How to solder a silver chain at home?

All silver jewelry is loved by all girls without exception. They are excellent for both everyday accessories, and as evening, and are cheaper than other precious metals, and in appearance they are not inferior to anything. Unfortunately, sometimes favorite silver things need repair, and the owner has a question: how to solder the silver chain at home? Of course, you can entrust repair to a professional, but sometimes it is quite realistic to do this job yourself. In this article, we'll look at how to do this.

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Features of silver soldering

Soldering of any metal requires certain knowledge about its physical and chemical properties. The melting point of silver is 960 degrees. For metals used for the manufacture of jewelry, this temperature is average.

Important! A similar indicator for copper is 1083, and for gold - 1063 degrees.

Alloys with silver also have a different melting point. Exact values ​​can be found in special reference literature.

Materials for work

The solders with silver are marked with a set of letters and numbers. In this case, the number indicates the percentage of silver.

Important! Important advantages of silver solders are strength and corrosion resistance. You can buy them in specialized stores.

It is advisable to use for soldering parts a high-melting solder with a melting point exceeding 240 degrees. These are alloys with markings AKP2 or PSP2.5, or special solder paste.

There is an opportunity and independently to make solder. The optimum ratio of metals is the following:

• Copper - 25%.
• Silver - 45%.
• Zinc - 30%.

Tools

The components are smelted in a muffle furnace. The finished alloy is poured onto a special substrate, and after cooling it is passed through a rolling machine to produce leaves about half a millimeter in thickness.

Important! When soldering at home, you should not use cadmium formulations, since the vapors of this metal are harmful to health.

Protective measures

To protect the place of soldering from oxidation, use fluxes. The flux is distributed over the surface of the metal with a uniform layer and isolates it from the effects of atmospheric oxygen.

As a flux at home, the following is used:

• Mixture( in equal proportions) of borax and potash.
• You can use food or technical soda instead of potash.

Important! Bura is sold in the form of an aqueous solution and requires pre-drying. To do this, you can use a conventional gas hob:

• The drill is poured into a chemical container of porcelain or a special cup for evaporation.
• After the evaporation process is completed, the crystals are cooled, ground in a mortar and mixed with soda or potash.

Removal of flux from the surface of the repaired product is carried out with a heated weak acid solution.

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What you need to repair - prepare step by step:

• Base of refractory material( asbestos board or ordinary brick).
• Silver solder.
• Mixture of borax and potash as a flux.
• Acid solution.
• Small brush.
• Tweezers.
• Pliers. Tongs of copper. Burner with gas fuel.
• A piece of clean cloth.

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How to fix the silver chain at home - procedure:

• Place parts that need to be welded on the refractory base and secure them firmly.

Important! The smaller the gap in the welding zone, the more careful the connection will be.

• Thoroughly clean the surface of the parts from the oxide films. This is the only way to achieve a quality connection.
• Cover with a thin layer of flux degreased elements. Divide the flux with water until it is a mushy state and apply with a brush.
• Place a piece of solder in place of welding. It is convenient to use pieces of 2 × 1 and 2 × 2 mm. Separation of the strip of alloy into parts is made by cutting pliers or bokorezami.
• Move the burner to the side of the product. Gently heat the junction site. Make sure that the gas does not blow off the flux and solder, and control the uniformity of heating. After the flux has melted, gradually increase the strength of the flame until a solder joint is formed. With a lack of flux and solder, carefully add both.

Important! For sealing cracks, there is enough light solder with a small percentage of silver, with a lower melting point( for example, to solder a silver ring at home).To join together the parts, an alloy with a higher silver content is required. In this case, the connection is stronger.

• The final step is to clean the connection from the flux. The surface is blackened with a "sulfuric liver"( an alloy of potash with sulfur) or clarified with an acid solution.

Important! Sometimes for soldering silver products lead-tin solder is used. However, the thing loses its aesthetics. In addition, this method can not be used several times, so as not to spoil the thing completely.

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Use of soldering iron

Soldering iron with thin tip is used for soldering the jewelry. In the work, a POC60 alloy is used, with a melting point of 180 degrees. This solder is sold in the form of tubes with resin inside. The resin plays the role of flux, which protects the metal surface from the effects of oxygen.

Important! Soldering at home should be done in a well-ventilated area, since the heated solder and flux release toxic compounds. Soldering jewelry - the work is quite thin. But with perseverance and accuracy, you can perform it successfully enough.