Soldering Troubleshooting + Metal Buying Guide

Everything I wish I knew when I started metalsmithing.

Soldering can be one of the most frustrating parts of learning metalsmithing. Your solder won’t flow. It flows in the wrong direction. One side melts while the other side refuses to get hot. Or everything looks right…but it's just not working.

I created this 15-page Soldering Troubleshooting + Metal Buying Guide to help you understand why those things happen—and what to change when they do.

Instead of simply giving you a list of soldering rules, this guide breaks down the things I look at when a solder joint isn’t working so you can start troubleshooting problems yourself at the bench.

Inside the guide:

• How to troubleshoot solder that won’t flow

• How to tell if your metal is actually hot enough

• Where to position your flame and how close it should be to your work

• How solder follows heat—and how to use that to your advantage

• Why clean metal and tight-fitting seams matter

• Flux and what it can tell you about temperature

• Easy, medium, and hard solder and when to use each

• Why I prefer sheet solder cut into tiny chips

• Heat sinks and when to use them

• How your soldering surface can affect your heat

• Pickle basics, including how to avoid contaminating your pickle

• Common soldering problems and how to fix them

• A troubleshooting chart you can reference right at your bench

PLUS: The Metal Buying Guide

Buying metal can be surprisingly confusing when you're getting started. Dead soft? Half hard? Sheet thickness? Wire gauge? What should you actually order?

The Metal Buying Guide breaks down the terminology you'll see when shopping for jewelry-making metals and helps you understand what you're actually buying so you can order materials with more confidence—and avoid spending money on metal that isn't right for your project.

Who is this guide for?

This guide is designed for beginner metalsmiths who are learning to solder, building their home studio, or are tired of wondering why their soldering works perfectly one day and completely falls apart the next.

15-page digital guide
Instantly access it and keep it on your phone, tablet, computer, or print a copy to keep next to your bench.

My goal with this guide isn't just to help you get one solder joint to work. It's to help you understand what's happening so you can troubleshoot the next one yourself.

Because soldering gets a whole lot less frustrating once you understand what the metal is telling you.