Melting, welding, soldering, annealing

< If you work with precious metals, you have to use an open flame. The type of flame is crucial for your first success. It should have a medium size and must be pointed.

< Many beginners work with too small flames. Burners like the "Micro Touch" are only usefull for chaines and eyelets.

< Look for more in tutorial No.2
< Use prepared coal for a solderbase.(you can also use small blocks of skamolex which is a artificial product)
You find more information and filmclips about working with the flame in Tutorial No.2 - Just click "HERE"

< You also need flux (Flouron or Borax), soldering tweezers, a little brush, silver or goldsolder and a glass of water.



< Exercise 1 Melting

Take a piece of sterlingsilver with the measures 10x 20x 0.8 mm. Put the brush into the flux and paint over the silver. Move the flame around very slowly. The silver melts and shrinks into a drip. Take the tweezers and dip the material into the water.



< Exercise 2 Welding

Take two silverwires with a diameter of 3 mm, or two flat stripes of silver. Put the wires crosswise over each other and paint flux on the junction. Heat up the whole material, until the surface gets liquid. The metal at the junction should be heated up longer until the silver flows (melts) into each other. Take the silver with the tweezers and dip it into the water. Welding is an experimental way of connecting metals. You cannot predict the result.



< Exercise 3 Soldering

Take a piece of sterlingsilver with the measures 10x 20x 0.8 mm. Put a wire with a diameter of 1 or 2 mm on it. Then paint with flux over the solder point. Cut little platelats (1 or 2 mm) out of the silver-solder. Take the platelats with the brush and put them next to the solder point. Heat it up very slowly with a distance of 30 cm for 3 or 4 minutes. Then you have to look, if the platelats lie quitly. They should not move. If they are moving around, you heated them up to fast. When the are lying motionless, you then may reduce the distance and heat it up evenly. From a certain temperature on the small solderpieces will become liquide and will flow between the two pieces. By doing so they are going to connect the parts. Take the material with the tweezers and dip it into the water.



< Exercise 4 Annealing (to glow)

After forging or turning(bending) the material will become very hard and you cannot work with the material anymore. Now you have to anneal again. This process doesnīt need much heat. Heat it up until the material is dark-red or dark-orange. Thatīs the only process, where you donīt have to use flux. Use the tweezers to dip it into the water afterwards. Now you can forge or deform it again.


All 4 processes are the same for 750 and 585 gold. If you want to do the same things with platin, you have to use a ceramic base and another burner. Do not work with 8kt(333) Gold. This is a different world and very frustrating for beginners.
You find more information and filmclips about working with the flame in Tutorial No.2 - Just click "HERE"