HI! I have one electric soldering machine, used it to solder
the 18 kt jump rings on a chain of 18kt plique-'a-jour panels.
But the machine came with NO INSTRUCTIONS. Took me days to get
it to work and the soldering points were far to large to do
anything so delicate. So had to grind them down and still had
difficulty. Does anyone out there have a set of instructions? I
would like to try to use it again, but dread all the time
spent experimenting again. Thanks, Pat
I was browsing for a no flame alternative to soldering silver and I
came up with this:
My burning question (no pun intended): Will I get fire scale on my
sterling silver if I use this machine? Or do I still need to use
argentium silver?
Also, what other stores carry this kind of machine? The instructional
video included with this item, on Rio Grande, is virtually useless
since I do not have a VCR anymore.
Thanks in advance,
Liz
I have very limited experience with this type of machine and was
using a 50 hz european one. I was not impressed in the least. Land
filled the thing. Fire scale comes from hot metal and oxygen in air
not from the heating source. The machine I played with had trouble
melting solder, so probably no fire scale 
Basic truth is that jewellers play with flames (or lasers). Torches
are some of my most used tools, different sizes and gases but the
backbone of making jewellery. Relax and come closer to the fire.
jeffD
Demand Designs
Analog/Digital Modelling & Goldsmithing
http://www.gmavt.net/~jdemand
I’m not afraid of the flame, I simply do not want to destroy the
tiny stuff I’m working on.
When I worked in stained glass, my fave part of everything was
soldering. The soldering iron felt like my paint brush, the
differenttextures/shapes I could give my solder seams.
I only wish I could find a really amped up version of the soldering
iron I used in stained glass.
Liz
Liz,
The book, “The Jewelry Repair Manual, Second Edition”, by R. Allen
Hardy, has a good deal of coverage of using electric soldering
machines. If you can’t get a DVD copy of the video instructions from
the manufacturer, I’d suggest picking up this book. The machine is
solders faster than a flame, but does have some draw backs. You will
need to adjust the “heat” via a rheostat (which adjusts the current)
and then touch a carbon contact to the joint and press on a foot
peddle to actuate the current. If you press too hard with the carbon
or pull away before the arc has completed you’ll be left with a small
pit at contact. The carbon pencil needs to be cleaned regularly, thus
they will be worn away and need to be replaced. I would suggest
sourcing new tips to make sure they are readily available, otherwise
you’ll need to make your own or buy them ahead of time. As with flame
soldering, cleanliness of the joint and tools is essential for good
flow.
Scott
When I worked in stained glass, my fave part of everything was soldering. The soldering iron felt like my paint brush, the differenttextures/shapes I could give my solder seams.
It’s not the electricity that pulled your solder, it’s the heat.
I only wish I could find a really amped up version of the soldering iron I used in stained glass.
You can, it’s called a torch. Practice with a torch and you’ll get
the same level of control with a flame that you had with the old
tool.
New medium, new tools.
You can get resistance soldering/welding mchines for jewellery. I
have one that has a carbon electrode that supplies the resistance
and thus localised heat through its tip. There are many drawbacks to
its use- setting the current and controlling the time are the 2 major
ones but there is also oxidation to consider, which stops you
getting a good clean surface when you start to heat things up. You
can have a supply of nitrogen gas blowing over it to reduce this but
really the set up is best for production runs of welding jump rings
or brooch pins otherwise the fiddling about getting it set up means
it isnt worth the time spent. Lead soldering is thetransfer of heat
from th iron to the work/solder so it does differ in that respect.
Nick Royall
What kind of solder/flux would I get for a electric setup (from
Rio)? I am looking to get the hard silver solder paste from Fire
Mountain gems.
Liz