Tooling up for silver soldering

D

dbb-the-bruce

Dave
H-M Lifetime Diamond Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2019
Messages
502
I'm in the process of developing skills and experience with the goal of building mechanical constructions (think boxes).

Being able to assemble things using silver solder is going to be a requirement and is a capability I want to add to my repertoire. I've done a lot of soldering of copper pipe (dad was a plumber!), I don't expect the actual skill to be that hard to master.

The advice I'm looking for here is what do I need? Please help me buy tools!

Torch - I've managed to get by with MAP or Propane in a small can. I think I'd do best with a small acetylene torch kit. I'm not going to be doing huge stuff.
Solder - looking for silver solder with brass color, different hardness sizes etc? where and what?
Flux - ?

Please keep in mind that the intent is to be able to assemble sheet brass into small boxes. working with 1/16" or 1/8" thickness. Boxes 4 - 6" dimensions at the most.

I imagine a sort of "hot" table / top - some fire bricks? and any number of clamps and holders etc.

-Dave
 
What material are the boxes going to be made of? How are you making them? lap joints? butt joint? How much strength do you need? If you don't need much strength soft soldering might be the best way to go, certainly much easier in my opinion.
 
You need a torch, flux and silver solder. Nothing more. Make sure your part is clean before starting.
 
As to which of the many alloys of silver solder to use, that will depend on your joint design and fit up. For the brass color you may want to consider brazing the joints. Brazing rod is closer to the color of brass, will fill a less than perfect fit, and is a LOT less money than silver solder.
 
Last edited:
I've never had good luck hard soldering with propane or MAPP. Those might work great for sheet brass, though. They're not quite hot enough (from the torch with no refractory) to flow right, but usually I'm working with larger stuff like rifle bolts.

If you go the oxy/acetylene route, try brazing. Modern, premium-line brazing rod has fabulous flux, beats the hell out of using borax. That'll get you your color match at hard solder temperatures. Some silver solder looks bronze-colored, but it melts silver. Usually you only need 1-2% silver to make solder alloys flow. Depending on your application, you could also use silver-bearing soft solder too. Most people choose hard solder for strength.
 
Is there any middle ground for a torch? I, too, would like to learn brazing or silver soldering but oxy-actylene seems like overkill for the few times I'm likely to use it. I literally have no idea--is there anything hotter than propane but less 'fuss' than oxy-actylene?

Link to specific products would be gratefully received.

Craig
 
Depending on the size of your items, a “corner” made out of 4 to 6 fire bricks can really make a difference. I’ve silver soldered tool bits and hard soldered repairs using this and an ordinary Bernzomatic propane torch. You’ll be limited to about 1/2” diameter though — in other words, you could braze a piece of carbide or high speed steel onto a piece of 1/2” mild steel to make a boring bar — but after that you’ll not be putting out enough heat. Using two torches side by side would help with that though.

-frank
 
Henry James has a website that sells wire matched to paste flux. These two products are designed to work together. When the flux becomes clear, you can add the wire. I use Henry James bronze rod and the matching paste flux.

Oxyacteylene is not a fuss, in my opinion. I use Victor products, and they are superb. I have a medium as well as HD combination torch. I have 000, 00, 0, 1, 3 and 5 tips.

I have tried the cheap import tips, and they are awful. Victor tips are a little pricy, but they work perfectly.
 
they sell nice small sets of oxy/actylene sets and work just right for silver soldering. you can also braze if you have a need to.---I don't know the material you will use for your boxes, but the torch will heat metal quickly to make a sharp bend ---you can silver solder a broken bandsaw blade or make a new one which I do quite often---many worthwhile uses for a small torch set--you may even need it to cut a piece of metal quickly.--Dave
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top