Paste solder

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi,

Here’s a ‘I should have asked this sooner’ question. I’ve been
using paste solder recently for the first time. I was wondering
about the warning on it about containing flourides. Can someone
tell me what the health hazard is? and should I be taking some
additional precautions? I know flouride gas is hazardous, but I
don’t know why.

Sharon

2

Here’s a ‘I should have asked this sooner’ question. I’ve been
using paste solder recently for the first time. I was wondering
about the warning on it about containing flourides. Can someone
tell me what the health hazard is? and should I be taking some
additional precautions? I know flouride gas is hazardous, but I
don’t know why. Sharon

It releases small quantities of hydrofluoric acid, this can pit
your eyeballs and strip the mucous out of your lungs (or
something).

There are many fluoride free fluxes available now such as
Grifflux, Dandix, Saf-T-Flux and others. Charles

For more info try:

http://gopher.tmn.com:70/1/Artswire/csa
Michael McCann’s Arts Safety and Hazards site (Center for Safety in
the Arts).

http://gopher.tmn.com:70/0/Artswire/csa/arthazards/visualarts/jewelry
The Jewelry/Metals safety and hazards page from McCann’s site.

Brain Press
Box 1624, Ste M, Calgary,
Alberta, T2P 2L7, Canada
Tel: 403-263-3955 Fax: 403-283-9053
Email: @Charles_Lewton-Brain

Metals info download web site:
Learning Center - Ganoksin Jewelry Making Community Product descriptions:
https://www.ganoksin.com/kosana/brain/brain.htm

3

I see all these postings with everybody saying how they love paste
solder. Maybe I’m missing something, because I won’t use the stuff.
I think it has way too much flux in it. The solder always flows
around on the flux on whatever I’m trying to work on and becomes
quite a pain to deal with. I can’t get accurate control of the
solder ball. On the other hand, sheet solder is my friend. A
little proding with a solder pic and I get solder just where I want
it. I cut assorted size chips ( hard & easy ) and put them at the
top corners of my soldering block and I’m ready for a couple of
dozen solders. Works for me.

Rick ( missing the solder boat ) Barnes
Gainesville, Florida

4

I agree!! I do use on occasion but I never found using a pik with
various size chips of solder all that hard. Granted most of the
work I do is gold or platinum maybe this is a silver thing. Robert

5 
I agree!!  I do use on occasion but I never found using a pik with
various size chips of solder all that hard.  Granted most of the
work I do is gold or platinum maybe this is a silver thing. Robert

Ooooh. I doubt this is a silver thing, as I also do some work
with gold. Its not that using a pik is hard, its about bringing
the whole piece up to temperature at the same time. When there
are a lot of small pieces to solder in place, using the pik to
place all the chips takes too long. The thing I like about paste
is that I can place all these at one time and the paste helps hold
them in place - one soldering step instead of two, three or even
four.

Nancy