How to solder a gold chain at home: making solder, soldering technology with a soldering iron and cases of complex repairs

A chain is a product consisting of many links. The appearance of the decoration depends on their shape and method of fastening. Moreover, these parameters also determine the resistance to tensile loads. But even the strongest chain will break sooner or later; the likelihood of this increases if the product is pulled sharply. Accordingly, the jewelry still has to be sent in for repairs. Sometimes the damage goes away on its own. First, prepare tools and consumables. Additionally, you should study the question of how to solder a gold chain at home. In cases where the repair is complex, you need to contact a workshop.

Common causes of damage to gold chains

You can prevent the rupture of the product, but to do this it is necessary to eliminate all negative factors that contribute to damage to the gold and create conditions for the long-term use of the jewelry. Causes of ruptures and breakdowns:

• natural abrasion of links: the chain consists of elements that are mobile relative to each other, constant wear promotes friction of the links, as a result, the natural process of abrasion of the precious metal develops, in the weakest places the product breaks;
• active use of the clasp: intensive wear of jewelry, which accelerates the wear of the elements of the lock, since it has its own resource (determined by the design and characteristics of gold), with frequent wear it decreases, parts break;
• sudden movements: even a new chain can break; in this case, the cause is considered to be an accident when the jewelry is unexpectedly touched.

What to do if the silver chain breaks?

Silver is a very popular precious metal. Silver reflects light perfectly and is suitable for any skin color, which is why jewelry, in particular chains, are often made from this precious metal. They are worn as a necklace or bracelet. Silver chains are classic and charming jewelry. They come in a variety of sizes, styles and shapes, ranging from small to massive, from traditional to modern.

Silver is a fairly durable material, however, chains made from this metal can be fragile and often break. Most products can be easily restored, but to do this you need to master silver soldering. This is one of the most basic jewelry making techniques. Silver soldering is used for invisible seams and adding individual pieces of metal. Soldering is also very often used to make chains.

To repair a broken piece of silver jewelry and reunite the two pieces of a broken chain, proceed as follows:

1. Soak the two ends of the repair chain in an acidic solution for 5 minutes. Use the solution used to clean silver before and after soldering.
2. Place a small piece of silver solder directly between the parts to be joined. There should be no more solder than the size of the individual links.
3. Make sure the solder is in contact with both sides.
4. Heat the solder with a small nozzle and wait until it melts.
5. Turn off the nozzle.
6. Allow the solder to cool and harden.

Important! If the silver chain is broken, you can replace the damaged link. To do this: carefully open the damaged ring using needle-nose pliers and remove it from the chain. Then take a new ring made of silver and place it first on one end of the chain and then on the other. Using needle nose pliers, gently press the new ring until it connects.

What can you fix at home?

Typically, gold soldering is carried out when defects of a certain nature appear:

• damage on the inside of the product: it is more difficult to independently restore the integrity of the product when a crack appears on the front side, especially if the links are wide - the solder seam will be visible;
• incomplete rupture of one link in a complex weave: most often damage occurs to one of the sections, the metal here bends, breaks, it is necessary to return it to its original shape, solder it;
• rupture of the ring on the lock: this area is not noticeable, it is easier to repair than chain links - just make a seam with a soldering iron, and aesthetics in this case are not so important.

Torn gold chain

Basics of the metal soldering process: refractory and low-melting solder, flux

The temperature at which gold melts is 1064°C. But this meaning changes depending on the content of this component. Before repairs can begin, the material is heated. Individual sections are connected using special materials, without which gold soldering is impossible:

• flux - a composition of several components, used to prevent the formation of an oxide film on the material being processed, and also helps to increase the fluidity of the solder as it heats up;
• Solder - a material in the form of a wire, used to create conditions under which broken metal parts will be connected, it is distinguished by a lower melting point than that of a restored gold product.

There are different types of solder:

• low-melting: changes structure at temperatures below 300°C;
• refractory: melts when the temperature exceeds the limit of 300°C.

Moreover, the second option is characterized by improved characteristics. The properties of a material are determined by its composition. Low-melting solder most often contains tin, lead, and refractory solder: copper, silver, zinc, gold, etc. But solder is chosen not only taking into account the characteristics, the color of the material is also taken into account.

It must match the shade of the chain, and therefore refractory solder is used.

You can make the mixture yourself.

How and with what help to solder silver?

Before you decide to solder parts of a silver product yourself, you need to understand the physical and chemical properties of the noble metal. The melting point of silver is 960 degrees. This is an average for the various metals used to make jewelry.

