I'm having a problem with wires breaking.

I am melting both ends of 1" lengths of 20ga sterling wire to form a
kind of "Q-Tip" form. I then hammer one balled end flat and drill a
hole in it to accommodate a jump ring made from 20ga. I put several of
these "Q-Tips" on the jump ring and solder all of them in place. I do
several of these and end up with a ring that looks like a sea anemone.

I do anneal between all of my processes, but for some reason my Q-Tips
keep breaking off at the base. The wire is breaking right at the point
where the shaft goes from round to hammered, but the point isn't
especially thin, and it is very frustrating.

Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm having a problem with wires breaking.

I am melting both ends of 1" lengths of 20ga sterling wire to form a
kind of "Q-Tip" form. I then hammer one balled end flat and drill a
hole in it to accommodate a jump ring made from 20ga. I put several of
these "Q-Tips" on the jump ring and solder all of them in place. I do
several of these and end up with a ring that looks like a sea anemone.

I do anneal between all of my processes, but for some reason my Q-Tips
keep breaking off at the base. The wire is breaking right at the point
where the shaft goes from round to hammered, but the point isn't
especially thin, and it is very frustrating.

Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


Soft (lead) solder may be being absorbed by the silver wire, destroying its
ductility. Avoid using lead and you could solve your problem.

Harold

wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm having a problem with wires breaking.

I am melting both ends of 1" lengths of 20ga sterling wire to form a
kind of "Q-Tip" form. I then hammer one balled end flat and drill a
hole in it to accommodate a jump ring made from 20ga. I put several of
these "Q-Tips" on the jump ring and solder all of them in place. I do
several of these and end up with a ring that looks like a sea anemone.

I do anneal between all of my processes, but for some reason my Q-Tips
keep breaking off at the base. The wire is breaking right at the point
where the shaft goes from round to hammered, but the point isn't
especially thin, and it is very frustrating.

Are you annealing the whole piece after the last work? The hammering might
be work-hardening the silver sufficiently that the soldering isn't
re-annealing it.

LLoyd

Thanks Harold, I'll look into that.
-c

I didn't anneal after the final soldering, I guess I just thought that
it would re-anneal during that process. I'll have to try that, thanks
Lloyd.
-c