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Welding brass
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Stophel
75 Cal.
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It can be silver soldered back together. And by "silver solder" I mean silver solder. NOT that tin solder with a tiny amount of silver in it. :wink:
Now, if it's a sand casting that appears to be almost crumbling apart, you could solder it together, but it would likely come apart somewhere else. Just a bad casting.
Now, if it's a sand casting that appears to be almost crumbling apart, you could solder it together, but it would likely come apart somewhere else. Just a bad casting.
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What Stophel said. However, there is a yellow solder or braze that supposedly make a near invisible joint, but you would need to ask another member here who has used it. Ask Jerry Huddleston about it.
galamb
58 Cal.
Is it actually brass (such as supplied by Reeves) or is it the cast bronze sold by Track, MBS etc
If it's the latter - cast bronze, I have never found an effective way of putting it back together when it snaps.
Got a "box" of broken guards waiting for a solution :grin:
If it's the latter - cast bronze, I have never found an effective way of putting it back together when it snaps.
Got a "box" of broken guards waiting for a solution :grin:
Col. Batguano
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I drilled a butt plate screw hole in the wrong location once and just brazed it till it was filled. I must have used 2 whole sticks, and it resulted in a glob of brass on the underside that needed to be ground off, but the hole filled nicely. If you try the same thing with edges if thinner parts you will probably melt of the sharp edges and really have to slobber on the brass to get enough material to be able to grind it back to the original shape.
My suggestion is to simply order another replacement part if the time delay is not too egregious, and use the original busted part to practice your brazing with.
My suggestion is to simply order another replacement part if the time delay is not too egregious, and use the original busted part to practice your brazing with.
The most invisible joint that can be made in my opinion is with silvaloy 45 silver solder. It is not a job for a novice as the melting points are close but it can be done with experienced hands.
http://www.silfos.com/products/catalog/Easy-Flo-45-3-oz-p-177.html
You can purchase one without cadmium but it will have a higher melting point.
You can purchase one without cadmium but it will have a higher melting point.
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matt denison
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From the believe it or not file:
I have welded brass. In particular a couple of serpent side plates. Used a TIG welder with a very small electrode and power turned down to around 120 amps. I learned it from Bob Rathbun. I haven't tried it on something thicker like a trigger guard or butt plate. It's just basic TIG welding using a filler. Trick is low heat as possible and controlled weld field so the whole thing doesn't turn into a puddle.
I have welded brass. In particular a couple of serpent side plates. Used a TIG welder with a very small electrode and power turned down to around 120 amps. I learned it from Bob Rathbun. I haven't tried it on something thicker like a trigger guard or butt plate. It's just basic TIG welding using a filler. Trick is low heat as possible and controlled weld field so the whole thing doesn't turn into a puddle.
Jay Carlson
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I have tig welded brass and copper.
For those new to the idea of welding, there are four common metals that are very difficult to weld. Aluminum, copper brass and bronze.
The problem is the filler rod melts at about the same temperature as the parent material( the parts being welded).
Also, the pieces being welded need to actually be melted at the weld joint for the parent and filler material to join.
That's pretty easy with steel and iron because they are both fairly poor at conducting heat.
That poor thermal conductivity allows the welder to melt the edges of the weld joint while the rest of the part slowly gets hotter.
With the four materials I mentioned above, all of them conduct heat away from the hot area very rapidly.
That means, when the edges of the weld melt, large areas around the weld are almost ready to melt. Just a touch of additional heat and the whole area can melt into a puddle.
Needless to say, when one wants to weld up the broken ends of a trigger guard casting and suddenly a quarter of an inch or a half inch of the trigger guard suddenly turns into liquid metal it can ruin your day (not to mention the trigger guard). :grin:
Soldering on the other hand does not require the parent material to melt. It only requires the parent material to be slightly above the melting temperature of the solder.
On the negative side of this, the soldered joint will never have the strength of the parent material.
The strength of the solder and its adhesion to the parent metal become the weak point.
