Oversized piece soldering in kiln

Hi

A bit of help and advice needed here. I am making a bracelet with a large, very thin casting as its central element. It’s about the size of a business card and varies in thickness between .7mm and 2mm with a richness in surface detailing. I don’t want to use a mechanical attachment, because the bordering and raised design elements are 2mm wide. There’s no room to drill and secure with rivets. The ends are long closed u loops that meet at the corners - snug and flush of half round wire that when work hardened will be aesthetically and structural to the task.

I’m a bit bedeviled because the design is such a large conductive heat sink pulling away. I’ve tried all my usual tricks and without great success. I’m pretty decent at strategizing, but also have never seen a bracelet with this shape and massing. Gee, I wonder why…

I was wondering if anyone had ever used an electric kiln with good programming & temperature controls to jig a piece up and solder it in a controlled environment. I can mask a bit beyond the area so that i don’t get solder creep.

If this concept were to work, what might the hold/dwell time be to uniformly get a good solder join. Alas, there’s no window to peek, but i could crack the door.

Or, am i just crazy?

Eileen

Hi Eileen,
Of course your not.
good thinking.
Mail me privately off list at vladimirdotfrateratgmaildotcom. Have some ideas for you
Ted in Dorset UK who uses a kiln for just such work.

I’ve wondered the same thing. Can we talk about this on the list?

Same question here. Working on a bracelet, and having trouble getting the whole thing up to temperature to solder a decoration down the length of it before bending. Wondering if I can press my burn-out kiln into service for the task.