Soldering at the basement

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hello All,

I’ve been lurking a bit and searching the archives, but I still have
some questions to ask that I can’t seem to find the answers.

I am new to this (jewelry making/metal smiting) but have wanted to
do this my whole life. I’ve been a software engineer for HP but left
several years ago to raise my family. Now the youngest is in first
grade and I’m ready to return to life. So I took a couple of classes
this spring and have gotten the fever. I am now trying to make some
pieces to “support my habit” hopefully, and if I can make some money
all the better.

Anyway, I have setup my studio in my basement (in my sewing room)
and my garage. Recently, my brother <hugs & Kisses> bought me a
smith little torch propane/oxygen outfit to help me in my endeavor. I
have been melting a few bezels and such while getting the knack of
it. One of my big problems is positioning of pieces. I have binding
wire but it only helps so much. If I have things I need to solder
that are different heights, sometimes I can’t get the wire to bind
them to keep them where I want. My question is what do you all use
(other than a tack welder) to do this? I’ve looked at investment
compound in the Rio Grande Catalog and also soldering grain. Which is
easier to use or best to use?

My second question is what are the requirements to moving my
soldering bench from the garage to the downstairs? I looked through
the Bench Exchange studio visits and most folks seem to have their
torches by their benches. Is an open window sufficient? I’ve also
read you can get away with a stove hood for exhaust. Would that be
sufficient?

There are tons more questions, but I’ll stop there, lest I overwhelm
you all.

BTW I have really enjoyed visiting everyone’s web sites that have
been in their posts. The designs and jewelry are interesting. I’m
lovin’ it!

Lisa Fowler
Fort Collins, CO USA
@LisaF

2

Hi Lisa,

I can answer the first part of your question - I don’t use binding
wire at all when I’m soldering. With a bezel, I position it then heat
slowly until the flux makes it stick, I can use a soldering pick (an
old darning needle) to move things around if I need to, and I heat
from under the piece, balancing it on a couple of pieces of fire
brick or charcoal. (this is with regular sterling - not AS) If I have
pieces that need being held together, I usually put them on a
charcoal block and stick pins in the charcoal to hold them tight
against each other - or use a third hand to hold one of the pieces -
or use a pair of tweezers. Its all kind of jerry rigged and probably
not the right way to do things but I never could get binding wire to
hold things correctly. Just play around with it and have fun, you
will develop your own methods.

Jan
www.designjewel.com

3

These to articals might help you out a bit, there alot of tips from
the Brain Press that could really help you out. He covers studio
set-up, techniques and tools. These are just two but they might
answer youur immediate questions. If not I’m sure you could find it
in the writing and minds of the good people on this forum.

Zoe Hardisty

4

Hi Lisa,

When you set up your studio for soldering, it is just fine to have
your torch by your bench. The most important thing is to make sure
you chain your torch to the leg of your bench or to a wall. Even if
it is in one of those mini-torch carts, make sure to chain it up. I
used a piece of swing-set chain from the dump to chain my torch.
Works great.

The better your ventilation, the better your health. In my opinion
this is no place to cut corners. There are some seriously nasty
chamical reactions and fumes going on when you solder. If you are
soldering near an open window, definitely put a fan in that window.
A stove hood is a good idea as long as it does not cause the fumes
to travel across your face to get into the exhaust. If you must lean
over your work area to see what is happening with the metal, and the
exhaust is directly above you, the fumes will go straight up into
your face before they go outside. I prefer to pull the fumes
diagonally, opposite from where you sit, rather that straight-up. I
have a small but very strong industrial vent fan in a window
directly across from where I sit, and it works really well.

Experiment with tools and whatnots and thingamajiggers for
positioning your parts for soldering. Binding wire, as you already
know, does not work for everything. I like to cut fire brick into
smaller pieces and carve them into shapes that properly cradle what
I am soldering. Fire brick carves easily. To make a cradle form
usually takes about 3 minutes. I carve the brick with the end of a
pair of ratty old tweezers. Try cross locking tweezers for holding
things into place. If you think they would work better as a
different shape, bend them into any shape you need. Most tools you
can buy for soldering are a great place to start, but they need your
finishing touch to make them fully functional. You can make pins to
peg your parts into place on your firebrick. I make pegs out of
chopped-up coat hanger wire. Burn off the plastic coating first,
then go to town bending and shaping. Dont be afraid to alter things
to suit your needs. Thingamajigger making is a big part of soldering,
and can be an art in itself.

Enjoy!
Troy

5 
One of my big problems is positioning of pieces. I have binding
wire but it only helps so much. If I have things I need to solder
that are different heights, sometimes I can't get the wire to bind
them to keep them where I want. My question is what do you all use
(other than a tack welder) to do this? I've looked at investment
compound in the Rio Grande Catalog and also soldering grain. Which
is easier to use or best to use?

Most people I know who embed things in investment to solder just use
investment, not the special stuff. Both work fine, investment is
just cheaper.

I find that binding wire creates more problems than in solves, most
of the time.

It’s a pain to set up, draws heat away, etc.

Propping things up may work better. Buy some Solderite soldering
pads and cut them up (they cut/break very easily) into small pieces
so you can make layers and have part of your jewelry hang off when
necessary.

Some jewelers use Super Glue to “tack weld” something in place while
they solder it. I’m not recommending this, of course, because of the
fumes.

More experience soldering will help. Just solder a lot. Take more
classes, with different teachers. Soldering is difficult to teach
because it’s something you just have to do and do until you get a
feel for it.

My second question is what are the requirements to moving my
soldering bench from the garage to the downstairs? I looked
through the Bench Exchange studio visits and most folks seem to
have their torches by their benches.

Yes, this is true, this is the standard set up in the jewelry
industry. We are however, not an industry known for safety.

Two books will help you. The Jewelry Workshop Safety Report by
Charles Lewton Brain and one on ventilation, that I don’t seem to
have any longer – I think Rio sells it.

This is a topic which has come up a lot before on Orchid. Try
searching on these terms:

basement
propane
sinking
gas

and see if you can find them. Select “Entire” when you search.

Another thing I do sometimes is search Orchid using google.
Sometimes I find what I’m looking for more quickly that way. Put in
your search terms as well as the word Orchid.

Elaine

Elaine Luther
Metalsmith, Certified PMC Instructor
http://www.CreativeTextureTools.com ™
Hard to Find Tools for Metal Clay