More recent version available. • Brazing Made Easy How do you know when your metal is ready to accept the bronze? What to do it the metal is too hot. Smoothing out a rough braze.
Since I knew absolutely nothing about brazing until I found your videos, this information was some of the most useful and educational for me. Thanks, George
thanks for posting this video, nice of you to take the time to teach people , u have no idea how helpfull this is to not have to read a book but to see an actual deminstaration
I just got my first torch. I havent torch welded in 20 years and it has always plagued me why the metal was popping. So inspired to find out why. Now I am devoting to Braising exclusively. Thanks So much.
I can appreciate where you are coming from. I don't like to arc weld. Fortunately we have lots of options for putting two or more pieces of metal together.
Thanks for that info. Thats why I asked. Had read that certain types of backing material are better than others due to heat resistance. Are a few things that help make a good safe and practical work area. thanks again.
@Lubelltx If you are using RG 45 mild steel welding rod with a copper sheath (coating) - the black will not come off. The black is where the thin copper sheath of copper has burnt off. Boiling water should remove the flux.
Thanks! No information is better than false information! But I'm off tomorrow, so I'll stop by the local welding supply store and ask them. I appreciate the help!
Gas welding produces sparks. Generally brazing does not produce sparks. Any open flame can be hazardous. Safety is also dependent on what else you have in your garage.
Brazing is joining two piece of metal using a bronze filler rod. It is much like soldering but the joint is much stronger than soldering. In brazing steel the edges of the two pieces are heated to red hot and a bronze brazing rod is melted into in between the the two edges. Check out the You Tube video Braze Vs. Weld
Yes, I braze stainless steel. I just use a standard 3/32 bare bronze rod and you some silver solder flux. For brazing I haven't found a rod that is the stainless steel color. If I want the color to match then I gas weld with a stainless steel gas welding rod. However, I do very little stainless work.
@Jaffa4567 Sounds like to me that you are putting too much pressure on yourself. Just relax. When you are welding and brazing try not to think about the process and just let your mind take over. You’ll see a short section that comes out perfectly. When that happens just try and repeat which you did to get that perfect section of weld.
@Lubelltx The black color: If you notice on many of the pieces that I do where I use the copper sheathed welding rod, I work the black color in with the design. Notice some of the pieces in the "Small Sculptures That Sell" TH-cam video as well as in other TH-cam videos. The black against the copper that hasn't burnt off and the bronze brazing provides an interesting contrast.
For what I do I use an excess of bronze brazing. The gold color of the brazing adds an extra contrast to a finished piece. If I just wanted to put two piece together I would use a very small amount of brazing.
I just checked your website and your video on Brazing helped a good bit. It answered most of my questions, but I have 2 more. Would a propane torch from home depot be sufficient enough? 2nd. Can I braze steel to aluminum? Thanks!
I use 3/32 (diameter) brazing rod for most everything I do. That would be brazing 1/16 to 3/16 thickness. If you are brazing thicker material you can go with 1/8 or even 3/16 diameter brazing rod.
Thanks for your comments. Yes, everybody does it a little differently. For my videos, I suggest that people take what works for them and leave the rest.
tip size and sligtly rich flame are critical to get the parent metals up to that somewhat narrow range of temperature that enables the bronze to flow just right... its not that easy to tell when that temp is reached.. especially when the 2 parts are different sizes .. itsa skill that only years of mistakes that not many peopke have mastered... notice how he feathers the area with the torch. thats ..
My TH-cam videos are primarily intended for people working in their home shop. Most do not have a tig welder. You obviously work in an industrial setting. I do metal sculpture. There is a difference.
1) I use all new material so I don't need a lot of flux. 2) I use flux covered brazing rod. 3) Since I don't need a lot of flux I scrape most of the flux off the flux covered brazing rod. 4) For stems on leaves I put a daub of bronze on the stem and then re-melt it onto the leaves. 5) Question, why don't I just use bare rod and dip it in flux? When I do that I get a big glob of flux. Way too much flux. 6) Scraping the fluxed covered rod works for me.
I found your video very helpful but i'm doing metal working at my school and we do brazing and fusion welding and i'm just genrally bad, i've only been welding for about a month now however I just find that my welds look very poor and as i'm welding togeather a wine rack I would like to improve my general skills if you have any other advice. Thanks.
I've never used a propane torch for brazing so I am a poor source of information. I don't work with aluminum. Check out some of the welding forums. Sorry I can't be of more help. Better to give no information instead of bad information.
