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Brittle Silver Wire

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!

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

Harold

Reply to
Harold and Susan Vordos

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

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

Thanks Harold, I'll look into that.

-c

Reply to
pureandsimpletruth

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

Reply to
pureandsimpletruth

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