The V&A are putting out some new books towards the end of the year.
This one will be available through David Brown Books and Oxbow Books
(same company just opposite sides of the pond).

http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm?ID=69879&MID=23648

I'm making the hard decision on what tools to take with me in a
campervan for an extended trip around Lochac (Australia).  It should
prove interesting to live the life of the itinerant
tinker/jeweller/weaver and I'll be maintaining my live journal as a
record of what it's like, what we make, what sells at the various
markets.  We don't need to do this but we're interested to see what it's
like to try and earn a living and to see if we can last beyond our
budget limit :)  As I won't be posting here you may like to occasionally
check in and see where we are...

http://tyghra.livejournal.com

Haven't left yet.  One week of frantic packing to go...  Leaving 1st
August for a minimum of 3 months.

~ Tigriana la Joyera

http://www.flickr.com/photos/medievalandrenaissance/sets/72157605459408246/

Courtesy of Apollonia on the EKMG list.  These photos are part of a set
taken during the reproduction of champleve enamel components of a limoge
oak casket.  Enjoy, I know I did!  Glad to find I'd already added this
bloke to my Flickr contacts as the other sets of photos are also worth
checking out.

Cheers,

~ Tig (currently in Perth/Aneala)

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/12/091214-viking-recycling.html

Tyghra na Tintagel wrote:
>
>
> http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/12/091214-viking-recycling.html
> <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/12/091214-viking-recycling.html>
>
> _
This is news, how? Blacksmiths have always recycled. Reworking existing
metal items into something has been a blacksmith's stock and trade from
the beginning. Especially when you factor in the high cost of materials
and the low cost of labor, right up to very recently in history.

Of course the article is good documentation of what I always assumed was
general knowledge. And we all know how that works.

Njall

--
Scott B. Jaqua
Hagerson Forge
www.hagersonforge.com

The original questions are in the second email.

~ Tig

> Grimbold here, with a few words in answer.
>
> Did a couple on my own after Chandra's coining class at a previous MSS.
> Pewter and scrap sterling mostly, give current cost of hi-K gold. 
> Ancient coins were pretty much all hi-K AFAIK, most debased coinage was
> later.
>
> 1. Dies made from mild steel, 1080 steel, random steel (old weightlifting
> bar).  Remember they didn't have S7 or other tool steels back then, at
> best they used the harder parts of an iron bloom after hand refining and
> reworking the bars. So if you find a bar of something +1/2" (13mm) thick
> and mostly round that's made of some kind of steel, you're in the right
> area. Access to a chop saw is a good thing, but a hacksaw will do.
>
> 2. Struck coins, though I've done cast replica medals and coins before
> and since, mostly using Delft Clay Casting Method (q.v. - Google), or
> some variation on lost wax.  Steel dies were punched and engraved using
> handmade hardened punches, then the dies hardened as much as they could
> be.
>
> 3. Probably somewhere, they're in one of several hundred boxes along with
> everything else, just finished moving, sigh, don't have studio up yet and
> might not find particular items for some time.
>
> Early coinage designs weren't insanely advanced or complex (with the
> usual caveats to such a blanket statement) so making punches and gouging
> out a design should be pretty straightforward, punches must be harder
> than the die, planchet (coin blank) should be annealed and ideally hot
> when struck. Repeated punches close together on the die can give good
> results for hair, grass, grains, etc, while overlapping punches can
> smoothly push down a larger area. Start with a *flat* die surface
> finished to 220 grit or so, layout design with fine Sharpie or scratch
> bright lines in lampblack, hold the die in a solid vise, use some
> magnification and you'll be fine. Test depth of the die and design as you
> go with clay/Plasticene. Dies can be ground flat and redone until they're
> too short to use so it's not expensive in terms of material, just in
> time. Always remember, the larger, deeper and more detailed the design,
> the bigger the blow necessary to strike the coin, think
>  striker with a *big* hammer, a stump to hold the lower die and a very
>  strong floor to take the force at a minimum.
>
> Obviously, don't do the actual period designs on both obverse and reverse
> sides of one coin or you're doing counterfeiting instead of re-enactment,
> I like to include the current mundane year in roman numerals as an
> additional fail-safe. There are also odd laws in the US and elsewhere
> about uttering false coinage, so don't allow anything you make to be used
> as money or a medium of exchange, talk with a lawyer for details.
>
>
> A few resources for those interested in starting with struck coinage:
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-yHUPNUml8  Early style striking plus
> look under "related videos" for Macedonian coin examples etc.
>
> There's an SCA Moneyer's guild that was in An Tir and one in the West,
> both have joined and gone InterKingdom, someone there had a starter
> publication at one point, here's a links page
>
> http://westmoneyers.weebly.com/links.html 
>
> Believe some of those folks are active on the mailing lists (groups)
> linked therein.
>
>
> www.florilegium.org/files/COMMERCE/coins-msg.html
>
> Some archeology books and nearly all coin history books have a short bit
> on how coins were made, one that goes into useful depth on on that
> period's money and metallurgy is this, try your library and ask for ILL,
> it's not cheap:
>
> http://www.amazon.ca/King-Croesus-Gold-Excavations-Refining/dp/0674503708
>
> US Mint had some publications on hand striking, don't know if they're
> still available or not.
>
>
> Hope that helps,
>
> Grimbold ("I'd crawl back under my rock if I could find it....")

