First time asking a question on orchid though Im always here scanning
through everybody’ immense contributions here which why Im also here,
I have a job that requires the combination of yellow and white gold,
problem is all I have is 18k yellow gold and 14k white gold and
unfortunatelythe client says she cant wait the minimum 20days
delivery period if I had to order 18k gold from Riogrande considering
the fact that Im odering all the way from Nigeria.
So here is my question can I solder 18k yellow gold with 14k white
karat gold and if yes which solder am I supposed to use, 18k yellow
gold solder or 14k white gold solder?
I regularly solder 18k yellow gold and 14k white gold with their
respective solders (most from Rio). You can use either solder. Which
you choose depends on the particular job. The two main
considerations are:
The melt and flow points. How much other soldering will there be
on the piece? Are there parts likely to overheat? It’s the same as
deciding which grade solder to use: hard, medium, or easy. Hopefully
you know the melt and flow points of all your solders. You should
also, of course, know the melting points of your alloys. But
standard 18k yellow golds and 14k white golds are usually quite
close in melting points.
IF when soldering you sometimes have solder going where you don’t
want it, use the solder which is the same color of the metal where
the overflow would be…:-)…
you can combine the 2 golds. Use the colour solder that will match
the largest portion of the design- i. e. if you are slumping the
solder on an accent that you will attach and it won’t be seen use the
14kt solder for added strength in medium if you have prior joins and
the colour is hidden under the accent, if you have, for instance a
channel wire of yellow gold on the outside of the band, use yellow
solder as you can always use a graver to clean up any excess and
fabricate the piece so wire and solder just appear to be part of the
ring’s border. I hope this is clear enough. You can also make your
own solder -its quite easy if you have an accurate scale and access
to the raw materials (zinc and/or tin in addition to the precious
metals or metals to alloy that match the colour and karats you are
using). If you need recipes contact me off this list and I will send
them- just make sure to be specific about the colour of the golds and
their karats and whether or not you need more than a hard solder
recipe or if you want pastes, etc. rer