Soldering screens- In response to my post, another member emailed me
off-list with the following interesting link regarding potential
ceramic solutions: http://www.huihuang-packing.com/eng_cp.htm
It’s not at all clear whether or how they might be available.
Allan Mason
ORCHID MEMBERS: Please respond on-list whenever possible. Don’t
deprive the group of your knowledge!!
Soldering screens- In response to my post, another member emailed me off-list with the following interesting link regarding potential ceramic solutions: http://www.huihuang-packing.com/eng_cp.htm It's not at all clear whether or how they might be available.
That site appears to show the ceramic honeycomb material, which so
far as I know, has it’s primary use in auto catalytic converters,
though I could be wrong on that. But you can find that honeycomb
stuff available as a soldering block in many U.S. tool company
catalogs. One interesting note about them is that they’re sometimes
listed with the description of being able to withstand 6000 degrees.
Don’t believe it. 2-3000 is more like it, not too different from the
rest of our soldering boards, from my experience. With a good sharp
slightly oxidizing flame such as one might use in soldering platinum,
the honey comb material WILL melt…
peter
I love these little punches, and I collect the little “dots” that
fall out and sometimes solder them on jewelry pieces as decoration.
OK, I give... what are you guys talking about?
Noel, this little tool is (prob.) steel, about three inches long and
3/8" thick. Take a look at 116-217 in the Rio Grande catalog (this
is the “expensive” one). You can make two different-size holes in
your sheet metal, depending on which end you choose. You insert the
sheet in the end-slit, screw the little (vertical) cutter down, and
it cuts out the hole. The Rio one says it will cut through up to
24-gauge sheet, but mine (which I used for years) would go through
heavier (brass) than that.
I mount my punch in my portable bench vise to hold it steady (rather
than applying it to the sheet metal as the photo in the Rio catalog
shows). I also bought a hole punch which is like a pair of pliers,
at Metalliferous, but it only makes one size of hole and the hole is
more ragged. It’s the easiest one to use, though, provided you have
good hand stength.
Later I bought a (hand-held) Power Punch from Micro-Mark. This
enables one to get wider range of hole sizes, and it works well, but
it’s tedious to change all the little parts. Finally, I bought a
drill press.
Hope this helps…
Judy Bjorkman
Note From Ganoksin Staff:
Looking for a compact drill for your jewelry projects? We recommend:
- Reading our guide to the best compact drills for jewelry work here
- Searching for more discussions about compact drills here on the Orchid forum
I have one of those honeycomb ceramic screens, a rectangular one
that I got from Contenti (contenti.com). I haven’t used it yet, so I
can’t comment on it.
Brian Corll
Brian Corll, Inc.
1002 East Simpson Street
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
Hi Jack
The only drawback to the two-hole punch is that it doesn’t go far
into the object. If you need a hole 1/2 inch from the edge this tool
will not reach in that far. As long as the hole you need is less than
about 1/8 inch it is a wonderful tool. I also keep the holes punched
to use a decoration on other pieces.
Karen Bahr
Karen’s Artworx
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Noel
OK, I give... what are you guys talking about? Is it these: http://www.contenti.com/products/dapping/190-222.html ??? So, do these work on silver or gold? You hit 'em, like stamps?
There talking about the tools that cuts tiny holes for wire. They
screw down to punch the metal. I got mine at Dick Blick. I’ve used
the dot too to add to my work. They are fun.
Mary Louise
Any good hardware store should have other sizes of hardware cloth. The heavy soldering screen you're talking about is 4 mesh. [snip] No need to buy something specifically for soldering.
Actually, hardware cloth is typically galvenized. I’m reasonably
sure that means it’s coated with zinc, making it a poor choice for
soldering, and possibly also for your health.
Noel
Thanks to John Donivan for the link below, in response to the quest
for the perfect soldering screen:
I called them and they were very helpful. They could set up to make
10 one-foot square mesh pieces in a stainless alloy heatable to 1800
degrees for roughly $50 each.
I would surely pay that for a great soldering screen, but would need
at least 9 other Orchidians to go in too. I’d be willing to cover the
initial cost and send them out if there is enough interest. Contact
me offline if you’re interested.
Rio and others, perhaps you should be contacting them as well about
supplying a better product than you’re offering now.
Allan Mason
Soldering screens- In response to my post, another member emailed me off-list with the following interesting link regarding potential ceramic solutions: http://www.huihuang-packing.com/eng_cp.htm It's not at all clear whether or how they might be available.
Ah, well if THAT’s what you’re looking for it’s the thing I use all
the time as a soldering pad. I really, really love it… except on
the odd occasion when my snippet of solder falls off into the hole
when the flux expands. I love this thing enough that I have the large
size for my studio and a small one for when I go to the lab at
school.
They are available from Stuller, and probably from other supply
houses as well.
They are called “Honeycomb soldering blocks” and are available in
3-3/4x5-1/2" size and a 5-1/2x7-3/4" size.
Enjoy!
Karen Goeller
www.nolimitations.com
Yes Karen, those honey combe soldering blocks are briliant. Precisely
manufactured they are perfectly flat on one side, some have sllight
indentations on the other.
Lots of holes:- excellent for lining up work: dropping panel pins in
to hold work in place; or wiring work onto the block. They need to be
treated gently as they are fragile, I always have a new one in
stock.
mary
sure that means it's coated with zinc, making it a poor choice for soldering, and possibly also for your health.
Works for me. As for the health part, I think people worry about it
waaayyy too much. Good God, what did people like my blacksmith
great-grandfather do (he was active from 1880 to 1920) ? He wasn’t
dead at 40. Lived to about 70. Not bad considering he was born in
1860.
Brian Corll
Brian Corll, Inc.