> > Subject: [ekmg] coin dies
> > To: ekmg@...
> > Date: Sunday, February 14, 2010, 5:02 PM

> > I would like to hear from anyone who
> > has made dies for striking gold and/or silver coins...
> >
> > 1) out of what metal did you make the die(s)
> > 2) what method(s) did you use (cast, forged, engraved,
> > etc.)
> > 3) do you currently have any dies
> >
> > I'm most interested in the very earliest type of dies, and
> > if possible, those for striking coins resulting in a fairly
> > small 'thick and dumpy' kind between 1/8" to 1/2" diameter
> > (think along the lines of Lydia, Samos, Corinth, Aegina,
> > etc.)
> >
> > Many thanks - from your friendly neighborhood lurker,
> >
> > Jill
> > _______________________________________________
> > ekmg mailing list
> > ekmg@...
> > http://lists.eastkingdom.org/mailman/listinfo/ekmg

Christies latest catalogue of ancient jewellery. I skipped straight to
the final pages and found Byzantine and Roman jewellery from the
C5th-6th.

http://tiny.cc/hxsd8

Enjoy!

~ Tig

It's a little early period for most of us, but those Romans certainly
came up with some nifty ideas.  I've just just discovered these and how
they worked, thanks to the Hal on the East Kingdom Metalsmiths Guild
list... The lozenge shape reminds me of a harness pendant I once cast...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Just-Stunning-Design-Complete-Roman-Seal-box-Working-/3704\
63694374?pt=UK_Antiquities&hash=item56415b5e26

Information on what a seal box actually is and does (and other
interesting info and designs)...
http://romanlocks.com/Seal%20Boxes.htm

~ Tig

My, my how time does fly!

Now that I actually have a proper workshop area, rather than a corner of a
loungeroom or kitchen or somesuch, I'm flooded with jobs to complete and find
myself doing more research again.

So I'll start posting that info here in the Files and Links areas.  This is
mostly so I can find them again if my computer ever dies, and also for those who
might find them of use sometime :)

The first one was posted over on my favourite list to lurk on - the EKMG list
(East Kingdom Metalsmiths Guild) and features a wonderful pdf on the best way to
set up a pitch bowl complete with pictures.

I've put it in a new folder in the Links area, called Techniques, but here it is
so you don't have to go looking if you're interested *now*

http://www.alberic.net/Student_Home/Handouts/Handout_Archive/files/PitchBowls%20\
V1-Web.pdf

A Pitch Bowl, for those who aren't sure what it is, is used to hold metal whilst
it's being worked over by tools to shape the metal.  That process is known as
Repousse (when worked from the back) and Chasing (when worked from the front).

Cheers,

~ Tig

Yoinked from a post by Apollonia to the EKMG list.

Although the Littleton Studio School is a little far away for many of us
here, this is a good list of test projects to take away the fear of
soldering.

As he says, don't wait until you have a precious project to get nervous
about.  Grab scraps and just keep practicing.

http://ganoksin.com/blog/littletonstudioschool/2012/02/13/preparing-for-getting-\
comfortable-with-soldering-class/

If you're going to try soldering a specific project for the first time
then try and replicate it in a cheaper metal first to get the hang of
it's particular shape foibles.