Hi again George, I notice you use a metal table top to work on. Do you prefer that to say a brick surface and why. Just thinking of a practical top surface to make. Thanks again. Seen more videos you've made that answered a lots of questions. But not that,,, thank you so much. 👍
Table is 1/2" mild steel, 3' x 4'. I tried brick when I first started, but it didn't work for me. I've been using these steel top tables since 1974 and have been well pleased. Personally, I wouldn't go for anything less than 1/2".
George I want to make a copper tree attached to a 40" oval of copper, the tree will obviously be in the middle of the oval. the oval being about 18" high in the middle. this is going to be attached to the top of my yard gate at home. the gate at the top is concave for the oval to fit in. I was thinking of using 1/2" copper tubing for the oval and copper rods for the tree then adding leaves like you did on your video, now.... can I braze all that with a propane torch?
You may be able to solder your tree with a propane torch. I doubt that there is enough heat to braze. Unfortunately I know nothing about solder. If you can get the tree soldered together, then I would reinforce in from the back with a good two part clear epoxy. Sorry, that's the best that I can come up with.
@@Bluejazzman61 you may want to take a look at Sil-fos. Here are some links that may help. blog.lucasmilhaupt.com/en-us/about/blog www.reddit.com/r/HVAC/comments/90zhs5/tried_some_silfos_brazing_with_a_propane_torch/ forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/79330/sil-phos-plumbing weldtalk.hobartwelders.com/forum/weld-talk-topic-archive/welding-products/3306-joining-copper-to-copper
Tom, not sure whether you are talking about brazing or welding. If it is possible, then both sides would have to be heated to red hot or yellow hot, depending on whether you are brazing or welding. Not getting your filler rod heated up so much that it melts before each side is up to temperature. Let me know whether this answers you question. George
Yes, you can braze thicker metals. Cast iron takes some special preparation. I have very little experience with cast iron so I am not a good source of information. I have brazed and welded 1/4" stainless with the oxy/ace torch. There is not much on brazing heavier metals because most people find it more economical to use electric, such as Mig, Tig and Arc welding with the appropriate filler rod.
The heaviest steel I've brazed is 3/8 and that was only for a demonstration. Generally on that thick of steel I mig weld. But, yes, you can braze heavier metal.
I asked that question when I first started back in the late 1960's. Unfortunately, there is no answer. There are too many variables. What size torch, what size tip, regulator settings, braze or weld, thickness of material, steel copper, brass or stainless. Cost of oxygen and acetylene is per cubic foot. It costs less per cubic foot to fill larger cylinders than smaller ones. I just paid $56.00 for 142 cu. ft. for acetylene. 120 Cu Ft. of oxygen was $18.00.
acetylene is expensive and I see some using propane for brazing, its $.43 to fill a size 10 compared to $18 with acetylene, do you think its ok to use propane?
I see that more and more people are using propane for brazing. Having no experience with propane for brazing, I can offer no opinion. The only thing I can suggest is to look for propane TH-cam videos and do some research on the welding forums.
Damn I hate brazing.. I much rather just arc weld cause im so much better at it, to bad it has so many limitations to what you can melt together though...
I'm sorry I can't help. You need to get someone to look at your acetylene cylinder and your oxy/ace outfit. Without actually being there I wouldn't have any idea of what's wrong.
I shouldn't have said such things .I APOLOGIES HOLE HEARTDTLY. I don't know the condition of the metal.Or weather its was a challenge..PLease accept my apology for my rude comment
Anthony, That's not a problem. In that video you commented on I was trying to show the things that can go wrong. So, some of the brazing looks pretty bad. I'll be your dad had some unique techniques that he had developed through the years. George
Since I knew absolutely nothing about brazing until I found your videos, this information was some of the most useful and educational for me. Thanks, George
You're a good teacher, your vidoes are hugely informative. Your patient tone makes them all the more enjoyable to watch too.
Thanks for the compliments. Stayed tuned. Should have a number of new ones this year.
thanks for posting this video, nice of you to take the time to teach people , u have no idea how helpfull this is to not have to read a book but to see an actual deminstaration
I just got my first torch. I havent torch welded in 20 years and it has always plagued me why the metal was popping. So inspired to find out why. Now I am devoting to Braising exclusively. Thanks So much.
Still a very Nice and helpful Video For doing some little Artwork or fixing at Home...thanks to your old man, May He Rest in Peace
I can appreciate where you are coming from. I don't like to arc weld. Fortunately we have lots of options for putting two or more pieces of metal together.
I REALLY APPRECIATE your time in helping US with this brazing video!!
Just what I needed for a little project I'm doing!!
Mike
Good point. That was my first video for TH-cam and I didn't get the sound volume right. Thanks for the comment, it motivates me to re-do that video.
Thanks for that info. Thats why I asked. Had read that certain types of backing material are better than others due to heat resistance. Are a few things that help make a good safe and practical work area. thanks again.
