The Shop > Metal Stuff
SOLDERING BRASS
HS93:
you can also place it on a heavey steel plate and just put it on top of the gas ring same efect as long as you dont have direct heat to move parts and you dont get the discolourathion just use very small amounts of solder and keep it sealed as it goes off.
Peter
Jasonb:
As the book is American then the term "silver solder" is more likely to be low melting point plumbers soft solder which is silver in colour. They would have said " silver braze" or "hardsolder" if they were talking off what we term silversolder. In which case tin the back of the numbers and sweat them onto the clock face.
Comsol is somewhere between the two, harder but lower melting point at 305 deg C
The one thing with teh soft solder paste is it does have quite a corrosive flux, any trapped under the numbers could leach out over time and discolour the clockface
Jason
PTsideshow:
--- Quote from: Jasonb on June 13, 2011, 10:51:26 AM ---As the book is American then the term "silver solder" is more likely to be low melting point plumbers soft solder which is silver in colour. They would have said " silver braze" or "hardsolder" if they were talking off what we term silversolder.
Jason
--- End quote ---
Don't know were you have come up with that information. But in everything book or plans I have read silver solder means just that if they are referring to soft solder or plumbing solder they say that. Or they use hard solder, in jewelry there are 4 general terms used to describe silver solders.
Extra-easy 690°C 1274°F
Easy 715° 1319°
Medium 735° 1355°
Hard 750° 1382°
soft solder for brass is generally an alloy of 66% tin/34% lead
hard solders made for soft brass is 78% zinc/22%copper
hard brass is 55% zinc/45%copper
So most any plumbing solder or the Tix low temp sold work, as been stated go lightly on the fluxes and clean the brass up very well and then don't touch the surface as to transfer any skin oils.
allanchrister:
Thanks for all the responses, and the ideas.
It seems like there is a cupalloy material that would work as it has a melting point of 145C - called, strangely enough, LT145. I'll call them tomorrow and find out of they will send a couple of metres to Germany tomorrow. Can't use the paste and put it in the oven, as the numbers have to be put in the dial rings in pairs, and each pair centres the inner dial ring as you go. I have some of the solder paste in any case, and that has a high melting point as well, although that was silver bearing, it had a high melting point. I guess that silver soldering/brazing delicate brass calls for diffferent skills and experience than silver soldering steel.
Funnily enough, I chatted with Ian Cobb about the issue, and he recommended electronics solder, which seems like an anethema to me. He said the 'old' clock builders would have used any material they could get their hands on with no worries about 'correctness' and he said that, at a pinch, araldite would do, and the old clock builders would have loved that........
There is a little strain on the outer ring as it is supported by the numbers and the inner ring is attached to the main plates of the clock. Handling and general working with it over the lifetime of the build could have consequences, especially if the numbers had been annealed from over heating - 0.5mm don't forget.
Let me try the LT145 and I'll let you all know how I get on to expand our joint experience of this soldering/brazing exercise.
Thanks for the great responses,
Allan
HS93:
have a look at this they have 70deg solder I think http://www.chronos.ltd.uk/acatalog/Engineering_Menu_Carrs_Solders___Fluxes___etc_346.html
https://sslrelay.com/www.s116360366.oneandoneshop.co.uk/sess/utn;jsessionid=154df67deed4dd6/shopdata/0100_Carrs+Products/product_overview.shopscript
peter
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