The melting point depends on how much pure silver is contained in the alloy. To ensure high-quality soldering, you need to carefully approach the choice of silver solder.

It is a strong solder joint and is used for soldering both non-ferrous and ferrous metals, as well as various alloys. For ease of use, all solders are subject to markings, including an alphanumeric set. The digital indicator determines the amount of silver in the solder as a percentage.

Any seam soldered with solder is resistant to corrosion, does not deform, and is durable. The most important factor of the above is anti-corrosion. To ensure that this point is observed, you should choose solders that have a high content of pure silver.

If it is impossible to purchase solder at special retail outlets, you can make it yourself. The most common and high-quality composition, which includes:

All components are melted in a muffle furnace. After melting, the mixture is poured onto a substrate and passed through a machine to produce sheets of the desired thickness. For soldering, sheets of 1-3 mm are used. Strips of the required length are cut from them.

Manufacturing standard solder: composition, proportions of metals, shape

The composition of the solder differs depending on the sample. If you don’t have the right size wire at hand for soldering, you can make it yourself:

1. Prepare components for soldering to repair 585-grade jewelry. Among them are gold, silver, copper, respectively: 585, 115 and 185 parts.
2. Metals are melted down.
3. Brass is introduced - 135 parts, it can be replaced with cadmium - 112 parts are taken.
4. The melt is poured into the mold, and after the metal has cooled, the product is given the desired shape on an anvil (it is pulled out).

Important! It is also possible to make flux for soldering gold; you will need borax (10 g), boric acid (100 g), distilled water (100 g).

Soldering of gold products

Solder Preparation Tools

The components of the material are taken in a certain dosage, which is determined using a pharmacy scale. Other tools and devices that may be useful at the solder preparation stage:

• a form that allows you to obtain the thinnest possible wire;
• containers for determining the dosage of components;
• burner;
• crucible – a container for remelting, which is resistant to high temperatures.

Equipment

The metals that are most often encountered in jewelry are primarily gold and silver. The technology for soldering these metals requires high temperatures.

Heating of the parts to be connected and melting of the solder is carried out using gas-flame equipment. These can be installations running on gas or gasoline. Much more often gas devices are used for jewelry work. This is due to the fact that gas equipment is more convenient to use and does not create discomfort due to a strong odor (as is the case with gasoline).

The compressed gas in the cylinder is ready for use; it is supplied due to its own pressure. When using gasoline, a gasoline-air mixture is prepared, which requires compressed air. That is, in this case the use of pumping or compressor equipment is required.

The device used for jewelry soldering must be equipped with a gas burner with a flame intensity regulator. To perform jewelry work, it is advisable to have two burners.

One of them, more powerful, is used to melt metals in crucibles. The other should have a thin torch for heating and soldering miniature components.

We repair a gold chain ourselves at home. Process technology

When you plan to repair a gold chain yourself, you must follow the instructions. This will allow you to avoid serious mistakes (if you have no experience in performing such work). Main stages:

1. Preparing a product that requires repair. The damaged area is being restored; it is necessary to return the shape to the ring or link that is broken. Then it is fixed with a vice, so that the hand does not tremble, and the quality of the soldering remains high.
2. Clean metal. It should be additionally degreased, which will improve the adhesion of materials.
3. Flux is applied. It is prepared in advance, because work must be completed quickly (due to the risk of overheating).
4. Heat the metal on the damaged section of the chain.
5. Add solder and continue heating.
6. Clean the seam by removing excess solder.

Important! The thickness of the burner torch can be adjusted; a heater is used to heat small parts.

The work ends when the color of the solder becomes the same as that of the gold being restored.

Features of working with jewelry

There are several features that distinguish jewelry soldering from soldering used for household and technical purposes:

• the aesthetics of the solder joint, as the main goal of the work performed, along with the necessary strength;
• performing operations with very small parts that require the use of specific tools and devices;
• working with expensive materials containing precious metals - silver, gold, platinum.

For obvious reasons, only professionals can carry out high-quality jewelry soldering. But no one is prohibited from trying their hand and learning the intricacies of the process.

What you need for soldering at home

When studying the intricacies of the question of how to solder gold correctly, you need to immediately prepare the tool and equipment for the job:

• soldering iron;
• a vice, pliers or tweezers if small parts of the chain were damaged;
• needle files - used to clean the seam after soldering is completed;
• gas burner - prepared at the solder preparation stage;
• fevka - to adjust the size of the burner torch;
• jewelry drill, polishing equipment.

Consumables have already been prepared. If it is not possible to make solder yourself, you should buy it in advance.

