First Methyl Ethyl Ketone is not necessary in a water torch- Methyl
Alcohol is safer.Secondly,.The flame shouldn’t be orange it sounds
like you are low on electrolyte/flux. So, following your
manufacturer’s info, do some basic maintenance- if it’s been more
than 6 months since you added flux to the chamber-it’s definitely
overdue. Also if its a hydroflux welder, check for the brass
handpiece filters decomposition- replace as needed- same for the
filter in the hose line…and if the solder is burning up there can
be a number of reasons from directing the flame onto it to not
preparing the join correctly to learning to use a flux tha clarifies
at about 1400 degrees to indicate that you are approaching the temp
for the solder flow ( and silver to melt!)…
Water torch tips are for precision applications more so than
annealing, etc- as a wide generalization- particularly in the sizes
you mentioned- so while trying to warm your work piece you are
overheating the tips (are they turning red-orange too?).
Water torches require a learning curve that differs from other torch
use…you may want to try perfecting your basic soldering skills at
this point in your education with a butane torch -(a bernzomatic will
get to 2450-2900 depending on the brand and model.sciplus.com has
them on sale for 16.95 USD right now I would grab one while they are
available) I have one that I use for quick annealing of wire coils,
even melting and direct casting small amounts ( an oz) of.999 silver
etc. other relatively small jobs,& heat colouring small ish pieces of
metal to name a few uses.It’s in the same condition as when I bought
it 4 or more years ago! ) and sheet or wire solder…paste will
definitely burn up if you hit it directly with a flame- it takes too
long for the metal to come to temp - especially in the winter and/or
considering ambient temp. in the studio…the colder it is in the room
the longer to pre-heat the metal and then if the paste was sitting
there through the process,it had probably lost it’s moisture and
binder/flux by that point…most pastes are for production work, and
most have a limited shelf life.Yours may need a bit of thinning if
they don’t flow readily from your syringe.
Adding a bit of mineral spirit (by minims only, not more than say
twenty per tube,well mixed in with a bambo skewer or the like), at a
time…and the correct temper for the piece. As a rule I don’t like
to promote anyone participating on Orchid’s brands/products Beth
Katz’ “My Unique Solutions” is perhaps worth a mention here.She makes
many grades of decent quality paste solders in a wide range of
temperatures- or you could easily make your own by combining some
zinc oxide paste (lifeguards used to use " that white stuff" on
their noses for all day exposure to sun).The paste.already has enough
inert ingredients, diluents,etc to make it…same stuff! ) and
powdered .999 or sterling silver, or karat golds of different colours
in the proportions relative to the flow desired (easy, med, hard,
med.hard,repair, etc…) and metal content appropriate to x grade…The
stuff one finds at radio shack, electrical hobby, or hardware stores
called 'silver bearing solder is an easy flow formula and 65% or less
tin silver alloy that will more likely burn up even with a
pre-coating of anti-firescale / flux like Cupronil - an
internationally recognized, consistent and widely available product
/ brand by 4S Labs available from Cookson’s (I think), and most US
jewelry supply vendors or the straight forward & traditional
homemade boric acid dissolved in Methyl alcohol until the consistency
of light cream.- without the stabilization of Cupronil !.. Next
check the fiber/cotton-like filter material; moisture therein will
make for a flame with plenty of burned gasses ( blue flames indicate
unburned gas).Replace it with new dry material ( not cotton though-
it is not as effective as the short fibred batting like stuff that
should be available where you purchased the water torch, or directly
from the manufacturer. If that is still dry, it’s the flux and
electrolyte ratio or depletion ( any vendors MSDS will tell you what
the electrolyte and flux is made of: most often sodium hydroxide or
potassium hydroxide or lye.If you have that on hand combine 1 grqm
per litre of methyl alcohol to give you the stated ratio on dry
electrolyte labelled with Rio Grande’s name). Maintenence is
critical to owning a water torch…Learning to solders critical to
fabrication skills…both take time to learn, and it is a lifelong
contiual process…while with the art of metalsmithing there is no
right and wrong, regarding the basic techniques : proficiency comes
with repetition and understanding the materials explicitly…rer
