How to Solder Silver: Tips for the Complete Novice
Posted: Saturday, October 20, 2007
by Dianne Lehmann
Artisan Jewelry from SyZyGy
When I was first interested in learning to solder silver, I was very intimidated by the scope of the endeavor not to mention the flame. So I started very small with few expectations about the results. My biggest tip for the novice is to not expect it to go the way you think it should. Take your time and learn what it will actually do and not do. Be prepared to melt things beyond repair. You learn your best lessons from your worst mistakes.
To begin, set your magnesia block (I prefer these to charcoal because of the lesser cost, they take less time to heat and they cool faster) in an open area with nothing flammable around it. Push back your sleeves if they are long and tie back your hair as well, if it is long. It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the operation of the torch before soldering your first jump ring. Turn it on and off several times until you can do it easily.
Take a clean jump ring and make certain that the ends line up exactly and that they are touching each other. Solder will make a join solid, but it will not fill gaps. Apply flux to the place you want to join. When the solder melts it will follow the flame and flow where the flux is. Do not put flux anywhere you do not want the solder to go.
A few words about fluxes are in order. There are a lot to choose from. I use either a paste flux or a liquid flux depending on what I want to do. Flux has two purposes; to help the solder flow and to help protect your silver from firescale. When you heat your sterling to soldering temperatures, you bring some of the copper in the alloy (92.5% silver, 7.5% copper) to the surface. The copper is essentially what makes sterling silver tarnish so rapidly and is responsible for the firescale. Firescale shows itself as a black coating on the surface of your sterling. A number of how-tos on silver soldering will tell you to flux the entire piece in order to limit the firescale. But this sometimes makes the solder go where you do not want it and it is not always fun trying to remove the solder later. Paste flux stays where you put it and liquid does not always stay put. But paste flux can become very hard and glassy after heating and requires more time in the pickle to eliminate it all. You really will not have a problem with your first jump ring soldering project and may use any type of flux that you like, but these are a few things to remember for later; if there is a later. I caught the bug right off and haven't regretted it.
Now, take your wire cutters and cut off a small piece of easy solder. About an 1/8 of an inch should be more than enough. Place the solder on the magnesia block. Place the join of the jump ring on top of the solder so that it forms a cross. Turn off any direct lighting on your work area and use only room lighting. Light your torch. Bring the torch slowly closer to the jump ring so as not to blow the jump ring off of the solder.
If you are using a paste flux and you set the jump ring quickly down upon the solder, you can let it dry a bit and the two will stick together. If you are using a liquid flux, do as I recommended in the previous paragraph.
By not brightly illuminating your work, you will be better able to see the changes in color of the flux and the metal as it heats. Learning about these color changes now will help you later when you make larger projects.
When the area of the magnesia block that the jump ring is resting on and the jump ring and solder reach the melting point of the solder, the solder will flow. Move the flame around the circumference of the jump ring. As you see it start to turn pinkish, concentrate the flame mostly on the join. You will see the jump ring drop level onto the surface of the block and you will see the solder become very shiny and flow up the join. You will have to look quick for that last part. Remove the flame as soon as you see those two things happen. Leave the flame too long and you will melt your jump ring into a nice ball. When I first made this error, I then had a lot of fun making balls from scrap silver. They can be useful in some designs. Also, remember that the solder will follow the flame, so take the flame away straight up; not sideways. Otherwise, the solder will follow the flame over the jump ring and coat part of your ring.
A quick word about heat sinks. Everything your work touches soaks up the heat of the flame and takes it away from your work; including the air in the room. Never try to solder anything large together by dangling it in the air. I know one person who tried this and failed. You can not (and do not want to) heat all the air in your work room to soldering temperatures. Small items like jump rings or finger rings work fairly well, though.
Pick up the jump ring with the heatless tweezers and dunk it in the quenching water. It will hiss and spit a bit. Dry the jump ring and inspect the join. A small lump at the join is acceptable. A large lump is not, unless you want to make it a design element. Ideally, the joined place should not be obvious. It will take some experimentation with the different gauges of wire and amounts of solder to get to the point where you can make a nearly invisible join.