Cheers,

~ Tig

You still working for HOJ?

We started with brass at Enmore, I plated one of the projects with black
rhodium last year... can't tell it was brass at all.

One of the things I found most helpful was to watch a couple of old
timers soldering, everyone is different, it just dots the i's and
crosses the t's.



Regards Charles from Oz


On 20/02/2012 10:39 AM, Tyghra na Tintagel wrote:
> As he says, don't wait until you have a precious project to get nervous
> about.  Grab scraps and just keep practicing.
>
> Cheers,
>
> ~ Tig

Hi Charles,

I've only just realised I didn't reply to you.  No, I haven't worked for HOJ
since June 2009.  Took off around Australia for an extended roadtrip (best thing
we ever did) and tree changed to the rural city of Goulburn NSW.

Interesting to hear about your black rhodium plating over brass.  What finish
did you bring the brass to before plating and did the plating affect that
finish?  Ie if brass was highly polished, did the plating reflect that. Pun
intended ;)

~ Tig

--- In Metallum_Lochac@..., Charles Anderson
<charlesanderson@...> wrote:
>
> You still working for HOJ?
>
> We started with brass at Enmore, I plated one of the projects with black
> rhodium last year... can't tell it was brass at all.
>
> One of the things I found most helpful was to watch a couple of old
> timers soldering, everyone is different, it just dots the i's and
> crosses the t's.
>
> Regards Charles from Oz

Welcome to the three new members, and an apology to two of them for taking so
long to approve you.  I've been rather busy of late but now that Rowany Festival
is over, the catchup begins.

Obviously this list has become rather quiet of late as we all get on with our
own projects.  If you have something you've been working on and are happy to
share your techniques with the rest of us then please do!

The gallery, files and links areas on the home page are there for you to share
with us all.

I'll upload some images of my latest commissions asap (with any luck - prompting
is cheerfully accepted).

One of our new members included in his message to me, a note to say he was
cataloging sca tokens.  I'm curious to know how many and the method of recording
info that was used to do this as I (and doubtless many of us) have a stackload
of tokens that I've started wondering what to do with.  Some wind up as wearable
period 'pilgrim' style badges but others?  I don't want to throw them out as
they carry good memories but what to do, what to do?

Cheers,

~ Tig

Hi Tig,

No harm no foul :-)

I've contemplated moving away from the burbs to a country property, so
that I can set up my workshop to it's full capacity.  Three little sheds
aren't enough for all my interests.

I brought the brass to a high mirror polish, and I left the inside
matte, the rhodium copies what it covers.  So the brass ring now has a
high polish in black rhodium and a matte finish on the inside of the ring.



Regards Charles from Oz


On 22/04/2012 11:31 PM, tyghra_na_tintagel wrote:
> Hi Charles,
>
> I've only just realised I didn't reply to you.  No, I haven't worked for HOJ
since June 2009.  Took off around Australia for an extended roadtrip (best thing
we ever did) and tree changed to the rural city of Goulburn NSW.
>
> Interesting to hear about your black rhodium plating over brass.  What finish
did you bring the brass to before plating and did the plating affect that
finish?  Ie if brass was highly polished, did the plating reflect that. Pun
intended ;)
>
> ~ Tig

Greetings all,
Sorry to be a tad off topic but can anyone refer me to a casting place?  I need
some letters cast in bronze for work (Australian War Memorial) and the foundry
we used to use will no longer cast them for us.
Merci
Sabine


[AWM Logo not displayed in text email]

________________________________________________________________________________\
________________________________

This message may contain confidential information and is intended only for its
recipient(s). If you have received this email by error, please delete this
e-mail from your system and notify the sender immediately. E-mail transmission
cannot be guaranteed to be secure. E-mail information could be intercepted,
corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late, be incomplete, or contain viruses. The
sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the
contents of this message.

________________________________________________________________________________\
________________________________

Hi Sabine,

Which state are you in?

I can help you with names if you're in NSW.


