To repair jewelry and other jewelry, it is sometimes necessary to solder parts of gold items. This may also be needed for the restoration of antique instruments, the parts of which were also often made of precious metals. When soldering, it is important not to reduce the gold content of the item, or at least not to reduce the market value of the item. Therefore, special solders are used to solder this refractory material. Their composition depends on the sample of gold.
It is necessary
- - gold;
- - silver;
- - copper;
- - cadmium;
- - soldering tube;
- - gas-burner;
- - small vice;
- - crucibles for the preparation of solders;
- - file;
- - nippers:
- - pharmaceutical scales with weights;
- - organic solvent (acetone, toluene, etc.).
Instructions
Step 1
Make the following solders depending on the sample of gold. For 72-carat gold, take 750 weight parts of gold, 30 - silver, 100 - copper, 120 - cadmium. For 56 assay gold you need: 585 weight parts of gold, 115 - silver, 186 - copper, 112 - cadmium. For yellow gold (i.e. low grade gold): 16 parts by weight of gold, 21 - silver, 11 - copper. For the convenience of work, the solders are made in the form of thin wires.
Step 2
Before soldering, clean the seam of any contamination with an organic solvent. Gold does not form oxides, so there is no need to use fluxes.
Step 3
Soldering is carried out using a soldering tube (fevki). It is a metal tube about 20 cm long. For convenience, it can be slightly bent at one end. This end ends with a small (1 mm or less) hole and serves to blow out a thin stream of flame from the fire of an alcohol lamp or gas burner. Air is blown into the other end of the tube by mouth or a small compressor.
Step 4
Clamp the parts to be soldered in a small vise or other clamp and align. Warm up the seam with a jet of flame blown out through a soldering tube. Insert the solder wire into the soldering area. Allow some of the solder to flow over the weld. Then let the item cool down.
Step 5
Remove excess solder with small wire cutters. If necessary, clean the seam with a file. Collect sawdust. They can be used to make solder, since solders for gold items are very expensive.