Take your copper tongs and place the jump ring in the pickle solution. Pickle is basically a week acid that will turn the copper firescale into a white coating that can be easily polished off. Do not drop it into the pickle. Also, do not put it in the pickle if it is still quite hot. Even though it is a relatively weak acid, it will still burn you and put holes in your clothes. Not immediately, though. They tend to show up after you wash them. You must use copper tongs because any ferrous (iron bearing) metal that comes in contact with the solution will electrolyze it and you will end up plating copper onto your silver. Remove the jump ring with the copper tongs also. Rinse it well in your quenching water. Or have a jar of water with baking soda added to it standing by to completely neutralize the acid.
If you do not want a hard, bright, shiny polish on your jump rings, you can use a brass brush to remove the white coating. Dip a soft brass brush in a solution of dish soap and water and thoroughly rub the jump ring. The soap keeps brass from depositing on the silver. If you want a bright shine, you will have to use a buffing wheel of some sort charged with a polishing compound. Only a very aggressive polishing compound will remove firescale. If you do not pickle your silver long enough, then you can try a bobbing compound. But remember, this will remove more of the silver and if you have surface detail you will lose some or all of it. It really is best to pickle your item long enough that no hint (a yellowish color) of firescale remains.
Even someone who has been soldering silver for a long time can learn something new; usually the hard way. Recently, I learned that you can not solder brass to sterling silver. I did some research and learned why. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Silver solder is an alloy of fine silver, copper and zinc. So, if you are trying to solder brass to sterling, the zinc and copper in the brass turn the sterling silver to solder, basically. And it just looks like a mess. (Author's Note: It looked like a mess when I tried it the first couple of times. But if you will take a moment and read the comments below, you will see that a couple of Reader's have figured out how to do it with a good result.) You can, however, solder copper to sterling silver as I have done, without this problem. Also, you can solder copper to brass. I was trying to combine copper, sterling and brass with no luck at all.
So have some fun. Get out there and light that torch! In no time you will be moving on to bigger and better things.
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More commentsHi and thank you. I still have questions after reading your article:Where is the solder placed? Between the two ends of the jumpring to be joined or on top of it?Must silver always necessitate a torch as opposed to a soldering iron?There are silver solder chips, wire form and there is liquid. Which one to use?Thank you very much.Hi Rosemarie.Wow! I didn't know I'd left so many question unanswered.Where is the solder placed? Between the two ends of the jump ring to be joined or on top of it? Place the solder right beneath the join. Trying to place it between the ends will not allow you to bring the ends close enough together. The ends have to be touching each other flush. By placing it below, it raises that part of the jump ring slightly and it will drop as the solder melts. This is often the first sign that it is about to flow.Must silver always necessitate a torch as opposed to a soldering iron? Yes, there is no electric soldering iron that reaches temperatures sufficient to melt even the extra easy silver solder.There are silver solder chips, wire form and there is liquid. Which one to use? This one is a little harder to answer. Basically, use the form that will work the best given the physical structure of the item you are making. Actually, I'm not familiar with a "liquid" silver solder, but I do make good use of the paste solder that comes in a syringe (generally, it doesn't require flux). Also, it is cheaper to buy your solder in a sheet and cut the chips yourself. You can do it with hand shears or buy a special pliers for making chips. The savings over time will pay for the purchase of the tool.Hopes this helps,Dianne
Oh this article is so descriptive and informative. Your instruction on silver soldering and just everything about it is so detailed and clearly written. Have to tell you my favorite line is "You learn your best lessons from your worst mistakes." How true that is. I solder with copper foil and a soldering gun. I can honestly say it's not my favorite part of any stained glass project. For me, not "overesoldering" became the most important thing - I mean, I'd solder and have the front of my project looking really great. But I also like the back the be beautiful since panels show on both sides. I'd set out to solder the back and the heat would ruin the front. Well, you know, it started to become an issue until I approached it from that quoted line. I learned. I know you work up beautiful jewelry and your insight and advice for silver soldering is so helpful!Hi Heidi.
I had a friend who did stained glass but he used that soft lead stuff that had channels on both sides and so only needed to be soldered at the intersections. I can't imagine having to solder the whole thing. Don't think for a moment that while soldering a silver piece that I haven't had a previous solder come undone or had the solder flow where I didn't want it. My biggest revelation was that the solder follows the flame and so I always try to remember to pull the flame away in the direction I want the solder to flow.
I'm glad you liked this article and thanks so much for the compliments. Sometimes I think I am too anal with my "how tos."
Thanks for stopping by and I sure hope things are going better for you!
