Filing Tip for a Better Solder Join

I decided to practice soldering this summer, so I made a number of “stack” rings out of various gauges and shapes of wire. For a successful solder join, you need the ends of your wire to be very straight and flush, so your two ends join tightly. Solder will not fill a gap! I found that when filing the ends of square wire to ensure a nice straight edge, you can grip the wire with a pair of flat nosed pliers and then file down to the pliers to get a smooth edge on the wire. Be sure that you are holding your file flat to the pliers and not at an angle when filing.
Caveat: don’t use your expensive pair of pliers for this!
I first saw this being done in a Crafsty video, “Soldering Basics and Beyond”. Gwen Youngblood was filing the end of bezel wire with this technique. Great class, by the way! You can also place one end of the wire against the edge of you bench block and use that as a guide for filing.

By Nancy Roberts

Leave a Reply