I just spent the better part of today soldering gold jump rings, and
a few silver ones, into a chain. First, I use a Smith "Little Torch"
with propane and oxygen and a #4 tip. I lay half of the rings in
rows on a ceramic soldering pad with each joints lying on a small
solder chip, properly fluxed of course. I prefer charcoal blocks for
this but happen to be out of them just now. Bringing the flame near
but not on the ring until the solder jumps into the joint, I move to
the next, which has been heated by it’s proximity to the last one,
solder it, and so on. Then I hang two soldered rings in an open one,
close it and using fine, bent tipped soldering tweezers, hold the
unsoldered ring at a point directly opposite the joint and lay the
tweezers down on the soldering block with the ring to be soldered
straight up from the block. I melt a fluxed solder chip into a ball
and pick it up on the point of my soldering pik.( I’ve found a
titanium bicycle spoke works very sell for this purpose.) After the
joint is fluxed , I heat it with a fairly sharp flame, holding the
solder ball fairly close to the joint and when it is hot enough,
touch the ball to the joint and it flows in an instant. Don’t try to
solder it with the joint lying on the soldering pad. Hold it up in
the air with the soldering tweezers. Works for me.
Jerry in Kodiak