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Ol Chemist
Thanks for all the imput, it is really great.
I agree that they must have sold a flux of some type, but I'd like to know WHAT they used. I've tried Borax as I know it was used as a welding flux for blacksmithing. I've made many welds using borax, but it doesn't seem to work for me on this German Silver for soldering.
Maybe I should mention that I used to also do a lot of Blacksmithing and forgework also, so I'm familiar with those old ironworking techniques.
PWBUM: It might be best to have a smith temper your tools for you the first time, but if you watch him, you can probably do your own, once you see how. Regardless who tempers your tools, if you make your own, it seems to make it a lot more personal, at least to me. It's amazing though how many designs you can get from a few simple tools!
I agree that some of the crosses were riveted, I haven't actually seen very much old silver work personally. I've been relying on photos and books. But I know that they made rings and bridles at the camps themselves. I've got some theories on the evolution of the bridles, but the rings were something else, and I can think of at least one cross that is soldered.
I know that a friend of mine was one of two people who discovered the Cheyenne-Sioux campsite on Pawnee creek that General Hancock destroyed in April of 1867. When they found it, they found shards of German Silver on the surface where they had been working it in camp. Now whether or not they were going to solder it or not, we'll never know, but they were cutting it with chisels then and then filing it smooth.
This is a fascinating topic to me as you can tell.
Thanks for starting this thread.
Ken Weidner
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