I want to make handrails for the stairs on my deck
out of 1 1/2 inch Cu pipe. The problem is I cannot
find reasonably priced flanges.

My thought is to cut 3" dia circles out of 0.125 Cu
plate and solder end caps to them.

Will these be strong enough for the application?
Any suggestions on where to find the Cu plate?

Art

Wood Butcher wrote:
I want to make handrails for the stairs on my deck
out of 1 1/2 inch Cu pipe. The problem is I cannot
find reasonably priced flanges.

My thought is to cut 3" dia circles out of 0.125 Cu
plate and solder end caps to them.

Will these be strong enough for the application?
Any suggestions on where to find the Cu plate?

*disclaimer* I am not qualified to give you
an authoratative answer on a safety-critical
issue like this.....

If it were me, I'd be more concerned about the
solder joint than the copper plate. I'd bolt
the plate to the end cap internally and hard-
solder.

Jim Stewart wrote:
Wood Butcher wrote:

I want to make handrails for the stairs on my deck
out of 1 1/2 inch Cu pipe. The problem is I cannot
find reasonably priced flanges.

My thought is to cut 3" dia circles out of 0.125 Cu
plate and solder end caps to them.

Will these be strong enough for the application?
Any suggestions on where to find the Cu plate?


*disclaimer* I am not qualified to give you
an authoratative answer on a safety-critical
issue like this.....

If it were me, I'd be more concerned about the
solder joint than the copper plate. I'd bolt
the plate to the end cap internally and hard-
solder.

That solder is going to be really ugly, have you considered phosphorous
bronze? Good color match, much stronger and tougher joint too.

That solder is going to be really ugly, have you considered phosphorous
bronze? Good color match, much stronger and tougher joint too.

Try a plumbing wholesaler.. 1-1/2" Cu Male adapter and an inch and a
half Brass Floor Flange.
Flanges aren't all that square, but chuck 'em up in the lathe with the
male adaper soldered on and you can come very close....

Bill in Phx

Hope your deck is not to high off the ground.

Copper tube is going to be far to weak to use as a railing and the heat of
soldering is going to weaken it even more. Hard drawn copper has a yield
stregth somewhere around 10,000 PSI compared to mild steel at 36,000 PSI.
and the Young's Modulus is less than half.
If someone falls against it it stands a good chance of collapsing.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

"Wood Butcher" wrote in message
...
I want to make handrails for the stairs on my deck
out of 1 1/2 inch Cu pipe. The problem is I cannot
find reasonably priced flanges.

My thought is to cut 3" dia circles out of 0.125 Cu
plate and solder end caps to them.

Will these be strong enough for the application?
Any suggestions on where to find the Cu plate?

Art

One of the nearby houses has copper pipe for a railing, but I understand
that there is steel pipe inside, with the copper pipe only a sleeve for
appearance. Not sure you can do this with a handrail, since it cannot
rotate, and it might feel loose and strange.

Richard


Wood Butcher wrote:
I want to make handrails for the stairs on my deck
out of 1 1/2 inch Cu pipe. The problem is I cannot
find reasonably priced flanges.

My thought is to cut 3" dia circles out of 0.125 Cu
plate and solder end caps to them.

Will these be strong enough for the application?
Any suggestions on where to find the Cu plate?

Art

A couple of blind rivets or a pin will stop the rolling.

Thanks for all the replies.
The bolt idea sounds like a good one and I'll check out
floor flanges.
I'm not familiar with phosphorous bronze. I assume this
is a brazing process and not a soldering one? Does this
require an OA torch or is a mapp torch adequate?

This project is just a handrail, not the safety rail, and
will be supported every 4' by a 4x4 post. If somebody
fell against it they'd have to go thru both rails.

Art

Wood Butcher wrote:
Thanks for all the replies.
The bolt idea sounds like a good one and I'll check out
floor flanges.
I'm not familiar with phosphorous bronze. I assume this
is a brazing process and not a soldering one? Does this
require an OA torch or is a mapp torch adequate?

This project is just a handrail, not the safety rail, and
will be supported every 4' by a 4x4 post. If somebody
fell against it they'd have to go thru both rails.

Art


I'm pretty sure you'd need OA, at a guess you need about 1000F. Very
much, in my opinion, the best way to go with something like this.

John

A hard solder commonly used on copper is Silphos. It is mostly copper,
but with a little silver and phosphorus. Plain propane is hot enough,
but with the size of your part you will either have to figure out a way
to keep the heat from escaping or use multiple torches ( or both ).
If I were doing it, I would use some insulating firebrick to surround
the part and a couple of propane torches. I prefer the rods with 15%
silver over the ones with 5% silver. The Silphos should be available
at any welding outlet and probably at a plumbing supply house.

Get some and try it out on some scraps of copper.

As for where to get copper...........in Seattle try Alaskan Copper and
Brass.


Dan

wrote in message
oups.com...
A hard solder commonly used on copper is Silphos. It is mostly copper,
but with a little silver and phosphorus. Plain propane is hot enough,
but with the size of your part you will either have to figure out a way
to keep the heat from escaping or use multiple torches ( or both ).
If I were doing it, I would use some insulating firebrick to surround
the part and a couple of propane torches. I prefer the rods with 15%
silver over the ones with 5% silver. The Silphos should be available
at any welding outlet and probably at a plumbing supply house.

Get some and try it out on some scraps of copper.

As for where to get copper...........in Seattle try Alaskan Copper and
Brass.


Dan

Any welding supply shop will have it.

Lane

Sil-phos is the standard refrigeration repair, any commercial plumbing
supply will have it. Works well with MAPP gas torches.

wrote:
A hard solder commonly used on copper is Silphos. It is mostly copper,
but with a little silver and phosphorus. Plain propane is hot enough,
but with the size of your part you will either have to figure out a way
to keep the heat from escaping or use multiple torches ( or both ).
If I were doing it, I would use some insulating firebrick to surround
the part and a couple of propane torches. I prefer the rods with 15%
silver over the ones with 5% silver. The Silphos should be available
at any welding outlet and probably at a plumbing supply house.

Get some and try it out on some scraps of copper.

As for where to get copper...........in Seattle try Alaskan Copper and
Brass.


Dan