Joining Pieces Of Flat Metal

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• 

  Step 1

  Joining pieces of flat metal

  Scarf joint
  Step joint
  Butt joint
  Lap joint
  Strap joint
  Strap joint

  A variety of joints.

  Wet or dry the edges.

  Wash your hands to ensure that the flux or
  work does not get any gr ease or dirt on them.

  If needed pin the work to the heat r eflective
  brick.

  Flux the joint.

  Place the solder so it will be easier to clean up
  later.

  Heat the work with a bushy flame, if your torch is
  not adjustable start with it a little further away.

  Remove the heat when the solder has flowed.

  Let the work cool before moving it.

  Then cool completely in water.

  Place the piece in warmed pickle solution.

  Remove from pickle when oxides and flux
  residue have gone.

  Rinse to remove any traces of pickle.

  Use a bushy flame
  Remember the equipment section of
  this book, which stated ‘the lower flow
  temperature of the pewter solder will
  create a weaker bond more like glue’ when
  using it to solder other metals. A pointy hot
  flame heats silver solder too fast, creating
  a similar bond. It causes the solder to flow,
  but not permeate the surface of both pieces
  of metal. This may be strong with a little
  wiggle test but later one piece may break
  cleanly away from the other.

• 

  Step 2

  Ensure the edges that are going to be joined fit
  together, file them if not. Even a small gap can
  cause problems when soldering or result in an
  unsightly flaw. I

• 

  Step 3

  f you have filed them then this
  will also clean any grease and dirt away.

• 

  Step 4

  If the edges are flat you may still need to clean
  them. For this example, wet or dry paper on a flat surface has
  been used to keep the edges sharp and fitting
  together well.

• 

  Step 5

  Wash your hands to ensure you do not
  contaminate the flux or work with any grease
  or dirt for the next stage of the process.

• 

  Step 6

  Put the work on the chosen heat reflective
  surface. Here we are starting simply with a
  standard heat reflective soldering brick. Pin
  the pieces if they need to be held in place. This
  will depend on size, the heavier the pieces the
  less likely they are to move.

• 

  Step 7

  Apply flux to the edges of the metal where it
  is going to be soldered. For this example borax
  is used. Borax may bubble and move when
  first heated, but it will also take a while to burn
  away, making it a good flux to practise with.

• 

  Step 8

  Place a small piece of solder overlapping the
  joint; take some time to think about this.
  Consider where would be the easiest place to
  clean up the solder if it flowed a little in the
  wrong direction. For this example, the solder
  is placed at one end of the joint, as it is easier
  to clean the end of the finished item rather
  than the middle. Hard solder is used as this is
  the only joint that is going to be made on this
  piece.

• 

  Step 9

  Heat the metal with a bushy flame; this is
  known as a reducing flame, which means it is
  using a lot of fuel and in turn absorbs the
  oxides that stop the solder flowing. The
  bushy flame will allow both pieces of metal to
  be heated at the same time to the same
  temperature. There is no advantage of
  heating it up fast with a hotter flame. Apply
  the heat to the whole piece, moving the
  flame constantly across the work as if painting
  the metal with the flame. Use the midpoint
  of the flame rather than the tip or right up to
  the torch end and move away a little if the
  metal is heating up too fast. Remember to
  heat the metal not the solder; the metal
  should be able to transfer the heat to the
  solder. If both pieces are the same temperature
  the solder will flow along the joint.

• 

  Step 10

  Remove
  the flame when the solder has flowed. If you
  have a longer join, heat the metal slightly
  more where you want the solder to flow as it
  will flow towards the heat.

• 

  Step 11

  When the redness of the metal has dulled,
  cool the work in water. It is advisable not to
  put hot metal straight into the pickle.

• 

  Step 12

  Place your piece in a warmed pickle solution.
  Remember to use brass, copper, wooden or
  plastic tweezers as steel may create a reaction
  in the solution and plate the pieces with a
  layer of copper.

• 

  Step 13

  Remove the metal from the pickle when all
  the oxides and flux residue have gone.
  Copper will look a little pink while silver will
  look white at this stage.

• 

  Step 14

  Rinse your work thoroughly. You may want to
  also scrub it a little with a nylon brush, water
  and pumice to ensure all the dirt and pickle
  has been removed.

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