Hi all - Looking for advice/help. I have a commission to do 2 sets of enameled earrings that are post-type. I've tried to solder, then enamel, but the sterling silver post can't take the heat and melts off. FYI-am using a torch to fire my enamel pieces as I do not have a kiln (yet).

Am in the market for a kiln and would like to know the preferences of the enamelists in the group, too!

Thanks so much for any/all advice, recommendations, comments. The earring question is rather time-sensitive due to the upcoming holiday. Now if it would just stop snowing I could get into my studio! ~Amy

Hi Amy

Maybe you can use fine silver and Blue fuse from Lillian-http://www.bluefuseforsilver.com/.Depends on the design.Or use IT solder or eutectic solder - http://www.enamelworksupply.com/supplies.html. For torch firing the best here is Chris Hierholzer-http://grainsofglass.com/group/Torchfiring/forum/topics/torch-fired-enamel-tutorial-1-with-chris-heirholzer.

Rudolf

I can think of several possibilities.

Use a lower firing enamel or a higher temperature solder (eutectic or IT), or a combination of both. 
Keep the torch away from the pin.  Embed the pin in some yellow ochre and/or attach a large heat sink to it to draw heat away from it.

Redesign the piece so you cold-connect the enamelled metal to the earring unit.

Redesign the piece so you use a cold-connection (like a jump ring thru a hole in the piece) to connect to the earring post unit.

Yes, thanks Rudolf! I am aware of these products and have used some of them. I have the DVD of Chris's method, too! I think I've figured it all out and appreciate your feedback. ~Amy

The heat sink is a great idea, as is the use of yellow ochre (or even correction fluid as I understand!). The design is by the customer, so I am limited in what I can do w/o changing what is desired. I think I'm going with a pierced back plate where I'll solder my posts to. It makes the earrings a little heavier than I would like, but solves my other problems! Thanks for your input! ~Amy

How to make „Posts“ for earrings.

First of all! The basic-metal of all my jewelry is fine silver. That has many advantage. Especially some soldering problems are easier to declamp. In my jewelry/enameling courses we developed different posts.

1). This is the simplest one. Bevore enamelling drill a hole at a suitable place. After finishing of all enamel-work and polishing, stick a commercial post through the hole. You can also make the pins by yourself by melting on a little ball at one end of an 1 mm silver wire.

2) Make a "Tube" with a foot so as shown in the two sketches. Bend a small fine silver strip over an one mm stainless steel wire. Let a part, about 1-1.5 mm of the strip below the tube as a foot stand. Solder the tube before enamelling onto the back of the earring. If you make all the metalwork of finesilver, you can solder the fastenings with Sterlingsilver instead of any other high melting solder. Sterlingsilver has a meltingpoint of about 850 degree C that is about 80 degree C higher than high melting silver solder. The soldering procedure is the same as with normal silver solder.

After enameling make the ear-pin like it is shown in the picture, from 1 mm stainless steel wire.

3) Normally you use an 1 mm strong silver wire as an ear pin. The cross section of such a wire is only 0,785 mm. To enlarge these small soldering area, we cut off a 0,5 mm long piece of a tube with an inner diameter of 1 mm. We poke the wire into the tube and solder both together to the back of the ear ring. By this way, we enlarge the soldering area by more than the double.

I saw a post somewhere on the net where they were embedding a jumpring in the enamel leaving the inside empty then soldering the post inside the ring in a pool of solder which made the connection stronger.

Great idea, Lisa! Thanks for the input.