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| Metalworking (rec.crafts.metalworking) Discuss various aspects of working with metal, such as machining, welding, metal joining, screwing, casting, hardening/tempering, blacksmithing/forging, spinning and hammer work, sheet metal work. |
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beginner's questions about soldering
"Dave" wrote in message
om... "Ed Huntress" wrote in message v.net... "Dave" wrote in message om... (Ted Shoemaker) wrote in message . com... Hello, I have some basic questions about soldering. If I want to make a small art project with common metals (steel, copper, aluminum, etc.), what do I need to know about soldering? [...] My experience is with soldering for electronics, but I think I can safely tell you that steel cannot be soldered and aluminum is very difficult to solder. Hopefully you only want to attach these metals to themselves and not to each other. What you might want to look into is MIG welding. After copper and brass, steel is one of the easiest metals to solder, Dave. Ed Huntress I'm not convinced. I think you guys may be confusing soldering to zinc with soldering to steel, but I'll admit I don't know much about it. Here's a quote from Kester's flux pages: ========================== For soldering aluminum to copper, to aluminum, and to stainless steel. The chemistry of Kester #2600 Aluminum Flux activates on metal surfaces at 350-550°F. Excellent for aluminum to copper soldering when used with a 91% tin / 9% zinc alloy, 390°F m.p. Kester Part # Description Packaging 63-0000-2600 #2600 Aluminum Flux 4 L / 1 Gal Jug #2600 Aluminum Flux 20 L / 5 Gal Jug #2600 Aluminum Flux 200 L / 53 Gal Drum Steel and Stainless Steel Torch Soldering #715 For soldering copper, nickel, and most mild steel torch soldering applications such as in plumbing. #817 For efficient soldering of nickel-chrome and stainless steel with a soldering torch or iron. ============================== Tinsmiths have been soldering steel and iron for at least 100 years using zinc-chloride fluxes. That's what body repairmen used to use (a few still do) for solder-filling of auto body panels -- plain, low carbon steel. The "lead" filler used in premium car restoration work actually is a lead/tin solder that's far from the eutectoid alloy percentages, which makes it pasty so it can be spread with a paddle. You "tin" the body steel first using the same solder. It wets beautifully if you have your technique down pat. Active fluxes such as hydrochloric acid and zinc chloride are not common items in hardware stores today, and a lot has been forgotten about soldering among many metalworkers. But the range of metals you can solder covers almost everything we use, if you know how to do it. The information is still available. You just have to go looking for it. BTW, in my first metalshop class, in 6th grade, we had to make our own zinc-chloride flux and sweat-solder a "tin" cup (plain carbon steel, although a few lucky guys got to use tinplate -- they ran out before my project came up, and I had to use plain oiled steel sheet), so that it didn't leak water. Oh, and we used soldering coppers that you heated in an oven. No electric soldering irons were allowed. Yes, that was a very long time ago. g Ed Huntress |
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