Hello all you crafters that work in Copper, ever been on a quest for Copper Solder? Scarcer than frog hair and expensive when you do find it. Some of you may have discovered metal clays 4 you on e-bay but anyway I bought 100cm of Copper solder from them for £2.99. I tested it and the metal reached a dull red and it flushed SILVER WHITE, whaat? Another e-bay wonder perhaps, but after retrieving it from the pickle the joint was a very close match for Copper,so, the strength test and two pairs of pliers, the metal distorted but the joint remained intact.
O.K, so far so good but at the very low price what about health and safety nasties? So I contacted the seller who assures me that it contains no Lead or Cadmium and is 93% Copper,7% Silver with a little phosphorus although you still need flux.
So if if need need this or Bronze or Brass solders metal clays 4 you seems pretty good.
I was wondering what you might be copper soldering and having taken a look at your shop am none the wiser 
Would love to know ?
I use K grade solder, plumber’s. 60% tin, 40% lead. There is no cheap equivalent of this and boy oh boy is it prohibitively expensive !
I have accidentally used 50/50 before now when I’ve been sent the wrong sort but had to heat / run it off as even that 10% extra lead is not good enough for Tiffany soldering.
Yep, you would be baffled as there is only paintings in my shop, So I shall reveal all, I will be listing Norse inspired jewellery very soon and it is this I use the solder for, Silver of course is not a problem.
When I have listed will be asking for price checks to see if mine are in line with others and I am not under cutting.
I don’t know about solder but I buy all my wire from metal clays 4u & they are great! If you buy direct from them there’s no postage charge (just in case they charge it on eBay) xx
I buy my wire from Wires.co.uk. I use a lot of 0.8mm tinned copper wire and buy it 2 * 500g reels a time.
Wow how many meters is that?! & what is tinned copper? Is that something specific for glass work?
I need so many different gauges for my work & found metal clays 4u very reasonable & so many options…they have all the gauges! I will check out wires.co.uk though…always good to have options
Too be honest I don’t know how many meters it is. When one reel is finished I get out the second and when that gets low I order two more.
I could buy just copper wire but then would need to tin it to get the solder to stick so much easier to buy it ready tinned. I use it for lots of glass related things. Suncatchers need a hanging ring which I solder in place and regular shaped suncatchers get a double twisted length round as a border / frame.
(Amazing how useful the big vice which is fastened on the end of the, last piece of garage my husband gets to use, his bench (I’ve taken over everywhere else) is for twisting wire ).
It makes them far stronger (and neater). If one, which is framed in this way, is dropped you might get a crack in an internal piece but the pieces are not anywhere near as likely to fall out thus destroying the suncatcher.
I do recommend not dropping them but accidents do happen 
Ah OK…so a soldering thing then! That’s the next thing I want to look into learning I’d never heard of tinned copper.
Sadly wires.co.uk don’t sell niobium which is what I use for my earring hooks (super hypoallergenic as I can’t put copper through my ears), but will have to compare their bare copper prices…always watching my pennies lol xx
Not too many pennies to watch, tinned, silver plate, gilt, all around the same and any little difference is more than compensated in time by not having to tin yourself. Love the Viking weave, must try myself some time, all your items are great but will leave the wire wrap to those who do it best, as for myself I spend as much time turning out punches as I do on the items as ring and dot or triangle and pellet punches can’t be got from cooksons.
Ah very kind thank you! Can’t wait to see what you’re making with your punches
Same here.
Wow fantastic. I saw them on your page last night when I came across it for some other reason or other and was surprised by what I spotted.
Thanks, not after favourites but if if any could check my prices, I’ve been giving it some gob on another thread about undercutting, let me know if they are in line, thanks.
Price of bracelet looks right to me. X
Right, thanks, leave it at that then.
Hi James - these are fab, so different! I especially like the cuff 
I would hope your prices are right as I price my woven copper cuffs at about the same level! For me it’s mostly based on the time they take, & I expect yours are also time consuming if you’re making your own punches too
Thanks and thanks for taking the time to look. I did factor in that once the punches are made I have them to use use time and again as I have hardened and tempered them so they will last a long time so if I am not undercutting your prices all is well, it possibly takes you longer with your style of work (which I admire very much).
Ah thanks James! 
TBH I’m not one of those who would whinge about undercutting - we’re all very different designers, & I have no idea how much effort / material cost people put into their designs, so it really isn’t easy to compare! It may well take me longer, but I expect your material cost is higher as the copper is quite thick, whereas I’m just using wire.
I’ve fretted about my prices - the cuffs were the first thing I started making, & as they are a labour of love the time taken puts the prices up, so I’ve just been adding more items to my shop at different price levels so hopefully I have something for everyone! Fingers crossed anyway 