Hi, I am interested in fashioning some of my gold into pendants,earings etc and would like to know of there is a way I can learn to solder,use wire etc. to fabricate without going to a formal classroom setting, in other words is there a way to practice without ruining something before I get proficient at the techniques I will need to learn? I have hundreds of natural gold nuggets from my claims in alaska and am retireing soon from my business and want to start something a little less stressful and help finance my retirement. Thanks in advance jimmy
Some might say yes, but I say no way! There is a lot to learn when you are soldering, and a lot of metal goes "pffft!!" when you are learning! At the current price of gold, I can't imagine that you would want to "save money" by not taking a class! I tried to learn to silver soldering on my own, from books, much the way I have learned many things in the past. I was marginally successful at best, because there are simply too many things going on during soldering for written (or verbal!) instructions to cover adequately. For every solder joint you manage successfully, there may be 15 that do not work, and every single one may fail for a different reason. I tried going on forums and asking questions, but there was no way to give enough information for the answers to be accurate. My solution, when I became frustrated enough and motivated enough, was to take a class at a recommended school. A 5-day workshop set me up as an independent silversmith (albeit one with 5 days of experience!) I was able to work independently after that, although I was still FULL of questions. I now love classes, and take either workshops or ongoing classes whenever I can. Each teacher I have had offers their particular expertise. Classes are a wonderful way to work independently, with an experienced teacher nearby for when the going gets rough, and your solutions are just not working. In addition, you have the advantage of trying every tool in the shop, using them for your own creations without having to invest the money in setting up your own shop immediately. Your class will answer hundreds of questions you don't yet know you have, such as "What is the best torch for my money? What fuel should I use - propane/air? oxy-propane? acetylene/ air? oxy-acetylene? Do I need to buy all of these tools, worth thousands of dollars? Which tools are the ones I will work with most, so that I can save some money to buy metal?" Most of these questions have no simple answer, and the answer may differ for each craftsman, depending upon the metals they work with most, the techniques they are most comfortable with, and how much they want to invest initially. I know of no better way to try tools and equipment for "free", while getting hands-on instruction that will save you countless hours of frustration, and countless dollars spent on tools you thought you'd need, but hardly ended up using.
Have I convinced you yet? In the interest of fairness, not everyone agrees with me. Many people learn on their own, although they usually have someone aroud who helps them begin. If you really want to give it a go on your own, you may want to try working with silver solder and copper, to keep costs down during your learning curve. Copper, however, handles heat more like silver than like gold. There is a new silver on the market called Argentium Silver, which I hear conducts heat more like gold. That might be a good way to get some techniques behind you. There are videos and DVDs out there, (Alan Revere, from San Francisco, has a series, and I hear he's excellent), tho I haven't seen any myself. The problem with a video is that you can't ask it if you're using too high a flame for this operation, or why the bloody solder won't flow, or why your piece keeps melting before you can solder it!
