Hi Joyce, I love it when a viewer tells me that one of the OJA's videos has inspired them. It makes me feel like I'm doing something good for our community. Good luck with your projects. Thanks for your support! : )
I’m curious if this technique would work with etching. Also, should you add flux to the copper piece and solder before melting? Do you have to use easy solder, or would medium or hard work too? Thanks in advance for any answers to these questions.
Hi Catherine, You could etch a design into your copper sheet instead of stamping one into it like I did in the video. I would recommend thinking of this technique as a "finishing" operation. In other words, get your high temperature soldering on your piece done before you flood an area with solder. So, you really should use easy solder. Have fun playing with this technique. Thanks for your support! : )
Hi John, thanks for your reply. I did a couple of tests today with hard solder and it wasn’t too bad. Had some trouble getting the solder to flow over the etched design, but used my solder pick to spread it. I used my Drexel with a grey grinding stone to get the initial layer of solder off, but it really sort of wrecked the metal. Is there an electronic grinding process that you use? Do you have recommendations on sanding, filing, etc? Should I be doing this by hand rather than with the Dremel? I appreciate your replies, thanks so much!
Hi Catherine, Hard solder doesn't really flow over a surface very well. I would only go as high as medium solder for this technique. If you are working with a flat piece of sheet metal, grinding the excess solder away isn't the way to go. This is because you are likely to vary the depth of your work. A better approach would be to begin by filing away the high points. Then, sand the sheet on a piece of wet/dry sand paper in a tray ("under water"). The OJA has a video that demonstrates this sanding technique. Hand finishing will really help you to not destroy your creation. If you really need to involve power tools to help you finish the piece, I would recommend using the 3M radial bristle sanding discs in your flex shaft. Good luck with your experiments. Thanks for your support! : )
Hi Prof. John Ahr, I have a project I'm working on that will include silver solder inlay as my backing piece of a pendant. The top is a dapped hollow eye component which I want to solder onto my inlay piece just at the corners (top, bottom, left right). Will this ruin my silver solder backing piece?
Soldering to a piece of "Simple Silver Inlay" will cause the solder to re-flow. That could ruin all of your hard work. It would be better to treat the inlay piece like a gemstone. In other words, set the piece in a bezel or with prongs to secure it. You could even rivet it. Just use a cold connection to preserve the surface. Good luck! Thanks for your support! : )
Will it tarnish oddly, or will it wear well for yrs and yrs? I can see doing dots. If it spreads, can't you sand it off? I heard hard solder has less other stuff in it, and will tarnish less than easy, yet tarnish is cool. Thanks!
The silver should tarnish normally. Hard solder is the soldering alloy that is closest to sterling silver. And yes, you can sand areas where you don't want excess solder. That's what the photo for the video shows. Thanks for your support!: )
I'm not familiar with Nichrome. Try it and see if it produces the results you want. You can always Google to see if it will work first. I used steel because it's cheap and can be recycled after you wear out the tool. Have fun with your creative projects. Thanks for your support! : )
probably a silly question, but somebody told me that you can't solder brass to silver, is this true? Can you pickle any work you may have with the two metals combined?
You can solder brass to silver. And, you can pickle to two metals together. The OJA has a video that covers the use of your pickle pot. Thanks for your support! : )
oooooh, I love this, lots of ideas flooding my teeny tiny brain....thank you Mr John..brilliant as always , your a genius..x 😎 💖
Hi Joyce, I love it when a viewer tells me that one of the OJA's videos has inspired them. It makes me feel like I'm doing something good for our community. Good luck with your projects.
Thanks for your support! : )
Awesome John!! I can't wait to try it. Thank you again 👍👍.
Hi Alice, I'm glad you enjoyed the video. This is a really fun technique. I hope you make some cool stuff.
Thanks for your support! : )
You always make a difference, I always enjoy your vids...Please keep on making them..😎💛💚💜💖x
This was an awesome tip. Thumbs up.
Glad you liked the video. It is a cool looking effect. Have fun making some cheater inlay designs.
Thanks for your support! : )
This is brilliant
You should give it a try.
Thanks for your support! : )
I’m curious if this technique would work with etching. Also, should you add flux to the copper piece and solder before melting? Do you have to use easy solder, or would medium or hard work too? Thanks in advance for any answers to these questions.
Hi Catherine, You could etch a design into your copper sheet instead of stamping one into it like I did in the video. I would recommend thinking of this technique as a "finishing" operation. In other words, get your high temperature soldering on your piece done before you flood an area with solder. So, you really should use easy solder. Have fun playing with this technique.
Thanks for your support! : )
Hi John, thanks for your reply. I did a couple of tests today with hard solder and it wasn’t too bad. Had some trouble getting the solder to flow over the etched design, but used my solder pick to spread it. I used my Drexel with a grey grinding stone to get the initial layer of solder off, but it really sort of wrecked the metal. Is there an electronic grinding process that you use? Do you have recommendations on sanding, filing, etc? Should I be doing this by hand rather than with the Dremel? I appreciate your replies, thanks so much!
Hi Catherine, Hard solder doesn't really flow over a surface very well. I would only go as high as medium solder for this technique. If you are working with a flat piece of sheet metal, grinding the excess solder away isn't the way to go. This is because you are likely to vary the depth of your work. A better approach would be to begin by filing away the high points. Then, sand the sheet on a piece of wet/dry sand paper in a tray ("under water"). The OJA has a video that demonstrates this sanding technique. Hand finishing will really help you to not destroy your creation. If you really need to involve power tools to help you finish the piece, I would recommend using the 3M radial bristle sanding discs in your flex shaft. Good luck with your experiments.
Thanks for your support! : )
Please be sure to become a subscriber to the OJA's channel so that you don't miss any of our future posts. : )
Hi Prof. John Ahr,
I have a project I'm working on that will include silver solder inlay as my backing piece of a pendant. The top is a dapped hollow eye component which I want to solder onto my inlay piece just at the corners (top, bottom, left right). Will this ruin my silver solder backing piece?
The backing will be copper with silver solder inlay, and top is also copper material
Soldering to a piece of "Simple Silver Inlay" will cause the solder to re-flow. That could ruin all of your hard work. It would be better to treat the inlay piece like a gemstone. In other words, set the piece in a bezel or with prongs to secure it. You could even rivet it. Just use a cold connection to preserve the surface. Good luck!
Thanks for your support! : )
OnlineJewelryAcademy thanks so much!
Will it tarnish oddly, or will it wear well for yrs and yrs? I can see doing dots. If it spreads, can't you sand it off? I heard hard solder has less other stuff in it, and will tarnish less than easy, yet tarnish is cool. Thanks!
The silver should tarnish normally. Hard solder is the soldering alloy that is closest to sterling silver. And yes, you can sand areas where you don't want excess solder. That's what the photo for the video shows.
Thanks for your support!: )
I have some Nichrome wire, will that work to make dents in copper sheet?
I'm not familiar with Nichrome. Try it and see if it produces the results you want. You can always Google to see if it will work first. I used steel because it's cheap and can be recycled after you wear out the tool. Have fun with your creative projects.
Thanks for your support! : )
probably a silly question, but somebody told me that you can't solder brass to silver, is this true? Can you pickle any work you may have with the two metals combined?
You can solder brass to silver. And, you can pickle to two metals together. The OJA has a video that covers the use of your pickle pot.
Thanks for your support! : )
thank you so much, you have been incredibly helpful as usual. keep up the good work
I'll look out the pickling video