Melting Brass Furels with Acetylene Torch

[Ron Hicks]

Maybe someone might help me
I have an acetylene torch trin to braze & dont know what Im doing .

I have some sheet brass about as thick as a dime.
I cut strips - bent round and braze to make a furel.
The rod I have bought a few years back has a white flux on the outside
and is about the same thickness as the brass In trin to braze.

I got lucky and braze the 2 strips into rings - worked them over with a hammer
over a big punch I have.
The bigger one I made was going to be a but cap I had welded some quarters together
scribed around the inside of the bigger ring and filed it down to fit the inside big the ring.

As I was heating it up and started to get red I just glance away and it was to late melted the side of the ring.

This acetylene is hot stuff I think the tip has a 5 on it-
I had a easy soft flame the blue cone was maybe 1 1/2 long
The acetylene torch is a Harris

Any Help would be GREAT
Thanks Ron

[Tai Google]

It's hard to tell from what you've said, but here's something about soldering brass with silver solder. Silver solder is an alloy of brass and silver. The brass lowers the melting point of the silver. When you try and silver solder brass, the silver solder can go into an alloy with the brass and melt down. If you must silver solder brass use low temp., easy flow solder and avoid over heating.

[Phillip Jones]

Steer clear of using acetylene when soldering.
It gets too hot.
I just use a simple plumbers torch with a propane canister. It gives me much more control when using the high temperature silver solder.

[Tai Google]

I see what Philip is saying, but...

Yes, the acetylene does have the potential to burn way too hot ,but it's just a matter of adjusting the flame. Try less oxygen,... and less gas. You can get the heat you need with a less oxidizing flame. I've used acetylene for jewelry work for over 30 years and actually prefer it to propane or natural gas. In the long run it is much more versatile and flexible than most people think. It's good for soldering and lots of other stuff like alloying, casting, reticulation, and welding to name a few. It gives you much more control in the long run,... but may take more practice to become proficient with.

[Tai Google]

Nickel silver, sterling or fine silver, and copper are much easier to solder than brass. I'd lose the brass. I don't like working/smithing with brass. I just scraped out a boat load of it I bought eons ago. Brass lends itself better to machining.

For heat you can always try a pan a charcoal and a blow pipe,? piece of cake for a simple butt seam!

[Ron Hicks]

[Ron Hicks]

I did not know enough about what I was doing to be asking ?
Might help If I learned to set my torch first
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxyacetylene
http://64.78.42.182/sweethaven/BldgC...Num=4&modNum=1
I found this on brazing
http://www.handyharmancanada.com/The...Book/bbook.htm

Loads of stuff here
http://www.fullbooks.com/Oxy-Acetyle...-Cutting1.html



I did not have a clue what I was doin .

Ron

[Ron Hicks]

I read up on brazing and it help

I wasnt siliver brazing but brazing with brass filler rod on brass
My guages were set worng and after playin with the flame finaly
started having some luck. Fire Brick helps really heats it up
Got long way to go , I need to get some rod and flux .
Trin to weld a bit also .
If I keep at it Ill learn
Thanks
Ron

[Tai Google]

Here's some basic info on high temp silver soldering.
http://ajh-knives.com/soldering.html

[Tai Google]

It might be a little confusing at first, because the high temp silver solders come in, low, medium and high grade, ( hard, med., soft, and easy) but they are all considered high temp. They are alloys of silver and brass, ( or silver+ copper and zinc).

You want to get the silver solder from a jewelry supplier, and some silver brazing flux. The solder comes in wire or sheet. You can also use borax mixed with water as a silver brazing flux, but the premixed paste works best.

[Ron Hicks]

Thanks for the info.
Whats is Pickle ? Pickle removes fire scale, flux, ochre, and other gunk.

Is it hard to get a neat weld with the torch - no rod ?


Thanks
Ron

[Tai Google]

Pickle is an acid/water solution. It comes dry and you mix it with water. You add the acid to the water. You can buy the pickle for non ferrous metals at the jewelry supplier also. It also works good for removing scale from steel, but never use the same solution for both steel and non ferrous. Make a separate batch for each.

It's not hard to get a neat seem, but some clean up is to be expected. I buy sheet, cut small pieces off, flux them and melt them into tiny spheres. They will stick to the preheated flux at the seam. You can pick they up by melting a little flux on the end of a soldering pick and touching it to the solder. Then heat the seam above the temp of the pick and they will stick to the seam. You can use wire solder like a rod, but it?s not as well controlled.

Silver soldering is one of those things that?s real hard to explain just with words?

[Ron Hicks]

Thanks for all the info
Ill keep at it
Ron

[Shakudo]

non ferrous metal pickle............availible at your local swimming pool supply store or Walmart,etc. it is sodium bisulfate and used as a PH equalizer, a couple tablespoons dissolved in water(cheap non metal crock pot) is a good working container.

[Ron Hicks]

Ive been looking at jewelry making supplies
Not sure where or what I should buy to get started Silver Brazing
working with NS

Could you give me some advise
Ill end up getting things I dont need
Thanks Ron