Regards Charles from Oz





On 23/04/2012 2:27 PM, Eileen Procter wrote:
> Greetings all,
> Sorry to be a tad off topic but can anyone refer me to a casting place?  I
need some letters cast in bronze for work (Australian War Memorial) and the
foundry we used to use will no longer cast them for us.
> Merci
> Sabine

Hi Charles,
I'm in Canberra so NSW casters are not out of the question.  Could you please
send the details directly to me rather than the entire list?  The address is
Eileen.procter at awm.gov.au
Thank you

Hi Nick,
Thank you for the offer but I think that NZ is just too far to justify.

Sabine


-----Original Message-----
From: Metallum_Lochac@...
[mailto:Metallum_Lochac@...] On Behalf Of Charles Anderson
Sent: Monday, 23 April 2012 3:35 PM
To: Metallum_Lochac@...
Subject: Re: [Metallum_Lochac] casting places

Hi Sabine,

Which state are you in?

I can help you with names if you're in NSW.


Regards Charles from Oz





On 23/04/2012 2:27 PM, Eileen Procter wrote:
> Greetings all,
> Sorry to be a tad off topic but can anyone refer me to a casting place?  I
need some letters cast in bronze for work (Australian War Memorial) and the
foundry we used to use will no longer cast them for us.
> Merci
> Sabine


[AWM Logo not displayed in text email]

________________________________________________________________________________\
________________________________

This message may contain confidential information and is intended only for its
recipient(s). If you have received this email by error, please delete this
e-mail from your system and notify the sender immediately. E-mail transmission
cannot be guaranteed to be secure. E-mail information could be intercepted,
corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late, be incomplete, or contain viruses. The
sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the
contents of this message.

________________________________________________________________________________\
________________________________

From: Arch-Metals Group [ARCH-METALS@...] on behalf of
Susan La Niece [SLANIECE@...]
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2012 6:55 PM
To: ARCH-METALS@...
Subject: 1 year post at the British Musem

We are currently recruiting for a Scientist to work within the
department of Conservation and Scientific Research. This post will
involve responsibility for analysis and research of both material in
the British Museum collection and the Anglo-Saxon Staffordshire Hoard
which forms part of the contract work being delivered by the British
Museum on behalf of the Staffordshire Hoard owners. The post is to
undertake scientific examination, analysis and X-radiography of
archaeological and museum materials for their identification,
provenance or technological investigation and to understand their
deterioration and conservation. Further to this, the post will involve
responsibility for the management, archiving and reporting of all data
as part of the contract research.

A strong and relevant science background with experience in a research
and/or analytical laboratory environment is essential as well as
experience in the application and use of a range of analytical
techniques including XRF. Also experience in some of the following:
SEM-EDX, specific gravity measurements, X-radiography, XRD, Raman or
FTIR spectroscopy, microscopy techniques.

The Museum is looking to appoint a candidate who, ideally, is able to
start as soon as possible.

Fixed Term Contract; 12 months in duration (Full time)
Salary: GBP 26,820 per annum


For further information or to apply for this role, please go to

     <URL: http://www.britishmuseum.org/about_us/jobs.aspx>

Closing date: 12 noon, Thursday 21st June 2012


Susan La Niece
Department of Conservation and Scientific Research
The British Museum
London WC1B 3DG
UK

slaniece@...

Damn, a dream job that I'd do for board an lodgings :-)  CIA


On 4/06/2012 9:47 AM, Tyghra na Tintagel wrote:
> From: Arch-Metals Group [ARCH-METALS@...] on behalf of
> Susan La Niece [SLANIECE@...]
> Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2012 6:55 PM
> To: ARCH-METALS@...
> Subject: 1 year post at the British Musem

From the wonderful Grimbold on the East Kingdom Metalsmiths Guild list,
in response to a few people who are about to play around with grinding
garnets into shape (think of the inlay work in the beautiful Sutton Hoo
artefacts)...

As a gemmologist, his comments about garnets and the larger family is
completely accurate.  For example, one of the rarest, and up there with
the expensive stones, is the Tsavorite garnet.  A beautiful lime green
that displays remarkable scintillation (sparkle from light bouncing
around inside and splitting up), it's rare to find a large one.  Garnets
come in ALL colours.  Not just a few shades of red.

Now if we can only convince someone to make a replica of the
Staffordshire Hoard grinder...

~ Tig

----- Original message -----
To: East Kingdom Metalsmiths Guild List <ekmg@...>
Subject: [ekmg] Garnets (was Re:  Other Evilness)
Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2012 14:00:52 -0700 (PDT)

Grimbold here.
 