@Lubelltx
If you are using RG 45 mild steel welding rod with a copper sheath (coating) - the black will not come off. The black is where the thin copper sheath of copper has burnt off.
Boiling water should remove the flux.
Thanks! No information is better than false information! But I'm off tomorrow, so I'll stop by the local welding supply store and ask them. I appreciate the help!
Gas welding produces sparks. Generally brazing does not produce sparks. Any open flame can be hazardous. Safety is also dependent on what else you have in your garage.
Brazing is joining two piece of metal using a bronze filler rod. It is much like soldering but the joint is much stronger than soldering.
In brazing steel the edges of the two pieces are heated to red hot and a bronze brazing rod is melted into in between the the two edges.
Check out the You Tube video Braze Vs. Weld
Yes, I braze stainless steel. I just use a standard 3/32 bare bronze rod and you some silver solder flux. For brazing I haven't found a rod that is the stainless steel color. If I want the color to match then I gas weld with a stainless steel gas welding rod. However, I do very little stainless work.
@Jaffa4567 Sounds like to me that you are putting too much pressure on yourself. Just relax. When you are welding and brazing try not to think about the process and just let your mind take over. You’ll see a short section that comes out perfectly. When that happens just try and repeat which you did to get that perfect section of weld.
@Lubelltx The black color: If you notice on many of the pieces that I do where I use the copper sheathed welding rod, I work the black color in with the design. Notice some of the pieces in the "Small Sculptures That Sell" TH-cam video as well as in other TH-cam videos. The black against the copper that hasn't burnt off and the bronze brazing provides an interesting contrast.
Professional welders use less brass and preheat the metal so when you melt it on it just flows by capillarity
For what I do I use an excess of bronze brazing. The gold color of the brazing adds an extra contrast to a finished piece. If I just wanted to put two piece together I would use a very small amount of brazing.
Thanks for all the info. Great presentation, nothing left out
Thanks for viewing/ Appreciate your comment. George
I just checked your website and your video on Brazing helped a good bit. It answered most of my questions, but I have 2 more.
Would a propane torch from home depot be sufficient enough?
2nd. Can I braze steel to aluminum? Thanks!
Juan, Ebay: I have enough trouble just keeping up with what I am doing without adding one more thing. But, appreciate your suggestion.
I use 3/32 (diameter) brazing rod for most everything I do. That would be brazing 1/16 to 3/16 thickness.
If you are brazing thicker material you can go with 1/8 or even 3/16 diameter brazing rod.
Sandri, the table top is 3' x 4'. 1/2" hot rolled steel. I'll post a photo on the web site today, under Tools.
I have never used propane but there are some TH-cam videos on brazing with propane.
Thanks for your comment.
Great information! Welding is an art. It really is. You do nice work. Don't worry about all the bs comments.
Thanks for your comments. Yes, everybody does it a little differently. For my videos, I suggest that people take what works for them and leave the rest.
tip size and sligtly rich flame are critical to get the parent metals up to that somewhat narrow range of temperature that enables the bronze to flow just right... its not that easy to tell when that temp is reached.. especially when the 2 parts are different sizes .. itsa skill that only years of mistakes that not many peopke have mastered... notice how he feathers the area with the torch. thats ..
My TH-cam videos are primarily intended for people working in their home shop. Most do not have a tig welder.
You obviously work in an industrial setting. I do metal sculpture. There is a difference.
1) I use all new material so I don't need a lot of flux.
2) I use flux covered brazing rod.
3) Since I don't need a lot of flux I scrape most of the flux off the flux covered brazing rod.
4) For stems on leaves I put a daub of bronze on the stem and then re-melt it onto the leaves.
5) Question, why don't I just use bare rod and dip it in flux? When I do that I get a big glob of flux. Way too much flux.
6) Scraping the fluxed covered rod works for me.
I found your video very helpful but i'm doing metal working at my school and we do brazing and fusion welding and i'm just genrally bad, i've only been welding for about a month now however I just find that my welds look very poor and as i'm welding togeather a wine rack I would like to improve my general skills if you have any other advice. Thanks.
The Neutral flame and the Carbonizing flame.
There is a TH-cam video titled "The Three Oxygen Acetylene Flames".
Sir why we mostly use acetylene rather than other gases?
I've never used a propane torch for brazing so I am a poor source of information.
I don't work with aluminum. Check out some of the welding forums.
Sorry I can't be of more help. Better to give no information instead of bad information.
Yup.
Everything can be fixed.
Almost.
