who does silver soldering?

[Mitchg07261995]

I have a couple pieces of an engine that need silver soldered together, and more to follow when i am done making my stirling engine
does anyone know someone on this website or in colorado that can do this for me? I have no experience in this work and have not had any luck with the 4 different businesses that I just called in my local area thanks

 

[Swifty]

Maybe now is the time to learn. A Mapp torch and some silver solder and flux are all that is required. Probably some sort of hebel or heat proof brick is also an advantage. Try out on some scrap pieces first. It's no black art, just take your time. With a bit of practice you will be up and running in no time with another skill available to you. Saves waiting for others to do it for you.

Paul.

 

[Mitchg07261995]

thanks for the tip, i probably will learn it. Might come in handy in the future when I have a job. Ill look for the supplies when I get to the hardware store

 

[Mosey]

I just learned to silver solder 2 weeks ago. The secret for me was the right torch, the right flux, and watching the guy on UTube do it, to see the color of the metal when the correct temperature (pink). Anyone can do it.
Mosey

 

[Runner]

Learn to silver solder by all means. I had a need to undertake silver soldering of a large job that was beyond the capabilities of my propane torch. I found a shop that undertook repair and/or recore of car radiators that was willing to do the job. They had oxy/propane set up that did the job. The silver solder had to be 50% silver so to ensure that the correct silver solder was used I provided that also. Your silver soldering needs sound less onerus, there are many shops around most cities that repair radiators, give this a try.

Brian

 

[romartin]

Hi Mitch,
In my experience silver soldering is not a black art; at the most it's grey and worth learning. I don't do it very often and dont always get it right especially on bigger jobs. I have a propane torch and a small open oven to reflact heat back where it is useful.
Here is a link to a well known and very useful exposition of workshop techniques by Chris Heapy. I find the section on silver soldering very handy and reread it before doing any.
http://www.astronomiainumbria.org/a...ca/easyweb.easynet.co.uk/_chrish/techindx.htm
Good luck.

 

[Mainer]

You may have trouble finding decent silver solder locally, but www.brownells.com sells it, and the flux.

If you can soft solder successfully, you should be able to silver solder. Remember:
1. CLEAN surfaces
2. Proper gap (1-2 thou or so)
3. Proper flux
4. Enough heat -- propane or MAPP giving distributed heat, not localized like oxy-acetylene
5. Let the work melt the silver solder, and remember it will tend to flow toward the heat.

Simple!

 

[Mitchg07261995]

I went to Mcgucken hardware in boulder colorado yesterday, they did have silver solder but it was only 6% so I withheld, I need a higher percentage right?

 

[Tin Falcon]

Silver solder supplies should not be hard to find. Any local welding supply store or plumbing supply store should carry what you need.

Hardware stores and Home improvement stores possibly .
Tin

 

[Mainer]

The hardware store probably had lead-free soft solder with a little silver in it. Lead-bearing solder was banned a while ago for domestic plumbing and what you probably saw was its replacement. A welding supply place may carry what you want. You should be looking for something with a melting point somewhere in the neighborhood of 1200F and a silver content around 56 %.

 

[Mitchg07261995]

The hardware store probably had lead-free soft solder with a little silver in it. Lead-bearing solder was banned a while ago for domestic plumbing and what you probably saw was its replacement. A welding supply place may carry what you want. You should be looking for something with a melting point somewhere in the neighborhood of 1200F and a silver content around 56 %.

thanks Mainer, ill keep that in mind when i go to a plumbing or welding supply place

 

[Mosey]

Lowe's now has a full shelf of torches, solder, and everything you need for soldering, at EBay prices. It seems as though Bernzamatic has bought out the entire industry of soldering.
Ebay also has everything for silver soldering, including that jeweler's handbook, that makes it all doable.
M.

 

[GWRdriver]

Mainer mentions 56% silver solder, and that alloy will work fine, but it's a bit more silver than is necessary to do most work and you'll discover that by far the most commonly available alloy (for most of us) is 45% silver, and that alloy is good for almost anything having to do with model engineering. There really isn't a "standard" alloy to use but 45% (melts at 1250°-1300°F) would be the standard if there was one. Occasionally, especially in copper boiler building, because boilers are usually done in multiple heats, it's of some advantage to have silver solders which have different melting temperatures and some 56% (melts at 1200-1250°F) would come in handy. The actual melting temps of each solder, even among alloys of the same % of silver, will vary with the manufacturer's exact alloy.

In the past I have found some great deals on silver solder on eBay but I'm not sure there are any more deals to be had there, at least I haven't come across one lately.

 

[Ryker Carruthers]

Dad being a plumber has crammed all of this into my head, For anything we do 6% is plenty of strength (that is 6% silver) But, if you have a steel to steel, or copper or brass to steel you MUST use 45%. As for boilers it doesnt need to be 45% but it should be higher than 6%. 45% is quite expensive last time I checked. And another problem people have is trying to heat the work to fast. Go slow and make sure the majority of the heat is on the heavy part.

Ryker Carruthers

 

[Mitchg07261995]

thanks Ryker, it looks like i will have a stainless to copper connection, copper to brass, and brass to brass to silver solder
Ill get the 45%