Soldering near vintage glass

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hello,

I have undertaken a piece which is troubling me. I built a small
structure out of 18 gauge wire to support a centerpiece for my
design. I have two beautiful vintage deco glass drops that I want to
incorporate into the design. They are side drilled and I created wire
pieces that go through the hole with the intention of soldering them
onto the main piece. This presents a heat challenge. Should I place a
heat sink before the glass on both sides, say maybe locking tweezers?
These pieces are so small and that would be very awkward. Any
suggestions on how to solder this together without cracking the glass
would be appreciated. I always find ways of adding glass to a design
and then can’t put the darn thing together. I need some supernatural
soldering power, because I haven’t the faintest notion of how to pull
this off.

Thanks,
Augest “the tortoise mutilater” Derenthal
Cry Baby Designs

2

Dear “Augest”,

You have omitted three things from you question,

  1. The type of wire that you will use.
  2. The type of solder.
  3. The heat source.

Sam.

3

Hi Sam,

I am using 18 gauge 14/20 gold-filled wire, a syringe solder made for
gold-filled materials, and a small, refillable propane torch. I also
have a little torch set-up for propane, but I haven’t needed it for
this project because everything heats up quickly with the handheld.

Augest Derenthal
Cry Baby Designs

4

I use a very small oxygen torch with the blue flame core the size of
a tooth pick this keeps the heat very local.

Sam.