Silver soldering.........

[mofosheee]

Using silver filler rod is still brazing, not soldering, if you use silver brazing filler. I use 40% silver if the gaps are a bit bigger and 56% for tighter fitups.

Thank you for that!

 

[mofosheee]

Yes. Brass is not as easy as hard solder in terms of wicking, so heat control matters more. Heat past the joint on the sleeve side, leaving the joint slightly cooler, and the braze will draw itself in.

I've had good success with TIG brazing but I don't like the look or the amount of heat applied and the resulting distortion of parts.

Experimented with both 56% silver solder then ox/acetelyne with brazing rod. 56% SS "flows" much better/easier and looks great.
Although a snug fit exists, (slip joint pipe) I'm unsure about the existing joint clearance and am hoping/looking for that desired 0.002 to 0.005 fitment for strength of the joint............ which is pushing me towards brazing (if I ever get the hang of it)

The wicking of rod with ox/acetylene worked (although not pretty) due to my poor technique and inexperience.

 

[pontiac428]

I've had good success with TIG brazing but I don't like the look or the amount of heat applied and the resulting distortion of parts.

Experimented with both 56% silver solder then ox/acetelyne with brazing rod. 56% SS "flows" much better/easier and looks great.
Although a snug fit exists, (slip joint pipe) I'm unsure about the existing joint clearance and am hoping/looking for that desired 0.002 to 0.005 fitment for strength of the joint............ which is pushing me towards brazing (if I ever get the hang of it)

The wicking of rod with ox/acetylene worked (although not pretty) due to my poor technique and inexperience.

The flow temp isn't necessarily proportional to strength. Hard silver solder is strong as heck and flows like a wet dream, but it costs a lot and you might have to launder your pants afterwards. Braze is accessible, cheap, and strong, but the cleanup isn't always a fun time because of the excess required to fill and fuse wicked joints. Pb-Ag hard solder overburden tends to roll off or bead tight to the joint due to the flow properties that make it such a good wicking filler, making it an easy cleanup. That's especially worth considering if the job involves riffler files to cut back residual filler. Silicon bronze is a wonder material and has the added benefit of cladding but you gotta get comfortable with it before trying any fine work. I'm okay with people calling silver "brazing", but it is technically hard soldering. The difference between soft solder, hard solder, and braze is the flow temp. Silicon bronze is a high temp braze, but still a braze. It doesn't become a weld until the base metal melts and fuses with the filler. Anyway, glad you got some practice in.

I attached some stuff below from my library for those who are curious.

 

[bulgie]

I'm okay with people calling silver "brazing", but it is technically hard soldering.

I'm OK with people calling silver brazing "hard soldering", but in most industries it's called silver brazing. That's also the definition used by the American Welding Society as well as Lucas-Milhaupt, Harris etc. It is definitely brazing, by any definition I have ever heard. I prefer not to call it "hard soldering" because that's a different category of fillers in my book, lower temperature than brazing. But I concede that the terms are widely used as interchangeable. We'll allow either, with the one thing that's absolutely wrong is saying it's not brazing.

Over 40 years of brazing experience, over 20 years doing it as a main part of my day job, quite a bit of it with silver. Never did any silver soldering though, it was all brazing.