Things You'll Need
Black permanent marker
Sketch pad
Fine-tip jewelers' propane or butane torch
0 and 00 fine steel wool
Vise grips or pliers
Alligator clips, wire soldering clamps or hemostats
Low-temp silver bearing solder and compatible flux
Flux brush
Spray bottle of water
Horseshoe nail jewelry is popular with rodeo, country/western and barrel racing fans and participants. Horseshoe nails can be heated and bent into elaborate shapes and soldered into place, making rings, pendants and bracelets. Soldering requires a heat source, lead-free solder and flux.
Step 1
Make a sketch of your chosen design with a black permanent marker. Heat nails with a torch until they are bright orange as seen in dull light. Use vise grips or other pliers to bend each nail to the shapes needed to construct your design.
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Step 2
Clamp all the pieces of the design together using alligator clips, wire soldering clamps or hemostats.
Step 3
Apply low-temp silver bearing solder-compatible flux to the areas of the nails that need to be soldered.
Step 4
Preheat the area to be soldered with a fine-tip jewelers', butane or propane torch until the solder flows. Electronics Club.com owner, John Hewes, prefers to, "...hold the soldering iron like a pen, near the base of the handle. Imagine you are going to write your name...(the soldered area) should look shiny and have a 'volcano' shape. If not, you will need to reheat it and feed in a little more solder." Use a flux brush to remove any excess solder.
Step 5
Spritz the entire soldered item with water to cool it. Apply slight pressure to the soldered joints to test them. Resolder if any break or seem loose.
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