All Things Metal Clay
An Expert Guide to Making & Selling Jewelry

Part II
by Tamra Gentry

The SolderPure for Soldering Fumes

I ended up purchasing a second system, the SolderPure, for soldering. The SolderPure is manufactured by Quatro Air Technologies, and has a three-stage carbon filter designed to capture both particles as well as “toxic and nuisance gases.”

There is no way that my Van-I-Vac can cover both my bench and soldering station given the way my studio is arranged. Perhaps I could have purchased the dual-station Van-I-Vac Voyager, but the limited intake mounting options would have made for an awkward arrangement at my soldering station.

I like the way the flexible intake hose can be mounted directly above the spot on my station where I actually solder. I keep the large, clear plastic collar at the end of the hose directly between me and the fume source.

I purchased mine from Rio Grande for a little over $1000. As with the Van-I-Vac, when to change the filter depends on usage; however, filters should be changed at least once yearly.

Click here to visit the Quatro Air site.

Did I Really Need Two Systems?

When I initially considered these purchases, the two most important factors I took into consideration were my own health as an asthmatic, and the health of my unborn child should I ever become pregnant.

One system may be fine for most, but I chose two, and I feel better knowing that I have the two different systems to handle two different jobs for me. I also liked the ease with which I could recover my metal dust through the Van-I-Vac.

The only drawback is that though they both claim to be “extremely” quiet, they are not. Otherwise, I would very highly recommend either product to people considering purchasing them.

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Thanks for the guest blog post Tamra!

~Elaine

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