Seven Year Itch?

[asthran]

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted anything that wasn't music geekery. So, a recap:

Comments

[klari]

Re: Soldering. If you can't get your solder tutorial in, you can probably still figure it out. There are two big keys to remember:
1. It's all about heat and heat management. If you have trouble getting the solder to wick up your working pieces, you need more heat. If it breaks soon after, that's a cold solder joint, which means more heat. Another technique is to add a heat gun (big blow dryer) in addition to your soldering iron.
2. Make sure you can see well. I use a microscope for basically everything. If you aren't using a microscope, get lots of extra lighting and safety glasses so you can get your eyeball close enough to what you are doing. Seeing really well will let you see if the solder wicks and is melting correctly, etc.

Re: Emotional stuff. I send empathy and hugs. It's kind of a one, two, punch when the personal life and professional life both hit a low point.

[asthran]

Thanks for the suggestions! I will keep them in mind when/if I actually do some soldering. And thanks for correcting my spelling :-)

[gem_handler]

Hard solder for jewelry requires a torch. Fortunately, you can get some adapters for the small, hand held oxygen and propane cans you can get at Home Depot. It's going to cost you more in fuel, getting them in little cans, but you can do small welds and solders easily. Including a mini-torch, soldering pad, various tweezers and other things... should be less than $200 for the setup.

[ashamanja_babu]

Yes I do!

I have absolutely no life advice for you. But just know I'm out here reading your posts and thinking about you and wishing you blessings.

[asthran]

Yay! Thank you, and know I think about you too! Sometimes I even talk about you to people you've never met! :-)