1002 East Simpson Street
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
Hi Gang,
If you’re looking for stainless steel screen in small sizes &
quantities check out mscdirect.com.
They list both type 304 & 316 stainless in 12" x 12" pieces in
different meshes from 8 x8 per inch to 635 x 635 per in made from 14
ga thru 45 ga (100 x 100). Depending on the mesh & the wire size a
12" x 12" piece is priced from $3.73 (120 x 120) to $974.05 (635 x
635).
The specs indicate it stands oxidation in temps up to 1400F. It’s
also available in 36" & 48" widths cut to length.
Usual disclaimers, just a satisfied customer.
Dave
OK Folks, I’m working on a device to taper point our wire; and I
need your help. Would several of you give me your idea of the sizes,
lengths and angles you would find most useful. I’m expecting this to
be a rather inexpensive and very durable gadget.
Dr. Mac
Hi Dr. Mac,
Would several of you give me your idea of the sizes, lengths and angles you would find most useful.
I’d suggest the standard taper used for pivot reamers, .010" per 1"
of length.
For drawing wire, I’d like to see a taper at least 1" long. Longer
would be better, but if the piece needs to be drawn that much it
could be retapered.
Dave
Re: soldering screens. Thanks to those who posted about the
honeycomb ceramic blocks available from the usual suspects. I’m well
aware of these, but they are too thick and the holes are too small. I
posted a link yesterday that suggests better possibilities,
particularly a high-heat stainless screen that’s not too thick, with
openings roughly 1/4". I’m waiting to see if there is any interest
among all you solderers out there in having some of these
custom-made.
Allan Mason
OK Folks, I'm working on a device to taper point our wire; and I need your help. Would several of you give me your idea of the sizes, lengths and angles you would find most useful.
The nickel pin stems that I purchase for my sterling brooches are a
tight fit in the B&S gauge at 19 gauge. They begin to taper just 2mm
from the point. Please note, however, that it is not an angled
taper, it should be a bullet type point, so that it will go between
the fibers of the garment instead of through them. A very sharp point
has the potential of actually cutting the individual strands of the
twisted thread, damaging the fabric. The hole made by a good bullet
point can, in most fabrics, be repaired by just pushing the threads
back into place.
This kind of point differs from the other use mentioned, that of
tapering to pass a wire through a drawing plate so that there is
something to grab onto when you start to draw the wire. That point
could be sharp and long, since you need a certain length to the
point just to get it through the draw plate. HTH!
M’lou Brubaker
Minnesota, USA
Hi Dr. Mac,
Specs for tapering wire before drawing : Wire dia 3mm to 0.3mm,
taper about 1:10, work harden preferred.
Wires over 3mm diameter can easily be tapered in the rolling mill,
and are too big for hand pulling - they need a drawbench. Wires under
1.5mm diameter are a pain to sharpen by hand, this is where a
dedicated gadget would be most useful. Work hardening gives the
gripping area more tensile strength where the wire is tapered and
thinner, and prevents crushing and distortion from the tongs.
All the best with your project.
Regards, Alastair
Allan
soldering screens. Thanks to those who posted about the honeycomb ceramic blocks available from the usual suspects. I'm well aware of these, but they are too thick and the holes are too small. I posted a link yesterday that suggests better possibilities, particularly a high-heat stainless screen that's not too thick, with openings roughly 1/4". I'm waiting to see if there is any interest among all you solderers out there in having some of these custom-made.
it seems to be that the Orchid group has decided that steel is a good
material for a solder screen. What I initially suggested is titanium.
I’ve tried steel - mesh, expanded, screen, big, medium, small. They
simply don’t do what’s needed.
Titanium does not act as a heat sink - which steel does. You can
solder darn near anything to steel, and you simply cannot solder
anything to titanium.
There are lots of easy steel answers. IMHO titanium, or another
metal from that group, would be a godsend to metalsmiths. To repeat
my earlier post - I’m currently using quarter inch strips of
titanium, some bent at right angles, and some simply flat. They keep
the metal from resting on the solder pads so you can heat more
quickly, avoid firescale, and get the job done. Steel could elevate
the piece, but you can get solder to stick to it, can solder to it,
and must heat the work far beyond what’s necessary to simply bring
the precious metal to soldering temperature.
Again - I’ve seen one post on titanium mesh - about $100 for a
square foot. Kinda expensive. But lacking any other input, I think
I’ll try a piece. I’ll report back after I get back from the last
show of the season.
Judy Hoch
it seems to be that the Orchid group has decided that steel is a good material for a solder screen. What I initially suggested is titanium. I've tried steel - mesh, expanded, screen, big, medium, small. They simply don't do what's needed.
Judy, if you can find a decent piece of expanded titanium I strongly
encourage you to give it a try. My steel screens have sat on the
shelf since I picked up a small piece of the expanded Ti. Only
downside I’ve seen is that the stuff kicks off a heck of a lot of
light when it’s hot. Sometimes that a good thing, sometimes not.
Cheers,
Trevor F.
in The City of Light
Visit TouchMetal.com at http://www.touchmetal.com
The Austinitic ( non magnetic 300 series) stainless steels have
almost exactly the same thermal conductivity as the titanium alloys.
Pure titanium is a bit lower but it is not common. For your purpose
stainless steel will work like titanium.
If you oxidize the stainless first so it gets black or at least has
a little color solder will NOT stick. Try soldering some dirty
stainless and you will learn this for sure. Flux will not help or
clean up dirty stainless steel. For all sizes of stainless mesh and
perforated metal in reasonable small quantities see McMaster Carr:
http://www.mcmaster.com/ Look in raw materials expanded metal,
perforated metal, mesh. If they don’t list it you won’t need it.
Need a house troll!
jesse