have you tried this silver solder?

Curtton

Curtton

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has anyone ordered this from brownells . im about to solder a steel mag locking lug but not sure if this silver content (4%) is strong enuff or should i try 6% .

any advise will be appreciated.


HI-FORCE 44TM SOLDER

Mfr: BROWNELLS

28,000 PSI - Flows At 475° F. The Best All-Round Solder For Gunsmithing


Brownells Hi-Force 44 Solder is an alloy solder containing 4% silver and 96% tin. Excellent for steel, stainless steel, nickel, brass and copper. Completely non-toxic. Flows free and smooth at about 475° F., greatly reducing heating time. No need for cumbersome oxyacetylene setups. Prevents black oxide formation to reduce cleanup time. Provides 14,000 to 28,000 PSI tensile strength. Will not crack under stress as do other low temperature soldering materials. And, a big plus . . . customers report that parts joined with Hi-Force 44 Solder showed no effects when immersed in hot bluing tanks! Use #4 Comet Flux.
 
Yes its great for sights etc, but for a high strenth joint I use a flux coated bronze brazing rod. Canadian tire etc sell flux coated brazing rods.
 
have you tried this silver solder?
has anyone ordered this from brownells . im about to solder a steel mag locking lug but not sure if this silver content (4%) is strong enuff or should i try 6% .
Click to expand...

Technically this is not what used to normally known as "silver solder" but rather soft solder. The difference between the 4% and 6% is insignificant.

"Silver Solder" or "Hard soldering" as it was called is actually a form of brazing done at a much higher temperature. It is stronger but also harder to work with because of the higher temperatures. As mentioned by the previous two posters, for higher stress parts this would be a better option. Practice on something else first.
 
monkeycanada said:
Yes its great for sights etc, but for a high strenth joint I use a flux coated bronze brazing rod. Canadian tire etc sell flux coated brazing rods.
Click to expand...

i have only done soft soldering before so what kind of a heating is needed for flux coated brazing rods?
 
Just remember when silver soldering to dimple the surfaces to be joined with a centre punch to give room for the solder.
 
Monkeycanada, thanks for the brazing info link. I've had mixed results the few times I've tried silver soldering, so info like this is very useful.

:) Stuart
 
went to cdn tire and bot a mastercraft brazing kit ($42), it included torch and 5 rods (2 copper , 1 looks silver metal , 1 blue and 1 white) .

i tried a test braze on a copper pipe and got it red hot and then i touch it with the white rod and nothing happened . what am i doing wrong?
 
in plumbing we braze copper pipes and we use silfoss it's called..it's a silver soder with a flux coating and usually we use oxyacetylene mix to heat it..usually needs to be above 1000 F..but it's alot stronger than soft solder for sure. and curtton..keep the heat on it and then move in with the rod you probably just need a bit more heat.
 
curtton said:
...i tried a test braze on a copper pipe and got it red hot and then i touch it with the white rod and nothing happened . what am i doing wrong?
Click to expand...

Just a guess, but the brazing rod is a brass alloy, which will require more heat than the copper pipe when red hot. In fact, you may melt the copper pipe before it gets hot enough to melt the brazing rod. Try a bit of steel, like a piece of 1/4" rod or a bolt. Make sure it's clean and long enough that whatever you hold it with won't bleed off too much heat.

:) Stuart
 
curtton said:
went to cdn tire and bot a mastercraft brazing kit ($42), it included torch and 5 rods (2 copper , 1 looks silver metal , 1 blue and 1 white) .

i tried a test braze on a copper pipe and got it red hot and then i touch it with the white rod and nothing happened . what am i doing wrong?
Click to expand...

It is the heat from the flame that melts the brazing rod. The material does not give off enough heat to melt it like solder.
You want to put the white rod into the flame. If the material being brazed is too hot then the brazing rod material will melt and run off or you will get a poor joint. Red hot on cast iron and maliable iron is just a bit too hot.

Get two bricks and a flat piece of 1/4 thick iron to practice brazing beads on.
The bricks are to put the material on.

1) heat material
2) when material starts to glow just a bit introduce the brazing rod into the flame and melt the braze material onto the piece.
3) slowly braze a bead. The rate you preheat the material will determine how much rod you feed and the speed you run the bead.

If the material is too hot the braze will not stick.
Practice.
 
10x said:
It is the heat from the flame that melts the brazing rod. The material does not give off enough heat to melt it like solder....
Click to expand...

I stand (sit) partially corrected. 10x is correct. The metal does have to be hot enough for the braze to flow on it and bond, but it will not itself melt the rod.

:) Stuart
 
eureka !!! i did it, it wasnt pretty but nothing a grinder cant solve . :D it look solid .

thanks fellas for all your help , especially to 10x for the step by step details.
 
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