Stainless steel & silver question

gazzman151

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A customer wants a brooch style monogram. I plan to use a stainless steel pin & clasp for the back soldered to a 1 1/8" sterling disc, then engrave the disc. Is this an acceptable idea?:thinking:
 

JJ Roberts

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Not a jeweler but shouldn't you engrave the brooch first and then the soder the pin & clip last? J.J.
 

Roger B

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Gazzman,

I'd be keeping the engraving till last as you plan but have you tried soldering stainless to silver? Unless, that is, you use lead solder - in that case do the engraving first.

Roger
 

silverchip

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For the most part ,When making jewelry that is engraved, it should be engraved last. Yes you could use stainless findings but there are more conventional and traditional findings in silver that would be more suiting for this piece. Also it would be more in keeping to make the findings yourself. I hope you decide to make it out of silver.
 

gazzman151

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Silverchip,
I want to make the findings myself, but I don't have the knowledge, So I came up with the Stainless idea. I don't want to impose, but could you send a picture of what you have in mind? that would be greatly appreciated!

tdelewis,
I looked on Rio but could not find what I wanted, And I don't know what I'm looking for. Thanks!
 

gazzman151

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JJ,
I've always heard the engraving is last if you are silver soldering. I think the heat destroys the effect of all bright cuts on the face of the piece.
 

Brian Marshall

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Depending on the design, and whether the monogram is filigreed and sawn out - I don't think I would choose to use a disc...

The simple brooch pin and catch will allow the filigree to be seen when attached to the blouse/shirt sweater.

If the engraving is not to be sawn out and the pin is to be a disc shape, solder the findings directly to the back.

And I would definitely finish all soldering operations before engraving on such a piece.


B.


By the way, if you do some research, there are sterling pin back findings available... or you can make them yourself.
 

monk

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rio sells a breed of solder that works on ss. i agree with others, why not just us sterling parts ?
 

Alf777

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You might have a problem with the “pickle” after soldering as the pickle for nonferrous metals is different than for ferrous metals and could turn your silver into strange color.
 

silverchip

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Silverchip,
I want to make the findings myself, but I don't have the knowledge, So I came up with the Stainless idea. I don't want to impose, but could you send a picture of what you have in mind? that would be greatly appreciated!

tdelewis,
I looked on Rio but could not find what I wanted, And I don't know what I'm looking for. Thanks!

I don't have a Stuller Catolog handy, but I am pretty sure they have components that are diestruck silver and gold that would really do the trick. I think they even have them in different sizes . I'll try to find a pic.
 

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