Solder And Sterling Silver?

Q: As a beader and glass fuser, what I wish to do right now is a bit out of my league... but I'm willing to learn! =-) I purchased a pair of post-style earrings that are the most adorable little pieces -- I intend to turn them into two pendants. So I've snipped the posts from the back, and what I want to do is solder a sterling jump ring onto the back, in the area where I just cut the post. Then, I'll attach another jump ring to that, and then solder that shut to insure it doesn't come apart. I found my husband's old soldering iron in the tool box -- unused since high school, I think -- but that's about all I know. I've been reading online about what you can and can't do with sterling and a soldering iron... but it's all still sort of unclear to me as I've never done this before. Do I need a torch instead?

A:Generally, soft solder (the kind you can use a soldering iron on) is not good to use for jewelry, although you occasionally see it used when heating a stone or enamel is undesirable. What you really want is a brazing alloy and a torch. Brazing alloys for jewelry are confusingly called "hard solder," and hard solder confusingly comes in grades, some of which may suggest softness, although they actually refer to the melting points. Instead of posting a long explanation of how to braze, have a look at these articles (with a tip of the hat to ganoksin's excellent site): http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/consol.htm http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/choosing-torch.htm ...to which I would add that you should try to file off all traces of the solder that was used for the posts before you do your soldering, since you don't know what grade was used. If you are unable to get it all off, go with 'easy' solder, which has the lowest melting point. Caution: If there are stones involved, they will (probably) have to be unset, and If the metal is not solid sterling, or made by some kind of short-cut construction, you may ruin them. It may be easier if you solder the second jump ring (the one you mentioned second) first, then loop it into the other jump ring and solder that to the pendant. This can be a tricky procedure. You'll need a lot of practice on less important stuff first. It might also be easier if you made a bail out of a single length of wire with the loop at rightangles to the back of the pendant then you only have one soldering task to worry about. Take about 40mm of 1.0mm silver wire (I don't know the size of your earring/pendants so you may have to choose a different size) and make a loop the size you need with a round nosed pliers. Hammer the bit left over and cut it to a length that will suit the pendant. Finish it off with a small file and you have a simple bail that should do the job nicely. The finished bail will look a bit like a letter 'p' (or a 'd' or 'b' depending which way you look at it.) You'll need to make the flat part wide enough so that the bail will sit nicely while you solder it to the pendant. You'll probably need a few tries before you get it right I did. (This is also the best time to prepare a long list of suitable swear words ready for each time the bail falls over while you are soldering it.) This is just one of many, many bail designs, any of which will do the job well There's nothing wrong with the method you suggested but it will require more skill. It depends how important the job is to you. If its very important then work within your skill level or build your skill level until you're confident.

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