Here is a great tip for when you are soldering multiple small pieces from @emilymarquisdesigns - “I use thick gauge copper wire to collect and keep together my small pieces after soldering. It's helpful when quenching or pickling to pick up a larger... more
For this #tooltalktuesday I wanted to talk about Kate Wolf’s Soldering Clay (shoutouts to @katemallerjewelry who recommended this game changer to me) + a tip for holding things while you solder (it also protects elements from moving and from heat) - a... more
Here is a natural way to pickle your work from @simplecommebonjour - “We work green, so instead of using acids after soldering we use alum! Most people know alum as something that is used after shaving for stopping the blood, and it’s also used for... more
Here is a technique for soldering your bezels or smaller details to a piece without melting - focus your torch flame on your base and heat from below! You can even try a sweat solder (melt solder onto your base, pickle, sand slightly and then place... more
Here is a fantastic tip for those of you soldering multiple earrings at a time from @reneefordmetals - “I use insulated cross locking tweezers to pre-load posts ready to solder. I line them up near my soldering area. I use the back of the post to pick... more
Here is a technique for marking the center line prior to soldering @fernueve50 - “I use this circle template to measure and mark the center pivot before soldering a design element to a ring!” I love this and just used this tip yesterday 😉 thank you... more
Here are some tips for purchasing silver SHEET METAL from @riogrande. All the choices can be overwhelming, so I thought I’d break down what some of the options are and how they differ. The most common is sterling silver (.925) It is stronger than fine... more
Here is a tip for keeping a heavy gauge ring together while soldering - use stainless steel binding wire! Simply wrap it around and then use a pair of pliers to twist closed. I personally like 20-24 gauge binding wire but you can find uses for all... more
Here is an awesome soldering tip from @aimeesutanto - “ One of the few things in the world that give me immediate sense of comfort: friction fit parts. Not only do they just fit tight against each other with zero movement, that also means smooth... more
Here is another way to stabilize with binder clips while soldering from @flameandstone - “I loved the binder clip/third hand trick. Here’s another use for them, just another way to stabilize the third hand for soldering. I love this for jump rings.”... more
Here is a tip for soldering prongs to a bezel from @sharonzjewelry - “I love the convo of bezels and prongs combined in one setting. But soldering prongs to the outside of a bezel can be tricky, especially when trying to keep even heat above and... more
Here is a smart method of avoiding solder cross contamination and a great soldering surface tip from @sinead_cleary_jewelry - “I only use vermiculite soldering blocks because its my preference. I dont like how messy charcoal blocks are. The... more
Love this soldering tip from @tribomo - “When I plan to make a batch of studs I like to have the earring posts pre-soldered and ready to go. Here is a short video of me doing that (sorry for the shaky hands!). — On the charcoal block you can see the... more
Here is a soldering tip from @rumistone - “metalsmith friends : if you drink coffee while you work and have shaky hands, these stainless steel pins are a life saver. they withstand a higher temp and hold silver in place while soldering. it took me a... more
Here is an awesome way to hold down your work for soldering from @maxlamont1 - “I simply put one of the little ceramic pegs that come with the honeycomb boards into the jaws of a reverse action pair of tweezers. The tweezers need to be held in a third... more
Here is a tip for soldering a larger bezel onto a ring from @ladypearljewelry -“Head and shank tweezers: Ideal tool to hold settings and shanks together for accurate soldering. However, if you have a bigger setting, simply add a piece of cooper to... more
Here is a tip for positioning work while you solder from @amypetersstudio - “I try to stay away from 3rd hands when possible. They pull heat away, they can concentrate heat on what it’s holding and most tweezers don’t last long and I hate throwing... more
Here is a tip for working with gallery wire from @didirosejewelry - “I cut the gallery wire at a point where it'll look like part of the design after soldering, then solder it with a small flame. A micro torch is my go to. Then I wrap the border wire... more
Here is a soldering tip from @lucywalkerjewellery - She takes 20 gauge copper squares uses them as soldering props! In one example she keep her prongs in place and the copper squares also act as a heat sink while she solders on a jump ring. She also... more
Here are some helpful tips when you are creating BIG BEZELS from @meritmade - “1) Up the gauge. Instead of using 28 ga fine silver I use 26. The larger gauge helps to keep the shape while soldering. More than once I’ve had a thinner bezel deform... more