Hugs,
DianneHi back to you, Dianne. Nothing wrong with being "anal" when you're writing a How To piece! How many times have you seen an article that leaves out steps or is unclear. I am also very detailed and, with horses pieces, I am gearing to a specific audience. Professionals are least likely to read horse articles but novice owners, parents, etc. do and others who may need brushing up or enjoy reading your or my articles, like detail. How to articles that really instruct are a gift to the reader.
The stained glass method your friend uses is caming - That's a good way to go for certain types of stained glass projects. I find that my method works well for indoor and outdoor use because it completes a waterproof barrier throughout the piece. It's also the way I learned. I've never learned silver soldering and I don't know how to use the open propane flame. I've watched many artists use the method and am very impressed.
PLEASE SEND FORMULA FOR STERLING silverCHAIN SOLDERING METHODHi Fairoz.
Soldering silver chain makes use of the tips I gave you in the article. The main difference is that chain is often made of smaller jump rings and might also be made from smaller gauge wire.
Start with the smallest tip for your torch that you have that will heat the links properly. If you are constructing the chain yourself, solder closed half of the links individually first. Pickle and rinse them. Then connect the chain together with the unsoldered links. Set up three or four to be soldered at a time. Solder them closed and quench so that you can handle them safely to set up the next three or four. When done soldering, pickle. A chain can be polished on a polishing wheel with a special wooden mandrel to hold it, but it is much easier to put the chain into a tumble polisher with mixed stainless steel shot for a couple of hours.
Hopes this helps.
Dianne
Yes..very helpful....very clear.....I plan to begin soon....I have prepared a work area in my little shed outside...in Sherwood Forest UK....I hope it does not catch fire..!!..thanks Dianne....MichaelHi Michael.
Please do not set your shed on fire! Bernd did try to light one wall of our basement on fire once with the torch, though. I immediately went out and bought some large glazed floor tiles and attached them to the wall behind the torch station. :)
Thanks for reading and glad that I could be of some help!
Dianne
Thank you for an extremely clear explanation of soldering jump rings. I have been doing many things wrong, and maybe now will attempt to solder very small rings to fine chains, now I understand it better, and am not so terrified.Hi Charlene.
You know, making jewelry really isn't a science. It's more of an art. But there are a few things that benefit from a more studied approach. I think soldering is one of them. I did so many things wrong in the beginning ... it's what prompted me to write the article. :)
I do think the biggest thing to overcome is the fear. :) It took me a while. Fear of the flame, fear of messing up, that sort of thing. The best way I've found to get over that is just to keep soldering. Eventually it becomes more comfortable.
Thanks for reading and for commenting! I'm glad that I could help.
Dianne
Hi Dianne, loved the information above. Can you tell me if it is possible to solder copper (old 19th century cents) to gold or preferably silver? Many thanks.Hi Charlie,
It is quite easy to solder copper and sterling silver together. Sterling silver is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. Just keep in mind that copper melts at a higher temperature and it always seems to me that it takes more heat to become red hot. So do not expect the silver and the copper to have a similar color when the solder reaches its melting point.
I have soldered 14K yellow gold to sterling silver using silver solder and it works quite well and easily. I should think that you could solder copper to gold, but that you would want to use gold solder so that the colors are more compatible.
Hope this helps.
Dianne
There doesn't seem to be much advice online about torches for silver soldering. I have an old Veriflo (National) 3A torch that I'd like to use with propane and compressed air. With the appropriate tip, do you think this would suit the purpose?Hi David.
Sometimes, the best place to look for information about equipment is with the people who sell it. Many online catalogs offer quite a bit of information about their products.
As for the Veriflo torch, I am not familiar with it. But if it uses propane as does a plumbers torch, you can do silver soldering with it. I know a lot of people who started out with propane fueled plumbers torches. They didn't even bother to modify the tip. Working large that isn't a problem. But when you have multiple solders on a small piece, you'll want a smaller tip with better control of where you are applying the heat.
Really, the only way to find out if something works is to try it. :) I will only add that propane does not provide as hot a flame as does acetylene and that in turn does not get as hot as oxy-acetylene.
You can also experiment with copper first, which is a little cheaper than sterling. But keep in mind that copper has a higher melting point and requires more heating to get the solder to flow.
Oh, the only other thing I wanted to mention is that you should be sure that both of your fuels (the air and the propane) are delivered smoothly and evenly. Because we jewelers work closer to our projects than plumbers do, it is essential that we not have sudden flairs. It might be good to observe the flame for a couple of minutes before you first use it. And always remember to wear safety glasses, keep your sleeves rolled up and don't wear synthetic fabrics if you can help it.
