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Comment by Lora Hart on August 15, 2011 at 12:34pm

I don't know anything about Maine, but I hear that Racecar Jewelry in Rhode Island does a great job.

Comment by Laura Wood on August 15, 2011 at 12:16pm

Help! I have a couple bands that I need to have cast in gold, I usually use Maine Precious Metal Casting but am having trouble contacting anyone there.  I am concerned because they used to have a web page too but that seems to be non existent now.  Does anyone have any suggestions for a casting company that will do a fantastic job on this??? I need to have these sent out asap so I am in a nit of a bind.

Comment by Sean W Scully on March 24, 2011 at 5:05pm

I would think the expiry issue for paste fluxes would be the oxidation of the solder.

I've enjoyed sheet solder with a pick for gold work and the powder for filigree, but for my silver I generally find wire solder most convenient to clean, mill, cut, etc (an ancient pair of reliable craftsmen flush sidecutters). Especially on bezels where I try to keep the solder on the outside so it's easier to clean up and won't interfere with the fit of the stone/etc. I don't have the hang of stick feeding, I tend to stick with a longer setup and tiny pieces placed with tweezers.

Comment by Jeanie Pratt on March 24, 2011 at 8:43am

I use wire solder (cut it with solder cutting pliers from Rio) for most of my soldering.  I do use paste solder to solder the edges of my woven metal--a trick I learned from Susan Wood.  If the paste solder is too hard I set the syringe on a warming tray to soften it up. 

Comment by Ann Davis on March 23, 2011 at 4:01pm

Owwhhh that's a good idea, wire solder around bezels! Thanks...I have wire but, I can't do that trick with it...a goldsmith I studied under could just heat up the spot she wanted to solder and then touch the wire to it and it ran, in that way she could set up a whole lot of chain links to be soldered making a necklace in a minute...I never got the hang of that and just gave up... hadn't though of that in years:))))

Comment by Ann Davis on March 23, 2011 at 3:53pm

Yeah, I agree Lora, my syringes don't go bad so much as the stuff you buy in the little jar...that just dries up in my experience even if I'm not using it very often so I just quit buying that even though I like it a lot. And I've got this miracle gallon of flux that's years old and just keeps on working:))) it probably shouldn't but...hahahaha

Comment by Pal Gooz on March 23, 2011 at 2:24pm

When I started meddling with jewelry, I thought: paste solder, how cool is that... After a year or so messing I gave it a try to wire and sheet to never look back. One field I found paste useful is soldering chainlinks. I have no idea why , but there it works perfectly for me, except that I do not make so much chain that would justify the purchase of a new lot every few months. But if one makes a lot of links, it could be a a major time saver.

Comment by Lora Hart on March 23, 2011 at 1:54pm

Love that idea Dauvit! I have a hard time with granulation (not that I do it all that much) and the extra stickability would be grand!

Comment by The Justified Sinner on March 23, 2011 at 1:49pm

I hate paste solder and ban my students from using it; I also make them all roll their strips out to thin them, hence encouraging them to use less, so a marvellous suggestion from Kathleen!

In my experience, the paste solder dries out too quickly and if you try to use it with flux, it just makes a mess. Additionally, the strength is nowhere near as good as with strip or wire solders. 

 

I have used paste solder - don't tell my students! - to "fake" granulation quite successfully... dissolve the paste in a little water and gum tragacanth - it doesn't really dissolve but does form a suspension - then roll the granules in this, assemble the piece and fire.

Comment by Kathleen Brughelli on March 23, 2011 at 1:36pm

A great tip I learned from Micki Lippe is to roll your sheet solder through the rolling mill before you use it.  You end up using less solder and your solder lasts a lot longer.

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