I had hoped to be able to get to one of these events where evil fun is
planned, doesn't look like that's happening.
 
Therefore please excuse my brief contribution on garnets, should have
sent this earlier, but I've been sick.
 
Disclaimer, I have no advanced degrees in this or any other subject, we
have a rock scientist in this group, please take her word over mine.
 
Always liked garnet, even before reading Bruce-Mitford on the Sutton Hoo
ship burial, mostly for the deep colors. But it's far from one gemstone,
or even one *kind* of gemstone, it's a family, whose chemistry is (group
of four metals )(another bunch 'o metals)(SiO4)3. Cheerfully honoring
the medieval 'If-it's-red-it-must-be-ruby' tradition, the modern term
garnet is used for at least 6 different crystals and endless 'series' of
mixed stuff with different properties.
 
Whee! <pause to repeatedly bang head on worktable> Fun!
 
Of the six, almandine has the largest crystals AFAIK, some up to an inch
or so, only really worked much smaller ones plus rhodolite and pyrope
personally. So we're talking tiny work here, useful jewelry scale for
cabs and inlay. All 6 garnet types are 'fairly heat sensitive' in my
sources and are considered 'hardstone' for carving/cutting purposes
(Mohs 6.5-7.5)  As such emery or other hard abrasive was needed in all
grinding/cutting, Naxos was the main source of emery in period. And they
probably used water and slow speed to avoid heat problems much like we
do today.
 
BTW, as a nice general reference, the carving book cited below is pretty
good, enough info to build reasonably period equipment with better
modern bearings and such (or not). Not new, but still available and some
larger libraries have it.
 
Because the garnet bits inlaid in some AS work were so thin, even and
precise, there've been endless ideas on how these "primitive" folks were
able to do it. IMHO the most likely is that they did what worked,
disregarding modern ideas on efficiency or labor costs.

At least one author theorized that thin garnet 'sheets' could have been
cleaved from material in a specific garnet outcrop in Northern Europe he
knew about, sorry can't find that paper at the moment and haven't found
another reference duplicating or refuting that work.
 
Acid 'leaching', heat, and considerably wackier magical methods were
tried in period and since to modify the working properties of various
stone materials, few work at all and no one method works on all or even
most gemstones.
 
By 650CE or so, fine garnet sheets and associated hardstone cutting
technology started to disappear in Western Europe, so earlier 'wheel
cut' work was much better (precisely curved cuts with good edges in thin
even sheet material), than later work (chipped edges and uneven grinds
at best). Not the first time technology has done this, particularly in
early period.
 
I haven't seen this Staffordshire/Mercian Hoard display grinder
(pictures anyone?), but if it was hand driven and not too huge, it might
have moved with the gemcutters from place to place, this would include
all bow drill and other reciprocating tech. Or if they used constant
rotation,that was more likely large non-portable equipment so the work
was done in status centers like Faversham then traded widely in
fininshed form. Note that the advanced grinding and polishing of the
flat garnet pieces is what we're talking about here, minor cutting and
shaping might have been done by the setter given the many styles of
garnets used, we know they (re)shaped tiny bits of glass for similar
inlays.
 
The latest use of this kind of thin inlaid garnet I know of was a
pendant cross buried in 687 along with St Cuthbert at Lindisfarne,
though there were strong stylistic differences in the use of the garnet
decoration between it and the earlier Kentish and Sutton Hoo work.

Anyway, much evil fun to all who do get to these events and please let
us know what worked and what didn't.
 
Hope that was of some use.
 
Grimbold (only mildly evil really, starting to slow down)
 
 P.S. If anybody's seen the new book Anglo-Saxon Art: a new history. Leslie
Webster 9780714128092, I'd be interested in an opinion. Not in any libraries in
my system. 
 
Sources:
Gold and Gilt, Pots and Pins: Possessions and People in Medieval
Britain.  David A. Hinton  0-19-926453-8
Lapidary Carving: design and technique. Frank W Long  0442248822

On 8/06/2012 9:53 AM, Tyghra na Tintagel wrote:
> Now if we can only convince someone to make a replica of the
> Staffordshire Hoard grinder...
>
> ~ Tig

Staffordshire Hoard grinder?  CIA

My favourite metal suppliers occasionally puts out an info list relating
to a technique.  Here it is.  Can you add anything to this list to
assist those who haven't tried it before?

