surprising results testing homemade silver solder. 

thanks Mary, I was astonished how well this stuff works and it was so easy to make. It’s well documented that native Americans used to mix brass from bullet cases to make their solder in this way … N

Thanks Rafael, I was surprised how well this stuff works … N

Thanks for that Marco 👍😎👍 … N

Thanks Kera, I was amazed how well this worked and so simple to make. had to do a video about it … cheers … Nick

thanks for that Jim, I read the same somewhere recently, that’s what gave me the idea to have a go. I was surprised how well it works. simple and effective … N

thanks GM, I was amazed how simple and how well this worked … N

Glad it was helpful … N

thanks Michael, with such great results, I had to share this simple process … N

I was surprised how well this stuff worked and how easy it was to make. i’ve used this music a few times now I hope I’m not getting too repetitive … N

thanks for that Mandi, i’ve learnt so much from RU-vid it’s nice to be able to re-share some of it … N

cheers Shaun … N

Thanks KtLn, had to share this after encountering such great results with this technique … N

thanks for that Ant, life is one long learning … N

thanks for that Okie, had to make a video after seeing how well this stuff works … N

Nice one Nestor … cheers … Nick

Thanks jsl … N

Thanks for that Etienne … 👍😎👍 … N

Thanks Hatten … N

Hi Finke, so maybe I should add some subliminal messages … N

@@Nickscreativestuff 😄 $$$$$ 😵‍💫

👍💰🤞… N

Thanks for the suggestion John, i hadn’t thought of trying that. Definitely give it a go next time … Cheers … Nick

Thanks for that Lightning-man, surprising what can be achieved when having fun. My favourite casting flask that i’ve made as in this video … ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-yjve_piUha8.html … was cut from 75x50x3mm rectangle box section. The two sections are about 30mm long … good luck with it … N

glad it was helpful ganjalf, I was surprised how well this worked … yes borax is a great all-round flux, I tend to try it first for most things … cheers … Nick.

@Nickscreativestuff I actually made a batch last night using old US silver coins, worked like a charm. Only tied stainless to stainless, but I'm impressed. Really cool.

good to hear it worked for you, didn’t know it worked on stainless … great tip I’ll have to give it a try sometime … cheers … N

@@Nickscreativestuff 👍

Thanks Jirup … N

thanks Mr Bearman, surprising what you can achieve with a simple refillable butane torch the sort used by chef in a kitchen. I would suggest starting with a borax cone and dish as a flux and purchasing some silver solder strip about £8.50 from Cooksongold.com this solder will work on a variety of materials like steel, copper and silver. Copper is a great material to practice with, if you can solder and make it with copper, you can also make it in silver being so similar to work. I test and practice all my jewellery work with copper first before moving on and committing to silver … hope this helps … Nick.

thanks Tomasz … N

👍😎👍 N

Hi Ajit, being a hobbyist I’ve never worked with gold … hope you find what you’re looking for … N

Hi Joan, i’ve tried a few times without much success. I would guess the commercial stuff is very similar to precious-metal clay. flux binders and very fine powdered solder are probably the main ingredients. I have had a go with solder filings as seen in some Indian jewellers videos dispensed from a sharply cut plastic straw, it sort of worked but was a bit messy for me … good luck with your quest … N

Hi Marco, I think you get a harder soldier if you increase the amount of brass mixed in … N

hi Neesr, silver solder joints on copper are mostly very visible. they can be hidden by copperplating over the top by using electro plating or the spent pickle technique. otherwise you could use a product called copper copper brazing rod, cut up small and used in the same way as silver solder it has a very good colour matched to copper. In this video I’m soldering on what’s called a jewellers charcoal block. hope this helps … N

Hi Kari, i’ve never tried soldering stainless steel i’ve only ever welded it. if you search the web for braising ss i’m sure your find rods that are designed for it. most of them can be used in the same way as soldering and can be hammered flat enabling it to be cut up small and use for jewellery … hope this helps … N

Hi Konduct, fine silver fuses very well and is often used for chain making. The heat is concentrated on the joint, and as long as it is touching the joint will fuse nicely. Not sure about two flat services how you would prevent the edges from melting and fusing first. A lot of what I achieve is from time spent playing around and experimenting with ideas … hope you accomplish what you’re trying to do … Nick

@@Nickscreativestuff Hi! Sorry I was raised in a barn😁 Thank you so much, I think I understand it now. Thanks again🙂🤙

well I hope you still have the barn as a Workshop … N

hi Damien, lead free solder is very soft therefore rather weak with some applications. it’s different with deep penetrating capillary joints as with copper water pipes that have lots of surface area and no movement to fatigue the joint. When making jewellery it’s called soldering but is more like braising. The material used for joining is much stronger, harder and melts at a very high temperature. it’s a similar process to lead soldering, the joint needs to be very clean it needs to be tight fitting and a flux needs to be used. High temperature melting soldiers for jewellery making come in a variety of choices so to match the colour of the parent material. Gold colour solders for working with gold and silver colour solders for working with silver. A lot of people making copper Jewellery will use silver solder for joints because it’s easy to use and works well and then copper plate with an electro plating technique to hide the silvery joints. Another option is to use a product called copper copper brazing rod. It can be used like silver solder hammered out flat and cut into tiny pieces the joint will colour match nicely with copper. hope this helps … Nick

@@Nickscreativestuff Hey Nick, I appreciate your advice once again and will attempt the silver and or copper copper option 👍🏾

good luck with it Damien, you won’t regret learning to solder with jewellery grade silver solder, once practised its a fabulously versatile product … N

hi Ian, this technique is called pick soldering. it is where molten solder will temporarily stick to a probe then easily transfer to a parent material that is hot enough to be soldered. you can buy ready-made probes made from titanium that work well. there are other materials that can be used as probes as long as the solder doesn’t flow on them. i’ve seen people use iron binding wire wrapped around a nail. i’ve also seen dirty tweezers working in the same manner. after a bit of practice it is a very quick technique to use … N

@@Nickscreativestuff thanks Nick, interesting video BTW 👍 Do you think tungsten would work? I have plenty for TIG welding

i’ve tried tungsten electrodes before, and they seem not to work the molten solder just doesn’t want to stick to it, however they are useful for moving solder say to encourage solder to flow along a joint also great for stirring molten silver in a crucible. although worth experimenting with you may get it to work … N

thanks for that Peter … N

thanks for that Denise, my budget rolling mill didn’t really do much it was already quite thin from being flattened under the ceramic tile. good stuff to have around don’t feel I have to be so conservative with solder anymore … N

only but the best … N

thanks ghostprotocol … N

Hi Juan, no i’ve not got that far with it … I would guess different combinations of silver, copper, zinc and brass good luck with it … Nick

@@Nickscreativestuff thanks a lot. I love your Chanel

Nice to hear that … cheers … N

it’s commonly recommended that all soldering is done in a well ventilated space … N