Making Soldered Jewelry Winter 2015

Making
best of
®
Soldered
Jewelry
PROJECTS, BASICS, AND MORE!
70
Designs,
Tips, Tools,
Materials,
Techniques, and
Professional Setups
Find the
RIGHT TORCH
All about micros,
portables, and jewelers
TOP
PROJECTS
Chain Necklace,
Autumn Pendant,
& more
Five
MUST-KNOW
RULES page 70
PLUS
SOLDER, FLUX,
and FINISHING
Soldering_Cover_2014.indd 1
Make BEZELS
AND CAPS
Winter 2015
Working with
COPPER
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contents
10
6
4
•
From the Editor
by Helen I. Driggs
projects
6
14 Hammered Silver Beads
Coquina Pendant
by Marilyn Mack
10 Spinner Ring
be s t of l a pida ry jo u r n a l ) ( J e w e l ry a rt i s t
by Lexi Erickson
18 Mosaic Tile Necklace
by Michele Grady
22 Bimetal Keum Boo Earrings
by Jennifer Mank
26 Soldering Chains
by Lexi Erickson
32 Capping a Crystal
by Robert Beauford
18
114
2
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116
90
36 Pierced Silver and Stone
108 Soldering the Copper
Pendant
Metals
by Roger Halas
by Lexi Erickson
42 Caged Gold Obsidian
114 15 Hot Tips
Earrings
by Helen I. Driggs
by Arthur C. Rediske
116 3 Soldering Setups:
46 Reticulated Ring
John F. Heusler, G.G., Marilyn
Mack and Roger Halas
by Allyson Farriss
•
26
basics
50 Solder
•
by Lexi Erickson
torches
54 Flux
84 Jewelers Torches
by Lexi Erickson
58 Your Soldering Station
by Lexi Erickson
90 Portable Torches
by Lexi Erickson
64 The Torch
by Helen I. Driggs
96 Micro Torches
by Lexi Erickson
by Sharon Elaine Thompson
70 The 5 Essential Soldering
Rules
by Lexi Erickson
78 Finishing
by Lexi Erickson
•
tips & techniques
102 4 Basic Joins
by Helen I. Driggs
122 Frequently Asked
Questions
by Lexi Erickson
on the cover
Soldering Chains
by Lexi Erickson, page 26
INSET: From The Jewelry Maker’s
Field Guide, by Helen I. Driggs
PHOTOS: JIM LAWSON
advertising
sections
127 Classifieds
127 Advertisers’ Index
Making Soldered Jewelry
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from the editor
Making
Soldered
Jewelry
PROJECTS, BASICS, AND MORE!
be s t of l a pida ry jo u r n a l ) ( J e w e l ry a rt i s t
Make Something Special
When you make a piece of jewelry by hand, you create
something special just because you made it yourself. Slip that
ring on your own finger and you’ll admire your handiwork all
day long. Make a gift of your jewelry and someone else will
be reminded of your skill, style, and friendship. Sell it and a
complete stranger will value not only the fact that this piece
goes with everything from sweats to silk but the personal
attention that went into its creation.
Varied as they are, all the jewelry making projects in this
special collection from Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine
have at least one thing in common: soldering. This gateway
technique to metalsmithing lets you join metal sheet and wire
in an infinite number of arrangements, giving the other jewelry
making techniques you’ve learned or want to learn even greater
possibilities.
Knowing how many doors soldering opens to the jewelry
maker and knowing it’s a skill makers learn and then
continually hone, we’ve also packed this compendium with
information about how to solder jewelry from basics on. Have
a question about solder, flux, hand tools, or torches? We have
answers galore to these and many other questions besides.
Do you have a dedicated soldering station or know why you
should have one? We’ll explain it to you and show you how to
create your own. Are you working a lot in copper these days?
Let us help you understand the differences between soldering
silver and copper, brass, or bronze. How do you know which
kind of join you need when you’re soldering your pieces
together? We have you covered on that one, too, along with an
illustrated guide to making each type of join.
Whether you’re looking for cool designs and the occasional
tip, need a refresher on the five essential rules, or are just
starting out and want to learn about soldering from start to
finish, you’ll find what you need here. But don’t take my word
for it: step inside and learn about, see, and make soldered
jewelry for yourself.
EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, JEWELRY GROUP Merle White
SENIOR EDITOR Helen I. Driggs
SENIOR EDITOR Denise Peck
MANAGING EDITOR Karla A. Rosenbusch
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Tom & Kay Benham,
Lexi Erickson, Sharon Elaine Thompson
MARKETING SPECIALIST Ashley Lauwereins
ART
ART DIRECTOR Amy Petriello
SENIOR PRODUCTION DESIGNER Nancy Pollock
VIDEO MANAGER Garrett Evans
ADVERTISING
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Marilyn Koponen, ph. 877-613-4613
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE
Stephanie Griess, ph. 1-800-272-2193 X630
AD TRAFFICKER Cari Ullom
FOUNDER, CREATIVE DIRECTOR Linda Ligon
VICE PRESIDENT, GROUP PUBLISHER Shahla Hebets
VICE PRESIDENT, CONTENT Helen Gregory
VICE PRESIDENT, MEDIA SALES Michele Crockett
DESIGN MANAGER Larissa Davis
SENIOR PRODUCTION MANAGER Nancy Pollock
BOOKS EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Allison Korleski
ECOMMERCE MARKETING DIRECTOR Evelyn Bridge
MAGAZINE MARKETING & FULFILLMENT
Mark Fleetwood
ONLINE CIRCULATION SPECIALIST Jodi Smith
F+W, A Content + eCommerce Company
CHAIRMAN & CEO David Nussbaum
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER & CFO James Ogle
PRESIDENT Sara Domville
CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER Chad Phelps
VICE PRESIDENT, ECOMMERCE Lucas Hilbert
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS Phil Graham
VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS Stacie Berger
Making Soldered Jewelry: Projects, Basics, and More is a special
publication of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist (ISSN 1936-5942),
published by Interweave, a division of F+W Media, Inc., 4868
Innovation Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80525. (970) 669-7672. USPS
#0023-8457. All contents of this special publication of Lapidary
Journal Jewelry Artist are copyrighted by F+W, 2014. All rights
reserved. Projects and information are for inspiration and
personal use only. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited,
except by permission of the publisher.
