silver soldering, how to.

Please dont take these notes as instructions to silver solder. This is the way I silver solder
and there are many good sources of information on how to....

The most important part of the process is to have clean parts! I key my materials with some
emery tape. Then cleaned in a degreser. The next important part of my process is mixing up
the flux powder to a thick paste. I always have to remember how little water is needed, only
a few drops. With a small paint brush I then ensure the parts to be soldered are well fluxed.
the flux I use is from 'Eastflow' and is specifically for silver solder.

Once the parts have been cleaned and fluxed, it is then heated on my small heat resistant
bricks and base. I also ensure the area is well ventilated and if the parts to be joined are
liable to move then I wire them together. Small amounts of the correct temperature silver
solder is cut to fit the join length. It is put into place BEFORE heating and lays there until it
melts.

You can buy silver solder to work at different temperatures. All my sticks are marked with a
small label for the particular temperatures it works at. This is usefull for jobs where you may
have to add other parts to later and don't want the work done first to become un soldered!

By using the highest temperature solder first, I can then use a lower melting point solder for
the later soldering, which will work before the fisrt lot melts again.

If one part is larger than the other I heat that first. This ensures that the metals will be at the
right temperature. If I just heated the thin part then it won't be a good join. By placing the
solder on the part prior to heating, the solder will just run when the surrounding metals are
hot enough to melt it. I was very surprised the first time I did some silver soldering at the
temperature required, i.e.red hot! So I am always aware of not playing the heat onto the
solder rod itself, in case it melts before the surrounding metal is ready.

The first time I attempted to silver solder I was surprised to see that the metal has to get red
hot. I think it would have been better to understand in the begining if I considered it as
brazing, for solder really works at very low temperatures in comparasion.

If I add any more solder then I dip the tip of the rod into the flux paste made earlier.

Once the solder runs, if I have got the amount of rod placed right, it is then just a case of
letting the part cool down. Unless the other side has to be soldered as well. If so I try and
get it turned over as quickly as possible before it cools down to far. I then put the silver
solder rod previosuly cut to size (and dropped in the flux tub) onto the part (using long nose
plyers) and start the heating process again until it flows into the joint.

After the part cools down it then goes into a pickle bath for around thirty minutes before
being washed off in running water. After that its over to the revolving wire brush to be
cleaned up. And thats it!

If the part is more complicated, then some thought needs to be given to the sequence of
build. This is where the different temperatures available come into their own. I found silver
soldering easier when I adopted the above methodology