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The blog banner was made with elements from Lorie Davison. The nail head is Mo Jackson, the white rabbit and the key is Tangie Baxter. The butterflies are from Katie Pertiet.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

My Middle Name Is Danger...

I'll take Things That Are Painful For Five Hundred, Alex...

These fellows were out frolicking in the chives.  It's the end of summer.  Last week was cool.  Yesterday was lovely.
 Today is hot and humid. 

It'll continue with this on again 
off again weather until it's cold.  
Then...the cold will stay.  
For
A
Very
Long 
Time
But, let's forget about all of that, shall we?
A few solid solder tips for you.
From me.
I'm new to this so I don't know how helpful
it will actually be for you.
The above "helping hand" gizmo is great!
It was very cheap at the 
weird science store down the street.
Cost me five bucks.
I also purchased a large piece of 
oven glass to solder on from
the same science store.

Here we go:
Besides the soldering gun/iron
you'll need
flux,

a flux brush 
and something
to put it in.

Copper tape,
and glass squares.
I bought these from Michaels.
I also found 
1" x 1" mirror squares
at JoAnne's.
Sandwich your picture between
the two pieces of glass,
or 1 glass and 1 mirror square.
Cover the edges with the copper tape.
Burnish well!
Coat copper tape with flux.
Try not to let it seep
under the copper tape.
Seeping flux
can be a bad thing.
Or a contagious
disease...
No.  This is not bird droppings.
The solder looks white.
Sorry about that.
Touch your soldering tool to the solder
it will melt almost instantly.
Touch the solder to the copper tape and
VIOLA!
It spreads like buttah!!
Just remember that
solder is your friend.
Here we are!
I made five.
Aren't they pretty?
One problem.
You can't actually
touch them.
Why?
The sharp edges of the solder
will
SHRED YOUR FINGER TIPS!
This one turned out nice.
There are sharp edges
which you can't see.
I still need to smooth it out more.
Otherwise,
they'll be referring 
to me
as
Thumbs McGee.
Cute name if your home
happens to be in the 
penitentiary.
This is the back side.  
It looks better.

This is the first one I did.
If the Mad Hatter had friends
they'd call him
"Lumpy."
This is the flip side.
The A side
Side B.
Flying monkeys.
Oh yeah!
And the flip side.

All in all, soldering is quite enjoyable.
A word of advice:
Be sure that you have your
health insurance premiums
paid up.
Also, just for the record,
the staff at the E.R.
likes cookies.
Kidding.
I wasn't really injured,
but I seriously need
to take care of
those rough edges.


6 comments:

Terri Kahrs said...

I'm still chuckling!!! Great post!!! Many, many moons ago I took a stained glass class and learned how to solder! You're right on the money!!! Hugs, Terri xoxo

karlascottage.typepad.com said...

Try an emeroy board. That worked better for me than anything else.

Pansy Cottage Girl said...

You crack me up! Its like you are right here telling me to watch out! You did the best job on this little tutorial!Ive been wanting to try this so badly but haven't had the time to go gather supplies. But NOW my fingers are terrified. I kinda like them so maybe I will wrap them or something. What do you think? really how bad did you cut yourself? Didnt you get a stitch a while ago or am I confusing you with some other half crazed crafter?

Tumble Fish Studio said...

Hi Miss Kathy! I am smiling thinking of you belting out "Killer" tunes! Me and you both. I am so impressed with your dangerous side. I am so in awe of soldering cuz I do not have the guts to try it - heat scares me, hot melting metal scares me more! And I am such a clutz. I never think of my hands being large until I am working small and then they seem like unusually large monstrosities. Your charms are so very lovely - just the bees knees!

Thank you for your visit this morning. I am sure I am not the only one having a bad year and I am sure mine is rather mild compared to what many others are going through. Support like yours and from our other blog sistahs has certainly lightened my load and made me feel not crazy! I finally recognize myself again and things are starting to feel right side up for the first time since I went to be with my dad back in Jan. You all have surely seen me through the roughest parts and I will never forget it.

Have a great rest of the weekend!
marsha

Petunia said...

Oh these are just beautiful!! I have been dreaming of learning how to solder for years now but have yet to take the plunge. Seeing art like yours is making me think about it again. What a great tutorial. Thanks so much for popping over and have a lovely holiday weekend.

Róisín said...

Oh, that first photo gave me a fright! Nasty...:)
Anyway, I love the little trinkets you made. They're wonderful! I've always been a bit scared of soldering myself. I once thought about trying it, then decided to stick to stringing beads instead. Much safer when you're as clumsy as I am! Well, hope all is well with you!
Roisin x