Posted by Gary Dodge on May 08, 2002 at 11:44:48:
In Reply to: Solder Beads posted by Gerald on May 05, 2002 at 18:19:42:
Hi Gerald,
Yes, there are techniques you need to learn, or you can cheat!
The basic technique you need comes under the heading of decorative soldering and there are whole books on the subject.
Your solder balls need to be made right there in the middle of the flower, not created elsewhere and imported. You'll have the best shot at it if you work with more than one type of solder. You solder your regular solder lines of the flower using 50/50 solder and make the balls using a solder that melts at a lower temperature than the 50/50 such as 60/40 or better yet 63/37.
If you have one it is best to use a smaller iron like a 40 watt eletronics iron to make the solder balls. If you don't have one, at least using a skinny tip on your larger iron will help. Flux the already soldered line in the middle of the flower and collect a small bit of molten solder on your iron. (Your iron tip MUST be clean and shiny.) In a fairly quick move you need to deposit the molten solder ball where you want it letting your iron touch the underlying metal just long enough to melt a pinpoint so the ball will be connected, but not long enough to completely melt the underlying metal or your ball will disappear.
Now for the cheating way. Just go to the craft store and buy some ball chain. It comes in all sizes. Use a nipper to cut off the individual balls and solder them in the middle of your flower!
Gary Dodge
: I've just started working in stained glass and I'm having trouble making small groups of solder beads(balls) to form the centers of flower patterns. I am able to drip solder onto my work surface but when I try to put the small beads in the middle of my project, they all melt together. Is there a technique that I need to learn to do this? Thanks.