Brazing is very similar to soldering. The parent metal doesn't have to melt but the brazing alloys have very high melting temperatures and because they are usually made from a brass or bronze, their melting temperatures are very close to a brass parts melting temperature.
One of the exceptions is sliver brazing.
Even this requires temperatures of 1145-1400*F (BAg-1 or BAg-1a) or 1295-1550*F (BAg-2) which is very close to many cast brass temperatures (1575-1850*F).
The problem is the filler rod melts at about the same temperature as the parent material( the parts being welded).
Also, the pieces being welded need to actually be melted at the weld joint for the parent and filler material to join.
That's pretty easy with steel and iron because they are both fairly poor at conducting heat.
That poor thermal conductivity allows the welder to melt the edges of the weld joint while the rest of the part slowly gets hotter.
With the four materials I mentioned above, all of them conduct heat away from the hot area very rapidly.
That means, when the edges of the weld melt, large areas around the weld are almost ready to melt. Just a touch of additional heat and the whole area can melt into a puddle.
Needless to say, when one wants to weld up the broken ends of a trigger guard casting and suddenly a quarter of an inch or a half inch of the trigger guard suddenly turns into liquid metal it can ruin your day (not to mention the trigger guard). :grin:
Soldering on the other hand does not require the parent material to melt. It only requires the parent material to be slightly above the melting temperature of the solder.
On the negative side of this, the soldered joint will never have the strength of the parent material.
The strength of the solder and its adhesion to the parent metal become the weak point.
Brazing is very similar to soldering. The parent metal doesn't have to melt but the brazing alloys have very high melting temperatures and because they are usually made from a brass or bronze, their melting temperatures are very close to a brass parts melting temperature.
One of the exceptions is sliver brazing.
Even this requires temperatures of 1145-1400*F (BAg-1 or BAg-1a) or 1295-1550*F (BAg-2) which is very close to many cast brass temperatures (1575-1850*F).
silvalloy 45 flows at 1145°F Get the correct flux also. I use this one from Rio Grande.
http://www.riogrande.com/Product/Grifflux-1-Flux-Paste/504089?Pos=8
http://www.riogrande.com/Product/Grifflux-1-Flux-Paste/504089?Pos=8
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I gas welded a brass triggerguard using a mapp gas/ oxygen torch set, bought at the local hardware store. The filler rod was a flux coated brass rod about 3/32".
The tiny flame tip on that tiny brazing torch, made it possible to melt the broken piece ends and filler rod, without melting away too much brass from the rest of the part.
The welded area was just as strong as the rest of the guard. I was able to anneal, and bend the guard to fit the stock, without problems.
The tiny flame tip on that tiny brazing torch, made it possible to melt the broken piece ends and filler rod, without melting away too much brass from the rest of the part.
The welded area was just as strong as the rest of the guard. I was able to anneal, and bend the guard to fit the stock, without problems.
I once had a similar situation at the OP. A feller showed me how he made his repairs. He made a paste of some yellow powder and coated the part on both sides of the break. I forget how he welded/soldered the repair but it worked just fine without damaging surrounding metal. He gave me some of the powder to use. I never got around to making the repair so also never got first hand experience with the process. I don't understand :idunno: the heat absorbing paste thing. But, for him, it worked.
The yellow powder is probably what old blacksmiths called spelter. Spelter is a mixture of calcined borax and brass powder or filings. It can be mixed with water to form a paste. It was common in the blacksmithing era. You can still buy paste silver solders. I use them at times.
Thanks, everyone, for the input.
It's an original triggerguard, English/Irish-made circa 1830-40s.
I figured that whatever the repair I chose to make, I'd also have to back the triggerguard with a reinforcing plate inletted and hidden under the triggerguard.
It's an original triggerguard, English/Irish-made circa 1830-40s.
I figured that whatever the repair I chose to make, I'd also have to back the triggerguard with a reinforcing plate inletted and hidden under the triggerguard.
