Can I solder steel to silver? I want to put a magnet on it.
Thanks!
Kimberly
You can braze (solder) steel and silver together but if you try
doing this to a magnet it will lose its magnetism. Tin soldering will
do the job but tin solder breaks down after a while because tin
expands upon cooling wheras nearly all other materials contract and
the tin oxidises as well. Should be OK for a year or two You could
just glue them, providing it is suitable cosmetically.
Nick Royall
Yes, you can solder steel & silver together BUT be aware that
heating a magnet past its Curie point will destroy its magnetic
properties. The Curie point for iron is 770C.
Also, some magnets are ceramic and not steel.
Regards, Gary Wooding
You can solder steel to silver easily enough, but
A) Most magnets today aren’t steel and
B) The magnet will likely loose its magnetism from the heat of
soldering.
You’re better off making a bezel for it, soldering the bezel to the
piece, then using superglue to secure the magnet. Heating a magnet
past a certain point (well below solder points) will cause it to lose
it’s properties and defeat the purpose.
Michele
These folks offer a mating pair of 16mm neodymium magnets with a
center hole, which looks like it could be mounted with a rivet.
Let us know if you try it. I’ve been considering this with a bezel
surround (esthetic). Not sure about the strength of 16mm x 5mm
magnet, even though they are neodymium. There’s more and more demand
for magnet clasps with aging baby boomers’ arthritic fingers. One of
the finding suppliers (can’t remember which one) has a gold plated
magnet, but it doesn’t have a hole, and I don’t know if I’m ready to
trust a glued clasp.
Jamie
No the magnet will , become useless when heated