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[email protected] November 2nd 05 09:27 PM

Welding Thin Copper
 
Hi. I am wanting to get into welding, and I have a question for those
who may know. What kind of welder would be used to make a vent like
this http://oldworlddistributors.com/pix_...ryer_vent.html.
Thanks


zxcvbob November 2nd 05 09:32 PM

Welding Thin Copper
 
wrote:

Hi. I am wanting to get into welding, and I have a question for those
who may know. What kind of welder would be used to make a vent like
this
http://oldworlddistributors.com/pix_...ryer_vent.html.
Thanks



It wouldn't be welded. It would be soldered. Or maybe brazed.

Bob

[email protected] November 2nd 05 09:41 PM

Welding Thin Copper
 
How do they solder or braze that without ruining the copper?


Edwin Pawlowski November 2nd 05 09:44 PM

Welding Thin Copper
 

wrote in message
oups.com...
How do they solder or braze that without ruining the copper?



Practice, practice, practice. Just the right amount of heat and the right
amount of solder and the right touch. It is an art



ChrisGW November 2nd 05 09:45 PM

Welding Thin Copper
 
wrote:
Hi. I am wanting to get into welding, and I have a question for those
who may know. What kind of welder would be used to make a vent like
this
http://oldworlddistributors.com/pix_...ryer_vent.html.
Thanks

That is soldered not welded.

ChrisGW


[email protected] November 2nd 05 09:46 PM

Welding Thin Copper
 
Would one have to use a flux ? Also, What is the best kind of
reasonably priced torch for this work? Thanks


Bob November 2nd 05 10:08 PM

Welding Thin Copper
 

wrote in message
ups.com...
Would one have to use a flux ? Also, What is the best kind

of
reasonably priced torch for this work? Thanks


You would use flux. You might want an iron rather than a
torch.

Bob



Edwin Pawlowski November 3rd 05 12:12 AM

Welding Thin Copper
 
wrote in message

Would one have to use a flux ? Also, What is the best kind of
reasonably priced torch for this work? Thanks


Always use flux. No torch, but a big iron. The mass of the iron helps to
heat a larger surface.



PipeDown November 3rd 05 12:16 AM

Welding Thin Copper
 
A 100W soldering iron with a very large tip. These are also used to melt
lead caning for stained glass windows. You could also probably do it with a
lot of other smaller irons but that is a big chunk of copper to get hot in a
small area. It may be called a "Hobby soldering iron" as opposed to one for
electronic use.

The flux depends somewhat on the solder. Rolls of solder for electrical
come with flux inside but lead free solder for plumbing has its own paste
flux on the same shelf at the store. In general you can always use resin
flux (RMA) but it is alcohol based and harder to clean up. There is also
water based fluxes that are easy to clean and will discolor the copper less
(not acidic).

Copper is soft enough to bend over the edge of a counter but for really
clean creases and sharp angles, you will also need a sheetmetal brake. Much
can be done to flatten out mistakes with the right shaped hammers as well
(broad flat face and/or a ball peen hammer).

Now if you wanted to make that out of steel you would do best with a spot
welder since an arc welder would punch through thin sheet metal. An expert
might be able to pull it off with a MIG.




"Bob" wrote in message
. ..

wrote in message
ups.com...
Would one have to use a flux ? Also, What is the best kind

of
reasonably priced torch for this work? Thanks


You would use flux. You might want an iron rather than a
torch.

Bob





PipeDown November 3rd 05 12:18 AM

Welding Thin Copper
 
One more point. Lead free solder melts at a higher temp but since you will
not be drinking water off a vent, it should be OK to use lead/tin solder


"PipeDown" wrote in message
ink.net...
A 100W soldering iron with a very large tip. These are also used to melt
lead caning for stained glass windows. You could also probably do it with
a lot of other smaller irons but that is a big chunk of copper to get hot
in a small area. It may be called a "Hobby soldering iron" as opposed to
one for electronic use.

The flux depends somewhat on the solder. Rolls of solder for electrical
come with flux inside but lead free solder for plumbing has its own paste
flux on the same shelf at the store. In general you can always use resin
flux (RMA) but it is alcohol based and harder to clean up. There is also
water based fluxes that are easy to clean and will discolor the copper
less (not acidic).

Copper is soft enough to bend over the edge of a counter but for really
clean creases and sharp angles, you will also need a sheetmetal brake.
Much can be done to flatten out mistakes with the right shaped hammers as
well (broad flat face and/or a ball peen hammer).

Now if you wanted to make that out of steel you would do best with a spot
welder since an arc welder would punch through thin sheet metal. An
expert might be able to pull it off with a MIG.




"Bob" wrote in message
. ..

wrote in message
ups.com...
Would one have to use a flux ? Also, What is the best kind

of
reasonably priced torch for this work? Thanks


You would use flux. You might want an iron rather than a
torch.

Bob







Rich November 3rd 05 12:33 AM

Welding Thin Copper
 

"ChrisGW" wrote in message
...
wrote:
Hi. I am wanting to get into welding, and I have a question for those
who may know. What kind of welder would be used to make a vent like
this
http://oldworlddistributors.com/pix_...ryer_vent.html.
Thanks

That is soldered not welded.

ChrisGW


It's also been scotch brited as you can see in the side view at the bottom
where the pivot comes through the scotch brite couldn't get to the area
above and below the pivot revealing that work was done to clean this up
after soldering. Were I work they have a brite dip that they use to remove
the flux residue and any oxidation that took place during the heating then
the brite dip is rinsed off with water.

Rich




mm November 3rd 05 02:14 AM

Welding Thin Copper
 
On 2 Nov 2005 13:41:33 -0800, wrote:

How do they solder or braze that without ruining the copper?


How would you weld it without ruining the copper?

The irons for this are quite big. Nothing they sell at Radio Shack or
electronics stores.

Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let
me know if you have posted also.

Chris Lewis November 3rd 05 04:55 AM

Welding Thin Copper
 
According to PipeDown :
A 100W soldering iron with a very large tip. These are also used to melt
lead caning for stained glass windows.


Uh, no. A soldering iron isn't hot enough to melt lead. You use ordinary
solder to join lead just as you do with copper.

It may be called a "Hobby soldering iron" as opposed to one for
electronic use.


These irons are usually for stained glass work. There are plumber's
irons, usually around 300W. Which you'll need will depend on the
copper sheet thickness and piece size.

There are also "soldering iron" attachments for standard propane torches.
If you buy a propane torch kit, it'll probably include one.

If you use a soldering iron (or a soldering iron attachment on a torch),
discoloring the copper sheet will be pretty minimal.
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

Joshua Putnam November 3rd 05 06:04 AM

Welding Thin Copper
 
In article .com,
says...
Hi. I am wanting to get into welding, and I have a question for those
who may know. What kind of welder would be used to make a vent like
this
http://oldworlddistributors.com/pix_...ryer_vent.html.

If I were doing that, if I wanted a good color match on the joints
I'd probably use self-fluxing copper brazing rod and a small
acetylene torch for good heat control. If the color match on the
joints wasn't important, plain old 60/40 solder and acid flux.

If you're doing thin copper with an oxy-acetylene torch you need to
be careful not to overheat it, but it's a lot faster than doing it
with an electric iron.

--
is Joshua Putnam
http://www.phred.org/~josh/
Braze your own bicycle frames. See
http://www.phred.org/~josh/build/build.html


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