Just wondering if anybody on the forum knows if there is such thing as a “craft welder” ie something small, inexpensive and easy to use, that can bond steel or more importantly brass. even like a decent glue.
WHY?
I make smallish sculptures and often use thin brass tubes. i would like to bond them somehow.
what about a soldering iron would that work?
had a look on the net but i dont even know what to type into google
any help would be greatly appreciated.
what about a hand held blow torch thingy. also good for your ice pipe shortsie
the tubing i use is 2-4mm max
a blow torch is good but what am i blowtorching? solder maybe?
yeah find a solder that will bond to Brass and melt it with blow torch, google will be your friend for finding a solder/flux
So a blowtorch, Solder
whats flux?
Flux is a paste shit that is used to control where solder flows
if you can find a ‘boc gas and gear’ they will probably help you,
by help i mean sell you the most expensive way to do it
https://boc.com.au/irj/portal/anonymous?guest_user=australia
thats exactly what i dont want
just wanna keep it real simple
BTW Aeon Flux is the shittest most overated cartoon ever. i used to watch that shit on liquid television
ask oui-oui-skid, he’s a plumber and had something to say on here a few weeks back about blowtorches. probably bunnings / supercheap for low, low prices
Thanks all for your suggestions, i know know what to type into google.
It’s a paste/powder or core/sheath of your filler that acts as a wetting agent and prevents oxidation of the metal when you’re heating it and assists in removal of contaminants after.
For simple brazing (soldering generally refers to lower temperature (<450ºC) joining eg: Pb-Sn filler alloy, ~200ºC melting point, low strength), you could use a MAPP torch (hardware store) with a brass filler easily enough. A propane torch may even do the trick depending on the filler you use.
One of the geeks that worked here a few years ago used to make tiny little helicopters that flew*. Very fine metal tubes were used a lot. He used to use a tiny little butane blowtorch for brazing and soldering. It was about the size of a CO2 inflator and it produced a very fine pointy flame.
*Edit: He is in the Army now, flying much bigger helicopters.
Blakey:
I only understood maybe a 1/4 of what you wrote, but in that quarter am i to understand that Soldering is lower stregnth? and i should get a MAPP torch and some Filler?
and CC
hmm maybe i’ll try a hobby shop eh.
thanks.
You can build a bike frame with a MAPP torch (da_frog has one and repaired his Van Werkhoven with it). Probably overkill for your needs.
If you’re only making non-structural items, you may get away with lead-tin solder, silver soldering is between Pb-Sn & brass in terms of melting point so would be easier to use with a basic propane / butane torch. It does need closer tolerances on your joints though.
The cheapest route would be to get a pencil butane/propane torch and some flux cored lead-tin solder, then test join some tubing and see how much force it takes to break the joint afterwards.
Try Jaycar / Dick Smith also for torches / solder.
this video has the answer you seek
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxXrw1hENb8
he even solders small tubes
awesome thanks everyone, much appreciated
If you just want to bond with adhesive, try ‘devcon’ from hardware store.
Also speak to a jeweller as they solder rather small things most of the time. They could advise on what torch to use.
I know heaps of Jewellers!!!
i’ll ask them too.