|
Meet the Couple Photos: Elements of Our Wedding: Outline Logistics: Registry |
Soldering the Billet - Filling in the Cracks The billet must be carefully and evenly heated. Signs that overheating is happening run from the billet being too bright to what looks like 'sweating' on the surface. If you see these signs, concentrate on another area of the billet or take the heat off for a couple seconds. The green flames to the right of the billet are present because of the copper in red and yellow gold - copper gives off a bluish-green color in a sufficiently hot flame. Once the billet is hot enough, start by touching the solder to the surface. Be careful not to directly heat the solder! You want the heat of the billet to melt the solder and draw it in - soldering WILL NOT WORK if the billet itself is not hot enough. Once the solder touches the billet, it should flow along the surface and into any cracks by capillary action:  Solders have both a melting point and a 'flow temperature,' often 30-60 degrees Celsius above the melting point of the solder. The billet must be at this flow point to work best. If it is colder, the solder will just form beads on the surface. If it is hotter, the solder will flow, but the billet may melt and/or experience rapid grain growth, which could embrittle the piece. The trick is to get the temperature only as high as you need to get solder to flow, and no higher. Experience helps here (that is to say, it would have helped me if I had more!)
|