On 5/5/2010 7:51 PM, Bill wrote:
"Morris wrote in message
...

Next up: learning to braze with an oxy-acetylene torch...

Much like soldering. Distribute the heat where it needs go and the (fluxxed)
braze will flow nicely Don't tough the tip to the work! ; )
In my (limited) experience, the faster you get it done, within reason, the
better it will look. Incidentally, in one related experiment I did, I
noticed the heat caused the the garage floor to disintegrate. That happened
30 years ago, but I suspect garage floors haven't changed that much!
Probably you already know all this, but I enjoyed writing about it. Have
fun!

I've watched a number of YouTube videos, and it does look much like
soldering. My plan was to hold the long tube vertical in my vise and
braze the brass fitting into place - then, before it could cool, stack
on the short tube and braze that to the top of the brass fitting. Then,
after everything had cooled to room temperature, add the cap to the top
of the short tube and braze that in place.

Actually, I hardly know anything at all about what I'm doing - and AFAIK
no one has ever built a pump engine like this before. It's a great
adventure. If it works as expected, the next version will be solar
powered with an operating temperature ~1000°F.

The shop floor will remain safe for a little while longer.

Thanks for the speed advice - and for the warning about concrete!

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/