Hope this helps.
DianneThanks, Dianne. I understand I'm not to include a link in my comment, but you can find out about the torch quite easily with a search on National 3A. It's a very common torch for glassblowers, and can be used with either oxygen or air depending on the tip. I don't want to fool with oxygen, but have an air compressor with regulator. For the fuel, I thought I'd get a small propane cylinder or tank, and a regulator for it. As for tip size, I expect I'll have to follow your advice, buy one (the torch currently has a tip for oxygen), and try it.
Great article. Thanks so much. I have already spent hours trying to figure out if what I want to do is possible and then how to do it. I do enamel work...right now mostly enamel on copper. I would like to solder sterling silver findings onto the copper before I enamel. This requires using a silver-copper solder that melts at the pastures higher than the firing temperature of the enamel...usually for me at about 1450 F. Would silver wire with a paste flux work do you think?Hi Charryl.
Of course, the various solders are designed to melt and flow at temperatures below the melting point of silver. The only solder that has a melting point above 1450 F would be IT (that's capital i and capital t). IT is 80% silver, 16% copper and only 4% zinc, which is why it is harder than Hard solder (which melts at around 1425 F). IT melts at around 1490 F. That should be a good enough margin for you, but I would still monitor it very closely.
Because the melting point of fine silver is 1761 F and sterling is 1640 F, it shouldn't matter which silver you use.
Paste flux does stay in place better than liquid fluxes, but which flux you use is really a matter of personal preference, in my opinion. They all do the job quite well.
Thanks for reading and I hope this helps,
DianneDianne
Thanks so much. You have been terrifically helpful. Happy soldering!
Dianne, I asked you a question about two years ago, before I did my first soldering job. You answered my question and I've now been soldering successfully ever since! Thank you for that! Now, I have another question.
I work with sterling silver, copper, and fine silver (Art Clay) I have been soldering the fine silver pieces to sterling silver without a problem (since the day you answered my first question!) but I'm wondering if I can solder the fine silver to copper. I know sterling/copper works just fine, but since fine silver doesn't have the copper alloy....any thoughts?Hi Katelynne.
I'm so glad that I was able to help you then! I love to hear that people are soldering successfully.
There isn't really much difference in soldering fine silver to copper. The only thing to remember is that fine silver melts at a lower temperature than sterling or copper. But since you have been soldering with fine silver for some time now, you've probably had experience with that.
Jewelry students (in colleges and universities) are frequently asked to do beginning projects using copper back plates and fine silver bezel in order to mount cabochons. The only comment I can think to make is that because it takes more heat to bring the copper to a point where the solder will flow as opposed to the fine silver, you might want to concentrate your flame on the solder more than you usually do and keep it away from the fine silver as much as possible while heating the whole unit to a temp high enough that the solder will actually flow. I'm sorry, that sounds a bit crazy, but I can't manage to put it any better than that right now. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the whole unit has to be hot, but that you won't get the copper hot enough on it's own to help the solder flow, before you will melt your fine silver. So basically, heat the whole unit then focus more on the solder. I hope you can make some sense of this.
Have fun!
Dianne
I got it - totally makes sense! Thanks!
I want to start making my own cufflinks, which are a bit more than jump rings to deal with, size wise at least. I am going to buy the t shaped backs and solder them onto bezel cups I guess?
Is trhere anything you would do differently when working something this large?Hi Herb.
Cuff links are not all that huge ... well compared to jump rings they are ... but not compared to a large belt buckle, cuff bracelet or pendant.
You can most likely achieve the soldering with the small micro torch I recommend for beginners in my article.
Were you planning to make your own bezel cups or purchase them? Because making your own cups will entail quite a few more skills. That could be an entire article all on it's own. And colleges teach jewelry making courses where that is all they do for the whole semester. And setting a stone into a bezel takes some practice if you are not simply planning on gluing it together. If you do glue it, use a good two part epoxy and not super glue.
So to answer your actual question ... no, there really isn't anything I would do all that differently from the soldering end of it ... as long as you are purchasing pre-made bezel cups.
I would suggest though, that you start with a small financial investment to begin with. I'm in no way impugning your ability. It's just that I've gone all gung ho for something, sunk all kinds of money into it and then found out that I wasn't really happy doing it. :)
I hope this helps a little. And thanks so much for reading my article.
Dianne
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