Suitable types: PSR2, PSR2.5.

The nuances of soldering gold at home

Beginners should learn more about the renovation process. First you need to practice on ordinary metals, using solder of a suitable composition. If you start working right away, there is a high chance that the product will be damaged. It is important to learn how to solder a gold chain at home: pay attention to the features of cleaning the areas that are planned to be connected, and the subtleties of applying flux, introducing solder, and performing grinding.

Soldering flux - powder

Clean and degrease the surface before soldering

Soldering is the process of melting metal products of different types in a limited area. High quality seams are ensured provided that thoroughly cleaned elements of the product are joined. To remove contaminants, alkaline solutions are used; the ambient temperature is +60°C and above.

Then the metal is additionally treated with an organic solvent.

Apply flux and join the parts end-to-end or overlapping

Sections of the broken chain are joined in different ways: end-to-end and overlapping. The second option is preferable; it provides a more reliable connection, but cannot always be implemented, which is determined by the configuration of the chain links.

Before connecting parts of the product, flux is applied.

Introducing solder and heating it to the same color as gold

Burnout of the components in the solder when heated provides the desired result. The parts are firmly connected, the trace of the crack disappears. At this stage, the color of the seam, which is formed during soldering of the gold chain, acquires the same color as the base metal of the product.

Solder joint strength

Soldering allows you to join dissimilar materials. This is the main advantage of the method. But it is important to evaluate the strength of the solder joint, which is an indicator of the quality of work. This is affected by the size of the gap. At low values, the effect of capillary flow is best manifested, that is, the metal of the product dissolves in the solder. This effect increases the strength of the connection by 30-60%.

During work, we must not forget about safety measures. This applies to wearing gloves and a respirator. We must not forget about high temperatures, which can cause a fire.

The main criterion for excellent chain soldering

The quality of the seam obtained during soldering depends on various factors:

• degree of metal cleaning before starting work;
• applying flux;
• solder composition;
• proper handling of solder, it should not be overheated;
• choosing the method of connecting the metal sections of the chain will determine how long the product will last, which means that this factor is the main one when assessing the quality of the soldering.

Soldering gold products requires high precision and accuracy

Bijouterie

Thanks to the development of technologies in metallurgy and jewelry production, there is a global trend of increasing the share of relatively inexpensive costume jewelry in the total volume of jewelry production.

And this is completely justified. The continued rise in prices for precious metals makes it impractical to wear expensive gold and platinum jewelry, while an alternative is emerging in the form of cheap and beautiful jewelry.

Soldering methods for inexpensive jewelry depend on the material from which it is made. Unfortunately, some alloys used in the manufacture of these products may not be solderable.

In cases where soldering is possible, it is better to choose an alloy for this purpose that consists of inexpensive components, since solder can be an order of magnitude more expensive than the product itself.

Question-answer section

How to solder a gold chain at home with a soldering iron?

Expert opinion

Pribrezhny Gennady Valentinovich

Jeweler 6th category

The process of connecting chain links is conventionally divided into stages:

1. Preparation of gold products, as well as flux and solder.
2. Application of flux.
3. Adding solder after heating the gold.
4. The connection of the links of the product, the chain in the problem area is fixed end-to-end or overlapping. The metal heats up here, which ensures a reliable connection.
5. After soldering is completed, the seam must be cleaned and the metal is ground.

How to solder a gold ring at home using improvised materials?

Expert opinion

Grishanov Mikhail Petrovich

Jeweler, director of the Grishanov and Co. workshop

To repair gold jewelry, consumables are used that are prepared independently: flux for soldering gold can be made from borax, water and boric acid, and solder is created from various metals (selected taking into account the material of the ring). They are universal and are used to restore the integrity of various jewelry. But repairing the ring is not so easy - the seams will be noticeable. It is recommended to contact a specialist with a similar problem. This will extend the life of the decoration.

Repairing jewelry in a workshop

Jewelers use a standard scheme for restoring the integrity of a product:

1. Preparing the decoration: cleaning, fixing.
2. Choice of flux and solder.
3. Soldering. At this stage, workshops use special equipment - laser.
4. Cleaning the seam, polishing the product.

To repair silver and gold jewelry, you should contact the jewelry workshop closest to your home. Salons in different cities:

Advantages of laser soldering at a jeweler

Positive qualities of technology:

• high accuracy;
• small radius of the light point;
• performing soldering in areas where access to the broken part is limited;
• no metal stress effect;
• increased corrosion resistance;
• no need to use filler material;
• the ability to solder coated products without the risk of damage.