WHY IS IT THAT SOMETIMES MY SOLDER WON'T WORK?

Solder wont flow.

There are a few reasons that might happen

The surface of your metal is not clean - If the surface of the metal has
dirt or grease like rouge or oil on it your solder will not flow. Flux
cleans the metal to some degree but it is best to clean it before you
try to solder.

Not enough heat applied to the metal - This can be because your torch is
too small for the job you are doing, often people run into problems if
they are doing a larger piece than normal, so what normally works
doesn't. This is because the heat is being transferred to the rest of
the piece and you are not getting enough heat where you need it. Silver
is a good conductor of heat so it loses heat very quickly. If doing
something large you might need to build up some fire bricks around your
work to keep the heat concentrated locally.

Heat is applied to the wrong spot on the metal - Once again especially
when soldering larger pieces you need to heat up the whole area around
the area being soldered so that all the heat is not drawn away from you
solder joint when trying to melt the solder.

Too Much Flux on the joint - This can simply cause the solder not to
flow because the whole area is covered in too much flux.

Wrong Sort Of Flux - Fluxes are made to work at different temperatures
so if you use a flux that is meant for low temperature soldering it will
cease to work once it gets beyond its operating temperature. This is
especially evident when doing larger pieces, normal flux paste and
certainly liquid flux will cease to work when the higher temperature
that is required is encountered. We use Ezi-Weld 603 in these higher
temperature situations.

Solder Joint Is Not Flush - The joint needs to be neat and close fitting
if you have a big gap it is very hard to fill it with solder. Sometimes
you can use Extra Easy solder if you need to fill a gap but that is more
to repair a hole rather than solder a bad solder joint.

Flux Has Had It - Flux doesnt last forever especially when it has dried
out and then been brought back to life a hundred times. So you need to
replace it every now and then.

You got the sterling wire mixed up with the solder wire - This will of
course never work and will cause great frustration as well as lots of
firescale.
___________________________________________

My personal addition was that I had to learn to put 'more' flux on.  I
never put enough on and have never suffered from the above mention of
'Too Much Flux'.

Cheers,

~ Tig

Hiya Tyg.
I can think of three things off the top of my head:
The shape of your solder - flat pieces in a groove are just not as effective as
a log or ball.  When you heat the piece they will tend to spread out in a pool
rather than running along the groove.  This is great for sweat soldering but not
so good for corners (for example).

Flux the solder too.

Overheating the solder (for several reasons)- it melts without actually going
where you need it.  The more you heat the piece afterwards, the worse this area
gets.  This is because the more volatile components are driven off leaving you
with a burnt mess that then draws elements from the silver substrate causing
pitting.

As to the flux thing - there's a simple test for looking at their melting (and
flow range).  A dot of each of the different fluxes on the same piece of silver,
heated uniformly and just watch to see when they melt and when they stop being
useful.  There is no rule that states you cannot use more than one type of flux
on a solder join; just don't use too much.


Eileen Procter
Objects Conservator | Collections Services
eileen.procter@... | t 02 6243 4439 | f 02 6241 7998
Australian War Memorial | GPO Box 345 Canberra ACT 2601 | www.awm.gov.au

-----Original Message-----
From: Metallum_Lochac@...
[mailto:Metallum_Lochac@...] On Behalf Of Tyghra na Tintagel
Sent: Thursday, 21 June 2012 10:42 AM
To: Metallum_Lochac
Subject: [Metallum_Lochac] Soldering Sterling Silver - a list

My favourite metal suppliers occasionally puts out an info list relating
to a technique.  Here it is.  Can you add anything to this list to
assist those who haven't tried it before?

WHY IS IT THAT SOMETIMES MY SOLDER WON'T WORK?

Solder wont flow.

There are a few reasons that might happen

The surface of your metal is not clean - If the surface of the metal has
dirt or grease like rouge or oil on it your solder will not flow. Flux
cleans the metal to some degree but it is best to clean it before you
try to solder.

