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Posted to uk.d-i-y
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Bull**** detector: claimed welding experience
The Other Mike wrote:
On Mon, 14 Jul 2014 09:05:37 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
I was talking to a friend of a friend in a pub and he claimed that when he left school, he did an apprenticeship as a welder and that he worked as one for several years. Okay, no problem.
The chap then told of high times and much money made when welding using solid silver rods. He said that when the rods were spent, he and co workers would pocket the stub ends for selling as silver scrap. Most of the prior conversation concerned arc welding, so I assume that is the flavour of work he was referring to.
Silver solder is commonly around 60 - 75% Silver and rarely ever higher. Items
that subsequently require hallmarking need to be 65% or higher. The higher the
silver content the better the colour match but joint gaps should be thin enough
to be near invisible anyway.
The silver solder that plumbers use for copper pipe is usually only 2%
silver
A competent welder makes enough money such that buggering about flogging scrap
rod is pointless.
Later, he elaborated on the extent of his welding skills by claiming that he could weld aluminium foil.
That is possible with tig welding *if* you are very good
Both of the above strike me as bull****, especially in the context of industrial applications, being the claimed field of expertise. I could perhaps imagine some fancy jewelers being able to do something along the lines of what was claimed.
So, was this all clearly bull****, or could there be a grain of truth somewhere?
If he claims he was a welder a good check is to see if he has a daughter and no
sons (a standard test that is quite accurate)
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