Retailers: If you are interested in carrying this magazine in your
store, please call (866) 949-1646 or email [email protected].
VISIT US ON THE WEB:
jewelrymakingdaily.com • interweave.com • fwmedia.com
[email protected]
4
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4 Basic
Joins
What they are, how to create
them – and how to tell which
one you want
BY
SIP_Tips_4BasicJoins_2014.indd 102
Helen I. Driggs
OPENING PHOTO: JIM LAWSON; OTHER PHOTOS AND DIAGRAMS BY THE AUTHOR UNLESS
OPENING
PHOTO:
JIM LAWSON; PROJECT PHOTOS BY THE ARTIST
OTHERWISE
NOTED
tips & techniques
102
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Thinking about soldering for the first
time or even the first many times can be
scary, exciting, intimidating, thrilling,
and inspiring all at once. You’re combining what can be overwhelming technical
information, fire, and expensive precious metals with very little experience
to buoy your confidence. Not to fear!
Every teacher I have ever had suggested
breaking down seemingly impossible
tasks into smaller, easily digested units,
and this excellent advice has served me
well for many years, at the soldering
table and away from it.
Although there are millions of possible
jewelry soldering scenarios limited only
by our ability to imagine jewelry designs,
specific soldering tasks can be made
easier to handle by organizing them
into larger groups with similar physical
features. Unlike, say, the millions of
species in biology that are grouped into
thousands of genera, there are just four
basic jewelry soldering joins. Soldering
anything to anything is really pretty easy
once you understand and can reliably
create these four joins — and 99.97% of
the time you’ll only have two things you
want to connect together with one solder
seam, making it even easier.
So, first: what do you want to do? Use
the convenient What Do You Want to Do
chart to help you figure out which kind
of join you’re going to solder, then move
What Do You
Want to Do?
Look at the surfaces
you want to join
YES
Will the surfaces be
joined like
the layers of
a cake?
Are both or all
surfaces flat?
YES
NO
Do the curve profiles
match?
Are both
or all surfaces
curved?
YES
NO
NO
NO
Are the parts to be joined
very different in their weights
or thicknesses?
YES
on to the diagrams to see what to do.
If you want to practice — and I highly
recommend it to improve both your
ability and your confidence — cut up
some strips of copper sheet and wire
and use silver solder. You’ll be able to
see the silver solder easily on the copper,
and after you’ve cooled and cleaned your
work, it will help you analyze what and
how you did — plus it makes for very
inexpensive practice.
Remember, the hardest part of soldering happens in your head, not with a
torch in your hand. Figuring out the best
way to go about making a solder join and
then preparing that join well makes the
fire part really, really easy.
NO
Does one surface
differ in profile than
the other one or
ones?
YES
NO
YES
Is only one of the
surfaces to be joined
an edge?
YES
SWEAT
SOLDER JOIN
“T” OR STRIP
SOLDER JOIN
NO
BUTT
SOLDER JOIN
POINT OF CONTACT
SOLDER JOIN
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tips & techniques
Sweat
SHEET ON SHEET
This two-step process is the easiest solder join to master. Although the most
common use of sweat soldering is joining sheet to sheet in a layer, the process
can also be used where a difficult join that is hard to access can be “tinned,”
as shown in A below, and then cooled and set up for an additional solder
operation later.
COMMON USES
• Overlays
• Bridging parts to other parts
• Joining findings to pieces
• Complex solder joins for larger works
A: To “tin” the back of the upper
layer, cut wire or sheet solder into
sections of equal mass so they
will heat up to flow point at the
same time. Position them evenly
over the work.
A
B: With both prepared layers on
the block, place chips of solder on
the reverse of the top sheet and
melt them in advance by heating
the top layer until the chips pool
over the surface.
B
C: With tweezers, flip the top
layer over and into position on
the fluxed lower layer while it is
still hot.
D
D: Once all has been positioned
correctly, reheat the assembly
until the solder flows again to join
both layers. Watch carefully for
a bright line of solder to appear
around the perimeter of the
upper layer. At that moment,
remove the torch. Quench, pickle,
and rinse.
BELOW
Practice sweat
soldering on textured
and non-textured sheet
in several metals. The
most difficult part of
mastering this join is
judging how much
solder to use. Watch for
flooding; observe the
bright line around the
perimeter of the upper
layer — your signal to
remove the torch.
PHOTO: JIM LAWSON
be s t of l a pida ry jo u r n a l ) ( J e w e l ry a rt i s t
C
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