QuestionI am having a lot of trouble making my soldering joints with no light. My solder will not flow because my joint is not completely touching. I am way over working the joint to try and get the perfect seam. I have this problem with bezel wire, rings, or even to scrap pieces to practice with. I am trying files, sand paper, cutting disks and sanding disks on my flex shaft. I just go back into making jewelry after a 7 year hold and I don't know what i am doing wrong. There is no where online on tips to making the perfect seam before you solder. Can anyone help?
AnswerJess, It is a problem and it's not easy to solve.
I have found that most of the time when sizing rings. it was easier to use wire to weld rather than solder. It almost always eliminated any joint, however even then it was very important to have a clean surface and no touching hand oil is very bad at creating seams. I also used a small amount of flux and was most successful by touching a little boric acid and alcohol then burning off the alcohol. The trick to welding is having the wire smaller than the piece so it melts just a little sooner and also having the exact carat so you get a good match sometimes even the wrong alloy can cause a seam. There are a lot of variables you have to consider.
The touch can also be an issue, Learning to use it smoothly and evenly to pull the solder and not boil it with too much heat. When welding it's also important not to melt the edges with too hot of a torch. It takes practice, and timing.
You can use solder but the same rules apply, the karat is very important for an invisible seam.
If you are in a position to jump the gap as you say I like clipping a little hard solder and picking it up on a piece of wire and using the wire like a pic to pull the flow. The wire actually helps to bridge the gap and can make your job a lot easier.
One more trick is when finishing , file across the joint not with it. File as close as you can then remember also sand and polish also across the joint not with it. even the polishing can pull the joint.
I hope these tips help.
Let me know if you still have problems,
