Pinning charcoal block

Jewelry Discussion
1

When you’re pinning pieces to a charcoal block, what kind of wire do
you use? Does it need to be painted with yellow ochre, or is there
some kind of wire that doesn’t stick to solder?

Janet

2

Stainless steel, iron wire or nichrome wire will work fine. Once
the wire is heated and acquires an oxide film solder won’t stick
so blacken the wire up before using it. Don’t flux it. Jesse

3

Hello Janet, I use stainless steel dressmaker pins - commonly used in
sewing - to hold pieces in place on the soldering block or charcoal
block. Solder doesn’t stick and the pins can easily be bent into
"L" shapes. They are inexpensive and easily found. Judy in Kansas

Judy M. Willingham, R.S.
B.A.E. 237 Seaton Hall
Kansas State University
Manhatttan KS 66506
(785) 532-2936 FAX (785) 532-6944

4 
      I use stainless steel dressmaker pins Judy,

Thanks. I was using rustable steel, and the solder sometimes sticks
to it. You know your suggestion for using Prip’s flux in a spray
bottle? I was using a salsa jar to store the bottle upside-down.
Eventually I stopped using the little cap that snaps onto the bottle
(okay, okay, I lost it) and just put an inch of water in the salsa
jar. Works fine for day-to-day storage. Longer-term–I’ll have to do
something about evaporation.

Janet

5

Hi Janet,

When you're pinning pieces to a charcoal block, what kind of wire
do you use? Does it need to be painted with yellow ochre, or is
there some kind of wire that doesn't stick to solder?

The best pins (or straight pieces of wire) to use when pining
something in place for soldering is a pin/wire made of steel,
stainless, iron, or titanium. Solder doesn’t like to stick to these
metals.

Other tricks are to keep the pins away from the solder joint & if
possible position the work so friction &/or gravity keep the pieces
together.

Dave