I snip. I put a cut
up blue jeans rag under this to keep the snips in the playing field.
The jeans rag is stiff enough to fold as a funnel to dump the snips
into another container.
I’ll never go back to sheet solder.
John Flynn
Let me ask-What shape or thickness is ideal at the bench? Perhaps we should look at a supplier solution besides pre cut 1x1 squares. I can forward ideas to our shop foreman.
Nice idea, but I for one use several sizes, cut to suit the job at
the time.
Bri
B r i a n A d a m
e y e g l a s s e s j e w e l l e r y
www.adam.co.nz
I use side cutters, my tin snips broke and I haven’t needed them
again. You have to cut a strip and then cut smaller pieces off it
though.
Sam
I've been reading this thread. Let me ask-What shape or thickness is ideal at the bench? Perhaps we should look at a supplier solution besides pre cut 1x1 squares. I can forward ideas to our shop foreman.
Daniel
I think that this is a great idea.
Preferred size for me would be about 2mm x2mm x about 0.1 mm or 0.2
mm thick. The holder/dispenser would be the hard part. You would
need to come up with an easy way to separate store and dispense the
different grades of solder. I can envision some sort of dispenser
or holder with hard/medium and Easy in separate compartments. Once
you solve the technical problems, price would become the next key
factor. What premium would the consumer pay for this service and
can you produce a good product at this price and make enough profit
to make it worth your time and effort
Regards
Milt Fischbein
Calgary Canada
So I have NEVER been able to master this idea that you can control the little buggers that fly everywhere...in this muggy heat, I am always finding (later when I get ready for bed) pallions stuck all OVER me, in the darned-est places!!
Hello,
When I cut sheet solder, I cut a fringe on one end, then holding the
sheet between my thumb and second finger of my left hand (I am right
handed), with the fringe to the right, I gently put my index finger
along the edge of the fringe after getting my shear in position to
cut, and I carefully cut. I move my index finger away from the sheet
solder and the pieces fall on whatever surface is directly below.
Quick and easy, I can do it while I am sizing rings, doing
fabrication ect. I ususally put what I think I need, 1 or two pieces
or a dozen on my charcoal block, ball them with my torch as needed.,
and use a pick to position them
I have NEVER been able to master this idea that you can control the little buggers that fly everywhere
Rodney Rapp of Rainbow Jewelers Supply in San Antonio taught me to
place the index finger of the solder-holding hand along the edge
where the initial cuts are. Then, as you cut the other way, the
pallions are trapped between the inside length of your finger and the
uncut portion of the solder sheet while you cut with your favorite
implement. Just hold your finger there until you get to where you
want to drop the snippets. Works great.
Del Pearson of Designs of Eagle Creek in Beautiful South Texas,
where a surprise lightning storm took out the modem in my POS
computer AND my wireless broadband internet last night. Still trying
to catch up. (Yes, I do use UPS and surge suppresors, but the
lighting hit the store directly.)
John; like you, I use very little sheet solder anymore. I have found
that keeping several gauges of wire solder in Hard, Medium, Easy &
X’tra Easy, meets my needs better. Even in hard solder, cutting
small round snippits, they melt quicker and flow better than sheet.I
choose a length of wire that I need and run it through a piece of
emery to rough up the surface, clean it and snip it, drop it in
Batterns. It is easier for me to place than sheet snippits,
especially when making a piece of Hopi overlay style where the
solder must be placed on very small and narrow spots.
John Barton
Hi Gang,
What premium would the consumer pay for this service and can you produce a good product at this price and make enough profit to make it worth your time and effort
Maybe I’m an old ‘skin flint’ & a bit old fashioned, I wouldn’t pay
a penny extra for this service. From my experience the most cost
effective way for using small pieces of solder (pallions), is to cut
them as they’re needed, whether that’s from sheet or wire solder.
For me this method saves time looking for a chip of the correct heat
& size. It also saves on storage space for multiple containers for
each grade of solder. I also don’t have to worry about the
containers getting spilled & the chips getting mixed. I get sheet
solder in aprox 2" x 2" sheets. When new, the sheets are inscribed
with a letter indicating the grade (H, M, & E)& kt (1 or more lines
after the grade), multiple times on each side of the sheet. Using
this scheme, all the solder can be kept in one location & the
correct solder easily selected.
When needed, a chip of the appropriate size is cut from the sheet
with a jewelers shears (a scissors with a heavy duty blade about 1
1/4" long). Depending on the number of chips needed, they can be cut
individually or a strip cut from the sheet & then cut the strip into
chips of the required length.
It’s easy to keep the chips from ‘flying’ when they’re cut as
someone suggested earlier, by placing the tip of an index finger
over the chip before it’s cut from the sheet/strip.
Dave
Hello Daniel,
It seems that every soldering job demands a different size pallion.
That means a single size should be small - no larger than 1mm.
Unless color coded (a Revere tip), solder pallions are
indistinguishable. Would it be possible to make pre-cut pallions in
a different shape for each grade?? For example, square is hard,
triangle is medium, round is easy.
Just a thought.
Judy in Kansas
Judy M. Willingham, R.S.
B.A.E. 237 Seaton Hall
Kansas State University
Manhatttan KS 66506
(785) 532-2936 FAX (785) 532-6944
I’ve been reading about wire solder vs sheet, and I just want to
mention that since I bought it from Beth Katz when I was at SNAG, I
have become a real fan of powdered solder. I dip the tip of my
solder pick in paste flux and then use that to pick up the amount of
solder I need and deposit exactly where I want it. It never rolls
away-- though, if you don’t dry it cautiously for a few seconds, it
can splatter. No pre-cutting, so hunting for the right size snippet.
I confess I find myself wondering what to do if it tarnishes(though
I keep the jars closed for fear of spilling)… can’t exactly run
sandpaper over it. Beth?
Incidentally, I just remembered a tip from my days as a calligrapher
(jars of ink). If you worry about spilling, glue the container to a
piece of cardboard that is larger than the jar. Much tougher to tip
it over.
–Noel
I find if you anneal the solder before cutting the little snippets
they don’t fly around. Also I anneal the tubing as soon as I get it.
Don in Idaho
Why not eliminate all the hassle of cutting sheet solder and go to
paste solder? You simply squeeze out the solder from a preloaded
syringe where you want to apply the solder. Note that paste solder
is also available in jars. If you elect to use the jar approach,
you can use a toothpick for application, or any other approach which
will put the exact amount on the spot in question. No need to worry
about flux as it is already in the paste. The paste approach will
eliminate cutting, fluxing and also having the pallions fly all over
the place. As with sheet solder, you cannot tell the formula by
looking, so be sure to mark the paste if you are taking it out of
its original container.
Beth Katz
Unique Solutions, Inc. www.myuniquesolutions.com
Paste and Powder Solder for Jewelers and Metalsmiths