Silver Brazing coins?

[Mark_Henry]

I was recently asked to produce a western style bowie with a stag crown handle and an inlaid (in the crown) silver collectors coin - one of the .999 1 troy ounce kind (not a circulated coin, it's a collectors type of thing).

Now, I've done this type of thing before, but never with silver. How would I attach the nut to the back of the coin? If I silver braze it, will it damage the face of the coin? Would soldering work better than brazing? What about JB Weld (and the like)?

[Cwax]

Soldering or brazing will more than likely damage the coin.
I suggest using a lazer welder to put on the nut or what ever it is you are going to use,the lazer will not ruin the coin.
Look around your towns jewelry stores for t store that has a lazer welder.
Joe Cera

[J.Arthur Loose]

I would set the coin in a bezel or prong setting as if it were a stone.

That way if it is indeed a valuable / collectible coin no damage will come to it.

[Michael Sanchez]

I would try using JB Weld.

Mike

[Darren]

I agree with J. Loose on this .

I would put it in a bezel for sure.

.999 silver is very soft and if your not extremely careful
you could blow a hole right through it with a torch.

[falconhawk]

Like J and Darren,,,,, I'd go with a bezel setting. Easiest way to go, very secure and will do not damage to the coin should one desire to remove it one day down the road.

Falconhawk / Clyde

[yahooty]

Have you seen the "coin ?"
If it is 1 oz ..999 Silver , with a face or design ,it is known as a Silver Round.
The diameter is considerably larger than a Silver Dollar. Much too large for a pommel ,on a knife handle. I have used them to make Silver shields , handle escutcheons, and other decorations on knives and Indian style Conchas on Leather work. They can be hard soldered.

One time I was annealing a round to make it softer so it could be formed to shape,when it split apart. It was apparent the thing was made in two pieces;the face ,and obverse.Then it was
hard soldered together. Bummer ! ;-(

If you want Silver bezels check out Indian Jewelers,in Gallup ,N M. They have a large selection of them.
Also in Gold. Their catalog has a lot of neat things that can be used by knife makers.

I am looking at a catalog right now and see some CAST STERLING bezels that would look good as a pommel with out anything in them.Just a good polishing job, would really make them stand out.
I made two ,using Paua shell inserts , and silver bezels , Man ,they are beautiful. One goes on a knife ,and one will be on a necklass.

Good Luck with your project , E mail me if you want .
SUPAGLIDE@WEBTV.COM

[Tim P. Watson]

I do not know if you have finished this yet as this is a kind of late post but it should not hurt the coin to siver solder it on. The lowest temp solder (SOFT) will melt way before it will hurt the coin. The trick with doing silver is that you cannot get on spot hot as you can with other metals. you have to bring the whole thing up to heat at the same time. If it can be heated from the backside of where you are soldering it then this would be the better choice of heating the coin or the bolster. There are paste solders availble for chain type work that would work very well for this or even clipped sheet. Just flux the whole thing really good and slowly heat it until the solder runs. I do sterling rings all of the time this way and I have never had any problems once I learned that the whole piece needed to come to temp at the same time.

Tim P. Watson