Metalsmith Tip of the Week--Filling Gaps in Bezel Seam

I promised to post a metalsmith tip regularly but I didn't say what "regular" meant. For now, I'll schedule it for Thursday bi-weekly. That will provide structure for me and maybe it will be helpful for you. I am open to suggestions in the comment section!

Today, I want to tell you about my very own discovery for finding those pesky spots at the base of a bezel you are soldering--you know--the ones where the solder didn't flow or the bezel didn't touch the silver sheet properly. When I began soldering bezels, finding those spots was really hard for me--even tho' I had a lot of them on each bezel. At least it was really hard until I picked up a keychain that had an LED flashlight on the end and used it to light up the interior of the bezel. The blue LED light made the gaps easy to see.

First, clean the bezel by placing it in the warm  pickle.  Then rinse and let dry.  Check the bezel seam with the LED searching for any gaps in the solder.

Gap in Bezel Solder Identified With Led 

Mark the ends of the gap in the solder with a Sharpie.

Gap ID'd With LED and Marked With Sharpie

With the gap in the soldered seam identified, you can strategically place flux and snippets of solder for a quick and efficient cleanup of the bezel seam.

Here's a closeup of my handy, dandy LED flashlight keychain. You can see it's well used and most of that use was not on a keychain. Mine has a blue light and I like to think it's better than a white light!

Keychain LED Light For Checking Bezel Seam

I hope this helps!