beginner Silver Soldering

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Athanasius

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Feb 10, 2013
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i'm trying to put together a proper kit for soldering and am looking for some advice on the specific things i need to purchase and where from.
silver solder...do i need silver bearing solder?
which flux? specific brand?
i have this torch with a 35mm burner...will this work? flame to wide? http://www.artcoinc.com/exact.php
anything else? and where do you recommend i order from?

i also need to make keys for cabinet locks as seen here http://www.davidfinck.com/blog/2011/11/22/keynote/
would a project like this require the same materials?

thanks a lot
athanasius
 
First, understand that silver soldering is a brazing technique done at 1100° to 1300°F. Soft soldering, is done with silver bearing ( about 3%) tin solder. It is done at around 400°F.

This search engine will be very useful in looking up things on Bladeforums:
http://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=011197018607028182644:qfobr3dlcra

Use it to search "Soldering" and you will find many threads with great tutorial info.
 
If you want that to look pretty, I'd use bronze or brass brazing so you had a colour match.


Or cast it solid and file to finish it.
 
would it be difficult to grind off the silver 'colored' solder from the brass? i thought folks used it to make brass ferrules. would i need to use brass?

sounds like the soft route will be easier and more forgiving for a beginner. i suppose the torch i listed would do to reach 400 pretty easily, but do you think i'd be happier with a finer more controllable tip for the torch as opposed to the burner on mine which is 1 3/8"?

you think Stay-Brite solder (96% tin, 4% silver) and Stay-Clean flux will be sufficient to get me going? do i need some kind of heat masking for the low temp stuff? i will be doing carbon steel and nickel-silver most of the time. anything i'm missing?
 
Athanasius said:
would it be difficult to grind off the silver 'colored' solder from the brass? i thought folks used it to make brass ferrules. would i need to use brass?

sounds like the soft route will be easier and more forgiving for a beginner. i suppose the torch i listed would do to reach 400 pretty easily, but do you think i'd be happier with a finer more controllable tip for the torch as opposed to the burner on mine which is 1 3/8"?

you think Stay-Brite solder (96% tin, 4% silver) and Stay-Clean flux will be sufficient to get me going? do i need some kind of heat masking for the low temp stuff? i will be doing carbon steel and nickel-silver most of the time. anything i'm missing?
Click to expand...

The silver solder will show up as a fine line between the two pieces you join.



Instead of making a key, I'd try several sources of keys to find one that is solid and has the right size barrel.

then just file the tooth to shape.

like this

http://www.kennedyhardware.com/small-keepsake-box-key.html
 
I may be oversimplifying things but I would just hand file the entire key (after drilling) of brass bar-stock. But don`t ask me about the solder thing, I just know if you need it to be strong solder is not he way to go ;brazing is much better .
 
It all depends on how many you have to make. Ten and below, make them by hand. Ten and above, finish the one you have (remove the mold parting line), have a mold made and cast them in jeweler's bronze. Low temp solder won't hold unless you pin the two pieces together(and that's a LOT of work.) There are companies that will make the mold and cast them for you at a reasonable cost.

To make them by hand, get 12 or 14 ga. sheet of brass, a jeweler's saw with 1/0 blades, a barrett, round,and half round needle file. It won't be easy, but, by the time you get done, it will be an education. I hope everything goes well for you. If you run into problems, PM me. ...Teddy
 
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