On Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:35:12 GMT, "Doobielicious"
wrote:

I just tried to solder a 1/2 inch copper coupling to a 1/2 inch piece of
pipe. I put soldering paste inside the coupling, gave the 1/2 pipe a good
going over with a file (i didn't have sandpaper) and also put soldering
paste on the 1/2 inch pipe. I inserted the pipe inside the coupling, and
heated the couplign up with a torch. I tried to put solder on the end of
the coupling and the pipe, but the solder didn't go around the coupling to
form a seal. In fact the solder made a complete mess adn I ended up with
clumps of solder in one spot.

What the heck am I doing wrong?


I'm trying to imagine cleaning a round pipe with a file. Wouldn't
that put a flat spot on it? Get some sandpaper and steel wool and
remove the oxidation.