Not enough heat applied to the metal - This can be because your torch is
too small for the job you are doing, often people run into problems if
they are doing a larger piece than normal, so what normally works
doesn't. This is because the heat is being transferred to the rest of
the piece and you are not getting enough heat where you need it. Silver
is a good conductor of heat so it loses heat very quickly. If doing
something large you might need to build up some fire bricks around your
work to keep the heat concentrated locally.

Heat is applied to the wrong spot on the metal - Once again especially
when soldering larger pieces you need to heat up the whole area around
the area being soldered so that all the heat is not drawn away from you
solder joint when trying to melt the solder.

Too Much Flux on the joint - This can simply cause the solder not to
flow because the whole area is covered in too much flux.

Wrong Sort Of Flux - Fluxes are made to work at different temperatures
so if you use a flux that is meant for low temperature soldering it will
cease to work once it gets beyond its operating temperature. This is
especially evident when doing larger pieces, normal flux paste and
certainly liquid flux will cease to work when the higher temperature
that is required is encountered. We use Ezi-Weld 603 in these higher
temperature situations.

Solder Joint Is Not Flush - The joint needs to be neat and close fitting
if you have a big gap it is very hard to fill it with solder. Sometimes
you can use Extra Easy solder if you need to fill a gap but that is more
to repair a hole rather than solder a bad solder joint.

Flux Has Had It - Flux doesnt last forever especially when it has dried
out and then been brought back to life a hundred times. So you need to
replace it every now and then.

You got the sterling wire mixed up with the solder wire - This will of
course never work and will cause great frustration as well as lots of
firescale.
___________________________________________

My personal addition was that I had to learn to put 'more' flux on.  I
never put enough on and have never suffered from the above mention of
'Too Much Flux'.

Cheers,

~ Tig



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Hi Tig,

I got that one from A&E :-)

Have some yellow in the flame, this is of course dependent on the torch
you use.


Regards Charles from Oz


On 21/06/2012 10:42 AM, Tyghra na Tintagel wrote:
> My favourite metal suppliers occasionally puts out an info list relating
> to a technique.  Here it is.  Can you add anything to this list to
> assist those who haven't tried it before?
>
> WHY IS IT THAT SOMETIMES MY SOLDER WON'T WORK?
>
> Solder wont flow.
>
> There are a few reasons that might happen
>
> The surface of your metal is not clean - If the surface of the metal has
> dirt or grease like rouge or oil on it your solder will not flow. Flux
> cleans the metal to some degree but it is best to clean it before you
> try to solder.
>
> Not enough heat applied to the metal - This can be because your torch is
> too small for the job you are doing, often people run into problems if
> they are doing a larger piece than normal, so what normally works
> doesn't. This is because the heat is being transferred to the rest of
> the piece and you are not getting enough heat where you need it. Silver
> is a good conductor of heat so it loses heat very quickly. If doing
> something large you might need to build up some fire bricks around your
> work to keep the heat concentrated locally.
>
> Heat is applied to the wrong spot on the metal - Once again especially
> when soldering larger pieces you need to heat up the whole area around
> the area being soldered so that all the heat is not drawn away from you
> solder joint when trying to melt the solder.
>
> Too Much Flux on the joint - This can simply cause the solder not to
> flow because the whole area is covered in too much flux.
>
> Wrong Sort Of Flux - Fluxes are made to work at different temperatures
> so if you use a flux that is meant for low temperature soldering it will
> cease to work once it gets beyond its operating temperature. This is
> especially evident when doing larger pieces, normal flux paste and
> certainly liquid flux will cease to work when the higher temperature
> that is required is encountered. We use Ezi-Weld 603 in these higher
> temperature situations.
>
> Solder Joint Is Not Flush - The joint needs to be neat and close fitting
> if you have a big gap it is very hard to fill it with solder. Sometimes
> you can use Extra Easy solder if you need to fill a gap but that is more
> to repair a hole rather than solder a bad solder joint.
>
> Flux Has Had It - Flux doesnt last forever especially when it has dried
> out and then been brought back to life a hundred times. So you need to
> replace it every now and then.
>
> You got the sterling wire mixed up with the solder wire - This will of
> course never work and will cause great frustration as well as lots of
> firescale.
> ___________________________________________
>
> My personal addition was that I had to learn to put 'more' flux on.  I
> never put enough on and have never suffered from the above mention of
> 'Too Much Flux'.
>
> Cheers,
>
> ~ Tig
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo!7 Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>