I worked with an number of materials, in efforts to form soldering
jigs for different projects, over the years, as my focus was on metal
fabrication through construction and for embellishing direct metal
carvings. I did some sourcing on refractory materials used in
production soldering, about 20 years ago, in order to broaden my
abilities and options in structuring supports for soldering. Since
much of this activity is carried out in Providence, RI , I began
calling around to see what I could find. I found in some cases
graphite was machined for this purpose and probably the most
durable), at least, at that time. It acts like a heat sink, on the
down side. I further found a refractory material similar to magnesia
( although it would hold the work much better ) that one could set up
ones work in. After the work was set up, the soldering jig was
saturated with a liquid that hardened it; after it dried. It was a
reusable jig material. I canāt remember who I got it from or what it
was called. I know it worked and that it was used in production
soldering; back then. I would think that if one were to source out
refractory materials in the Providence RI area, and ask about their
applications for hard soldering/brazing in gold, and platinum and
whoās who in that field, at the same time, it could yield some good
results. Also around the same time, MJSJ had itās bi-annual show and
at that show was a seminar on constructing soldering jigs. When I got
to the show the seminar was full, so I didnāt get to go, I heard it
was real good, I have a feeling they would probably offer to do it
again if they thought it would be in demand. They could probably help
out with refractory sources, as well.
DMA
PS/ I began Faceting when I was 64, It never crossed my mind to
consider age as a factor. I do, occasionally, check to see if Iām
still breathing, when I get up. I hope whoever was worried about
it, will find some comfort in that and keep on faceting.
Judy, Actually it is a good idea to have more than one kind of
soldering pad/block in your shop because there are many different
kinds of applications for various situations.
Charcoal blocks are expensive, there is no argument over that! But,
charcoal absorbes oxygen and, when doing certain jobs where you want
to protect the job from O2, you can often do it on a charcoal block
safely. Sometimes, as when fusing, you can build a small āovenā of
charcoal blocks and create a high temperature but nearly O2-less
atmosphere. Charcoal is also great to cave inā¦to create a temporary
casting shape, make small ingots, when creating round balls of metal,
etc. Some smiths enjoy surface casting on charcoal when the surface
has become cracked and pitted to create unusual- one of a kind
pieces. You can make a useful soldering bridge by standing two
blocks next to each other and placing a soldering screen over them.
This is useful for soldering large bezels of when sweat soldering and
heating from underneath. The charcoal reflects the heat inward and
raises the overall temp reducing the amount of O2 on the surface of
the piece.
Regular soldering jobs can be done on cheaper and longer lasting
materials such as the round pans of āasbestos-likeā material, a
firebrick, or any of the many other materials out there.
Just a few suggestions. Cheers from Don at The Charles Belle Studio
in SOFL where simple elelgance IS fine jewelry! @coralnut2
What is the advantage of using a firebrick over a high density
charcoal block, if any?
I donāt know all the reasons, and I use charcoal blocks as well, but
one thing that I prefer about firebricks is that they are less
inclined to glow, while Iām heating, to a point that dazzles my eyes
and makes it hard to see the piece.
Noel
Hi Beth , I have never used these , but , from your
description , I wonder if pumice blocks would do the same job ? I
have seen loose , soft blocks - like you use to remove dead skin -
up to quite hard , solid blocks . The soft ones sound ideal - they
probably wont last long , but should be fairley easy to get ,
especialy if there is a volcanic area near you . Just a possible
idea .
In fact, in Herbert Maryonās Metalwork and Enameling, written
before a lot of commercial jewelerās products were available, he
explains how to use plaster or investment to cement chunks of pumice
into a soldering surface of whatever dimension one needs.
Ron Charlotte ā Gainesville, FL
@Ron_Charlotte1 OR afn03234@afn.org
Now Iāve been told about the oxydizing/reducing properties of block.
I know this is probably discussed in the archives, but a brief
synopsis may be useful here. Iām lost.
Thanks to all who replied to my post about soft soldering surfaces.
While there were a variety of suggestions (which I will try out),
firebricks seem to be the most popular. Before I go out and look for
them, I have one more question. Everyone mentions that you can stick
a pin in firebrick without a problem, but can you stick a long-ish
fingernail into the surface easily without bending or stressing the
nail? That would be a much better indication as to whether the
firebrick will work for me or not.
To Donald Allen: I tried the graphite blocks you mentioned a year
ago and they are absolutely perfect in terms of softness but, as you
mentioned, they act as a heat sink. I had to use a huge flame in
order to solder tiny pieces of gold, and the block got so hot it
burned a hole in the surface below it (not to speak of my hand when I
went to move it)! I came up with a few other substances from Rhode
Island manufacturers as well, but none did the trick (and one was
highly toxic at high temperatures).
To those who mentioned pumice blocks, will they pass the fingernail
test? The pumice tools Iāve seen for scraping away dead skin are not
soft at all. And do you have any idea where to get them (Iām in Los
Angeles)? Searching on the web has turned up a few sources in the UK
in particular, but theyāre for pumice blocks to be used in
construction which canāt possibly be soft enough for my needs, can
they?
To whoever mentioned the material that solidifies when a special
liquid is applied (sorry, I forgot who you are): Itās called
Impressionite and is so far the best Iāve found for my purposes. The
drawback is that itās very fibrous and rubbery so that when you push
a bezel cup into it, the material partially pushes it back out again!
But itās what I will have to eventually use if I canāt find anything
more suitable.
Anyway, Iām still open to suggestions and thanks to all!
Beth
To those who mentioned pumice blocks, will they pass the
fingernail test?
Youāll know you have the right brick when you pick it up because it
is surprisingly lighter weight than you would expect a brick itās
size to be. And yes, you will be able to scratch the surface with
your fingernail.
Rick Copeland
Silversmith and Lapidary Artisan
Colorado Springs, Colorado
http://home.covad.net/~rcopeland/