ASSIGNMENT PART A
How do we go from this
to this? What do you need to know or be able to do? What questions do you have?
What terms are new to you? What questions answered? New questions?
Watch video from 2:15-3:51 Take notes:
Explain conduction soldering.
Explain the capillary action that takes place when soldering.
Notes:
Flux: All fluxes are designed to absorb oxygen and prevent oxides from building up. Which in turn helps the solder to flow.
Alloy - a metal made by combining two or more metallic elements, especially to give greater strength or resistance to corrosion.
Solder is any soft metal used to join two harder metals together via melting and fusing to the parts of the joint.
We use silver solder for our projects. It comes in extra easy, easy, medium and hard densities.
Solder is the small piece of alloyed metal (silver, tin and copper) that is melted in order to fuse two other pieces of metal together. The place where the metals are fused by solder is called a joint. The solder metal is of a lower melting temperature than the two pieces it’s fusing. Solder comes in three types: hard, medium, and easy. All three types have different melting temperatures. Hard solder melts at a high temperature, medium melts at a lower temperature, easy melts at an even lower temperature
Multiple solder joints in a piece of jewelry require multiple types of solder. You don’t want to remelt a joint you just soldered while you are in the process of soldering another joint. The different melting temperatures will keep you from reflowing a solder joint. The first joint requires hard solder, the second joint requires medium solder, the third and remaining joints require easy solder.
Solder comes in sheet, wire and paste. Sheet solder is cut into papillons, which is a French word meaning little tiny pieces of metal that fly all over the place while you are cutting them!
Did you know that soldering has been defined as working with temperatures of less than 800ºF (450ºC)? But the silver solders that jewelers use start melting (in most cases) at temperatures of over 1000ºF. This higher-temperature process, which is commonly used in silversmithing, is technically defined as brazing.
Annealing: When your metal is cold worked or pounded, it causes atoms to shift and misalign, making the metal harder and more brittle and difficult to work or bend. The meta can then become work hardened, and possibly even break. To remedy this, you can anneal the metal, or heat it to a point where the atoms align and it becomes workable. (usually just to pink/red hot) Can use a black permanent marker.
*** The silver we are using is ordered dead soft - meaning it has already been annealed in a kiln so initially, it will be pliable.
Quenching is a metal heat treatment process that involves rapidly cooling a metal after it has been heated to a high temperature. Quenching is used to improve the strength and hardness of metals. It also helps to maintain the mechanical properties of a metal's crystalline structure. You will quench your piece in water each time you make a solder join.
ASSIGNMENT PART B
Make a practice ring.
What do I need to know about bronze and brass?
Bronze is an alloy made of copper and tin, has a lovely warm golden color, and is an affordable alternative to 10 or 14k gold.
Brass is a very similar to bronze, but has a more yellow tone.
Bronze and brass are durable, easy to clean, and will last for decades with proper care. They are great options for beautiful and affordable jewelry.
One thing to keep in mind, the copper content of these metals can oxidize in combination with skin oils, creating a greenish layer of copper carbonate on skin. This more often can occur with tight rings worn in hot weather, because of the lack of air circulation between your finger and the ring.
An easy fix is to coat only the inside of your piece with clear nail polish. This creates a barrier, preventing oxidation.
You can also minimize oxidation by taking your jewelry off at night and keeping it clean.
Like sterling silver, bronze and brass tarnish over time. We recommend cleaning with a liquid brass cleaner. Polishing cloths work also work fairly well, but can take a little elbow grease.
DETERMINE THE AMOUNT OF METAL NEEDED FOR YOUR RING
Measure your ring size: Allow enough room to accommodate your knuckle. Bear in mind, different fingers on the same and the opposite hand may have different sizes. Therefore, measure the specific finger on which you are planning to wear the ring. To get a proper ring fit, you must compensate for the thickness of the ring band when measuring the blank. Forcing the outside ends of the blank together for soldering compresses the inside circumference, making the ring smaller. To correct for this, multiple 3.14 by the thickness of the blank. Then, take that number and add to the length (inside circumference) before cutting it. If the ring band is wider than 4mm, add an extra 0.5mm.
(RING SIZE IN INCHES + WIRE THICKNESS IN INCHES) 3.14 = INCHES TO CUT FROM BLANK
What is the definition of Wire Gauge?Wire/cable thickness is defined in terms of gauge. Generally speaking, the smaller the gauge number, the thicker the cable. The number refers to how many times it is drawn through the plate to achieve that particular size - so the more times its drawn, the smaller it gets.
MEASURING AND CUTTING THE RING BLANK
WATCH VIDEO FROM 16:15-19:15
WATCH HOW TO USE FIRESCOFF VIDEO - STARTING AT 4:12 - 6:15
SAWING DEMONSTRATION
Sawing Tips
If you saw with too much force or try too hard, you’ll probably break a blade. Always check the tension of your blade, as a loose blade is more likely to break.
The cutting motion comes from the elbow, not the wrist. Hold the saw frame lightly, keeping your arm and body relaxed, and saw using long, even strokes.
Start sawing with the blade tilted at a slight angle; then, move to a vertical position and continue sawing.
Keep the saw stationary and turn the piece that is being sawed. You’ll have more control over where the saw cuts.
Ease your death grip on the saw handle and don’t push the blade into the metal. A light touch will keep the blades from binding up in the metal and the saw will move up and down with ease.
Brace the piece that you are sawing on a bench pin that clamps to your worktable so you have a stable surface to work on.
The bench where you do your sawing and will be mounting your bench pin should be at a level such that your work is nearly at eye level and you can comfortably rest your elbows while doing detail work.
SOLDERING DEMONSTRATION
Create your practice ring.
STEP BY STEP VISUALS
Get the Fit right - nice even edges fit together smoothly, evenly and tightly - filing, sanding - D Shape
Clean the surfaces - sand, wipe, rinse, polish