Hello George, I would like to know what is the surface your using for brazing? And thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Cheers
Hi again George, I notice you use a metal table top to work on. Do you prefer that to say a brick surface and why. Just thinking of a practical top surface to make. Thanks again. Seen more videos you've made that answered a lots of questions. But not that,,, thank you so much. 👍
Table is 1/2" mild steel, 3' x 4'. I tried brick when I first started, but it didn't work for me. I've been using these steel top tables since 1974 and have been well pleased. Personally, I wouldn't go for anything less than 1/2".
Thanks,,, makes sense. I have a sheet of 3/16s galvanized steel but guess that wouldn't hold up to too much heat? Have to look into something thicker.
thank you a very helpful video
George I want to make a copper tree attached to a 40" oval of copper, the tree will obviously be in the middle of the oval. the oval being about 18" high in the middle. this is going to be attached to the top of my yard gate at home. the gate at the top is concave for the oval to fit in. I was thinking of using 1/2" copper tubing for the oval and copper rods for the tree then adding leaves like you did on your video, now.... can I braze all that with a propane torch?
You may be able to solder your tree with a propane torch. I doubt that there is enough heat to braze. Unfortunately I know nothing about solder. If you can get the tree soldered together, then I would reinforce in from the back with a good two part clear epoxy. Sorry, that's the best that I can come up with.
@@897473 thanks George that heps.
@@Bluejazzman61 you may want to take a look at Sil-fos. Here are some links that may help.
blog.lucasmilhaupt.com/en-us/about/blog www.reddit.com/r/HVAC/comments/90zhs5/tried_some_silfos_brazing_with_a_propane_torch/
forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/79330/sil-phos-plumbing
weldtalk.hobartwelders.com/forum/weld-talk-topic-archive/welding-products/3306-joining-copper-to-copper
hey in your opinion is brazing safer or less fire hazerdous than welding? would it be safe to do in a garage?
brazzin along,,singin a song,,sideee byyyy sidee
Thanks; nice video.
good info thrre.
wow you're good. thanks for the vid.
Could you use Mapp gas and torch for brazing?
George, would it be possible to say cut a half-inch or so section of rod lay it in the joint then, melt it in?
Tom, not sure whether you are talking about brazing or welding. If it is possible, then both sides would have to be heated to red hot or yellow hot, depending on whether you are brazing or welding. Not getting your filler rod heated up so much that it melts before each side is up to temperature. Let me know whether this answers you question. George
Brazing,
That's true the metal would be too hot. Just a thought...good videos George.
good tips,taa,,,,
Can thick metal be torch brazed? I know cast iron is usually thick and stainless steel sometimes.
Yes, you can braze thicker metals. Cast iron takes some special preparation. I have very little experience with cast iron so I am not a good source of information. I have brazed and welded 1/4" stainless with the oxy/ace torch. There is not much on brazing heavier metals because most people find it more economical to use electric, such as Mig, Tig and Arc welding with the appropriate filler rod.
The heaviest steel I've brazed is 3/8 and that was only for a demonstration. Generally on that thick of steel I mig weld. But, yes, you can braze heavier metal.
Very helpful, thank you :O)
can a person braz with Oxy-propane?
How long does the gas tanks last and how much are they to refill?
I asked that question when I first started back in the late 1960's. Unfortunately, there is no answer. There are too many variables. What size torch, what size tip, regulator settings, braze or weld, thickness of material, steel copper, brass or stainless. Cost of oxygen and acetylene is per cubic foot. It costs less per cubic foot to fill larger cylinders than smaller ones. I just paid $56.00 for 142 cu. ft. for acetylene. 120 Cu Ft. of oxygen was $18.00.
acetylene is expensive and I see some using propane for brazing, its $.43 to fill a size 10 compared to $18 with acetylene, do you think its ok to use propane?
I see that more and more people are using propane for brazing. Having no experience with propane for brazing, I can offer no opinion. The only thing I can suggest is to look for propane TH-cam videos and do some research on the welding forums.
thank you sir, you do great work
Damn I hate brazing.. I much rather just arc weld cause im so much better at it, to bad it has so many limitations to what you can melt together though...
you arrreeee the mmmasterrrr
Thanks you. Hope to have some more videos up soon.
I'm sorry I can't help. You need to get someone to look at your acetylene cylinder and your oxy/ace outfit.
Without actually being there I wouldn't have any idea of what's wrong.
I shouldn't have said such things .I APOLOGIES HOLE HEARTDTLY. I don't know the condition of the metal.Or weather its was a challenge..PLease accept my apology for my rude comment
Anthony, That's not a problem. In that video you commented on I was trying to show the things that can go wrong. So, some of the brazing looks pretty bad. I'll be your dad had some unique techniques that he had developed through the years.
George
Ni
Ce
that is horrible brazing
Thanks for the comment.
no problem
Juan, I can handle Paypal. Send me an email. It is on my website.