has anyone got a alloy recipe for 18 k.y.g. solder? does anyone make
there own solder.
Thanks for any help!
Chris
Hi Chris,
I frequently alloy up gold solders when attempting to colour match
the piece being soldered. The range of the silver and copper I adjust
based on my best estimate of the colour bias of the piece. The
resulting alloy would run out around 19kt to allow myself some assay
headroom if it ever came to the test.
By weight
24kt gold - 80%
Zinc - 3%
Fine silver - 2% - 7%
Copper - 6%- 10%
The zinc will evaporate before alloying unless it is enclosed or
enveloped in one of the other metals.
I typically alloy all of the materials simultaneously in the crucible
using my “ready to hand” borax casting flux although I understand
typically alloy the copper and silver first under a boride flux, the
zinc under a zinc chloride flux and then add both of these to the
molten 24kt gold, once again under a boride flux.
Kind regards
Don iorns
has anyone got a alloy recipe for 18 k.y.g. solder? does anyone make there own solder.
You can use this procedure:
Let’s say you need 18k yellow solder. Set your scale for grains.
1 dwt = 24 grains
1 dwt = 18 grains of gold and 6 grains of alloy.
Add 1 grain of copper and 1 grain of silver you got 18 grains of gold
and 8 grains of alloy.
in karats = (24 * 18) / (18 + 8) = 16.6k solder.
Melt it on charcoal and roll it very thing.
cut in strips and melt it again to insure uniformity.
Gold content will rise to approximately 16.7k Now it is ready to use.
The solder is not as easy flowing as commercial and requires more
soldering skills. It is almost impossible to unsolder, which is a
benefit for some projects.
Leonid Surpin
I was told that for gold solder, one could use snippets cut from a
piece of gold which is a karat less than the piece being soldered. In
other words, when making a piece out of 18K gold, one could use
snippets of 14K gold, and use these as solder. Is this correct?
I would think there would be a difference in color, but other than
that would it work? It would sure save the hassle of making
solder–provided matching color was not a concern.
Currently I work mainly with silver, and don’t have any gold sheet
or wire around with which to try this and see if it works, otherwise
I would do the test myself.
Alma Rands.
I frequently alloy up gold solders when attempting to colour match the piece being soldered
Chris, I’m sure that both Don and Leonid’s guides will work more or
less well. Personally, I think you’re nuts… ;<} Solder is
cheap, even at today’s prices. A pennyweight costs, but then each
solder costs like 3 cents - tiny little bits of it.
Anyway, with that said - I just use 22kt to solder 24kt, if it can’t
be welded. An old Peruvian showed me how he alloyed the original
metal with a bit of fine silver - he said silver alone lowered the
melting point more than silver/copper, true or not. I only use plumb
solders, though. So 18kt. solder is 18kt. gold, and though I know
some of the principles of how that’s done, I just buy it…