I am intrested in mixing liquid soldering fluxes for gold and silver.
Does anyone have any recipes for some of these fluxes or have any pet
recipes that make soldring easier.
Thanks
Paul Nicholson
I am intrested in mixing liquid soldering fluxes for gold and silver.
Does anyone have any recipes for some of these fluxes or have any pet
recipes that make soldring easier.
Paul Nicholson
Hi Paul,
What jewelers call ‘soldering’ is called ‘brazing’ by engineers, mchainists
and other metal workers. Most brazing fluxes (such as are sold in welders
supplies) have a base of borax with a number of other bits and pieces in.
They give off small amounts of hydrofluoric acid when heated which attacks
your eyeballs. Grifflux, Saf-T-flux, Dandix and a number of other
non-fluoride fluxes are available-they still give off small amounts of
chlorine.
You can make flux with ground up borax.
Most goldmsmiths do not need the long lasting working times of the above
brazing fluxes because gold alloys are ‘clean’ and don’t oxidize readily.
They then use ‘self-pickling’ fluxes and other thinner fluxes. Peter Rowe
has a good article on how to make them at
http://users.lanminds.com/~drewid/jewelry%20techniques%20page.html
An archive of some of Peter Rowe’s answers to questions on Jewelry making
techniques. Good stuff.
good luck
Charles
Brain Press
Box 1624, Ste M
Calgary, Alberta, T2P 2L7
Canada
tel: 403-263-3955
fax: 403-283-9053
Email: @Charles_Lewton-Brain