Jump rings out of silver solder wire

I am trying to make chain and jump rings out of silver solder wire.
What is the best way to fuse the rings together? I’m using a small
butane torch but even that heat seems to be too high as often the
fine silver wire melts away. How would you connect the rings for
chain without melting the other soldered rings during the torch
process?

Kathy Klug

Do you mean solder-filled silver wire? I don’t see why one would use
solder wire to make jump rings. If using solder-filled wire, use a
very small, fine flame on your torch, and flux the well-fitted
joint. Keep your heat away from the rest of the links, and work fast
and hot to do so.

M’lou

If I understand you correctly you are attempting to make JR’s out of
solder wire- without any actual metal wire. They will not hold up.The
solder wire (unless you mean solder filled wire) is used in place
of sheet or clipped solder or pastes for joining the ends of jump
rings once you have applied flux to the precisely fitted ends of each
ring (clean, well finished by filing even and flush, etc.).

On its own the solder wire will degrade quickly and is not suitable
for any permanent applications whatsoever. You should purchase some
solid metal wire in the type and gauge for which you have designed
the piece and refrain from trying to use solder as a connector. Some
customers may actually have skin reaction to some of the components
of solder wire and may seek a return or refund.One dip in a pool
could ruin the connections entirely and affect your reputation as a
jewelry maker in the long run- people want quality workmanship when
buying and wearing a piece of jewelry, if it falls apart it is
useless. I wonder where you got the that solder wire
could be used in the first place- provided we are talking about the
sme product !.. Solder filled wire is used by a few jewelry makers
but a very few-worldwide. Paying for wire, which today silver is at
$29.00 an oz. troy, is costly enough, to pay for a solder core is
not an economically sound metals investment overall. The prices for
solder filled wire are very near that of .925 silver, or the few
karat golds that it is available in from the few vendors that sell
it. And again, you can’t control the melt/flow point of the stuff
and as such it can’t be used for assembling pieces with multiple
soldering operatiuons intrinsic to the design… It would be far more
sound to buy an assorted set of varied gauge wire in some small but
useful lengths from a supplier like H.Schmidt (selling metal
products as 208gold.com on etsy, ebay etc.) or buying metals locally
from a reputable dealer if you aren’t set up to or have no desire to
make your own from casting grain or scrap.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me off list about
this topic…rer