I’m having a bit of frustration sometimes with my bezels. Sometimes they are perfectly smooth, but sometimes you can still see a seam. I do the same thing every time, so I can’t figure out why some are like this (this is only with quite thin bezels). tia
Hi,
Are you using hard solder?
If you clean up the bezel seam flat/ flush after soldering the bezel closed, and then solder the bezel onto a back plate, the solder on the seam might reflow in the seam…and capillary action can occur with the solder pulling outward to each side, creating a filet at the seam, where it was once flat…(the same concept as when you melt the tip of a wire and it draws/ pulls up into a ball…or if you melt the middle of a piece of metal and it separates and each side draws/ pulls back into a ball)
try not cleaning up the solder on the bezel seam until you are done soldering…
julie
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Always hard solder. Maybe these ones are being over-heated, I never thought of that.
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Sue,
You might also try using a Very Thin Piece of Sheet Metal (whether Silver or Gold) instead of Solder and gently Fuse the Bezel together rather than Soldering it, then there shouldn’t be a seam at all… Obviously, this is a bit more difficult with Thin Bezels, but it can be done, it just takes practice and good Torch handling… Just a thought… Good Luck!
Jonathan
5 Likes
I’ve welded fine silver jump rings a lot when making chain. It’s pretty easy.
I’ve also welded platinum rings when sizing them using the technique that you describe. I’ve never thought about welding fine silver bezels that way though. Make sense it would work. Thanks for the tip!
Jeff
2 Likes
Thanks - I have done fused fine silver bezels but it’s so fiddly, especially with a butane torch. But as you mention it, it just occurred to me to try it with argentium instead - I recently started working with it and love that it fuses so easily, and would probably be less fragile than fine silver, for a bezel. I’ll roll some sheet a bit thinner and give it a go. Ironically, the four bezels I made today were all fine. Cheerio
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When I make a bezel I never smooth the seam by sanding, filing, or any abrasives after soldering it with hard solder. At most I will just smooth/ squish the seam with a pair of polished pliers. Why? Because if you use medium or easy solder to attach the bezel to a back plate or ring it takes a shit ton of heat to get the larger chunk of metal hot. Thus the first seam will try to wick into the other solder leaving an obvious seam showing. After all of the soldering is done and there is still extra solder then remove it with abrasives. Personally I prefer to move metal rather than remove metal. Too much sanding etc. leaves a piece looking shop worn or shows thin spots.
Jo
9 Likes
Yes, I think now when this happens it’s because of too much heat (I don’t do any cleaning of the solder joint until the back plate is on though). Thanks
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Hi Jo,
thank you! “wicking”! and, into the backplate seam!
makes total sense!
julie
1 Like
it takes practice to get it perfect. I used solder with a propane air torch and got it seamless. if no further soldering work is needed a medium or low temperature solder both to make and attach the bezel to the larger piece would work… as suggested by another contributor. The tricky part is to heat the backing without over heating…too much solder on the bezel joint or too much between the bezel and the backing will suck the solder into the inside of the bezel which is hard to get rid of…same applies with overheating…less a problem with gold solder as it doesn’t flash when melted…
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sorry but I misdirected this to JBPons… meant for SueS11184. Trying to weld thin fine silver with a torch isn’t very easy… it’s a learned skill, torch control especially with a gas/air torch isn’t easy…I’ve pulled it off successfully also but at the cost of ruining a few bezels before I got the temperature right. The following was taken from Wikipedia… gives the temperature in C and F by glow color. If I recall properly fine silver melts at 1,768 degrees F… would be a bright cherry red to red orange…
Colour Temperature [°C] Temperature [°F]
From To From To
Black red[2] 426 593 799 1100
Very dark red 594 704 1100 1299
Dark red 705 814 1300 1497
Cherry red 815 870 1498 1598
Light cherry red 871 981 1599 1798
Orange 982 1092 1799 1998
Yellow 1093 1258 1999 2296
Yellow white 1259 1314 2297 2397
White 1315+ 2397+
Stirling[edit]
In 1905, Stirling Consolidated Boiler Company published a slightly different set of values:[3]
| Colour | Temperature [°C] | Temperature [°F] |
|---|---|---|
| Red: Just visible | 525 | 977 |
| Dull red | 699 | 1,290 |
| Dull cherry red | 800 | 1,470 |
| Full cherry red | 900 | 1,650 |
| Clear cherry red | 1,000 | 1,830 |
| Deep orange | 1,100 | 2,010 |
| Clear orange | 1,200 | 2,190 |
| White heat | 1,300 | 2,370 |
| White bright | 1,400 | 2,550 |
| White dazzling | 1,500 | 2,730 |
See also[edit]
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Even worse with a butane torch 
I made a couple yesterday and it can certainly be done, at least on bezels that are larger than the ones I usually make. I’m going to experiment next with argentium. But I think just being more careful about the heat & amount of solder solves my issues. Thicker bezels are easier, in that regard.
don’t overheat… that’s the essence of it all!.. just a slight increase in the glow temperature can instantly melt a bezel or run the solder… both have happened to me… instead of filling the joint, overheating can make solder run away from the joint and coat the metal…or melt the bezel… staying under the glow temperature if you are using solder works the best… just a couple of hundred degrees below the glow temperature will keep a lower melting point solder from running and the bezel from melting…it takes some practice and a few ruined bezels to learn how to control the temperature…keeping the surfaces to be joined very clean is another no brainer…overheating will also dirty the surfaces by oxidation…another reason not to overheat.
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