drawing board re-visited - the purple pick is back...

mrbigg · Post by **mrbigg** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 4:18 pm

well actually i was in canuckian tire last week, and i thought i saw some braising rods, but you may want to find out for sure if they have the silver content - this tecnique will braise anything except aluminum, and is waaay stronger than soldering. the tricky part for you will be finding a torch that gets hot enough, maybe a welding supply place? i'm lucky i only had to go to my father-in-law's garage to find what i needed! i'll be talking to him tonight, i'll ask him where a person can find these things!

mr_edge · Post by **mr_edge** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 7:30 pm

Thanx. I had thought regular silver solder should bond stainless and nic-silver. As I understand, it's only 5% silver. Since regular 50/50 solder becomes plastic at 414F, I would think the silver solder shouldn't much that much further off. So I guess the question is whether regular silver solder will work. Perhaps Bill will interject, and set me straight.

Pushbutton · Post by **Pushbutton** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 11:57 pm

Mr Bigg
Disregard the the part of the email where I asked you what your up to I had not seen this thread. How many so far? It would seem your an old hand at this from the pics. Also the fact that I took you under my wing like a true Dutch Uncle plus got you mod status here plus have provided you with hours of entertainment. So in the true spirit of our two countries I would be honored to rec that knife as a special memento representing all my close Canadian friends I have met here. God save the queen.
PB

Post by **Bill DeShivs** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 3:57 am

Low temp silver solder (4+%) will solder your parts together. Use stay Clean flux. A plumber's propane torch will work just fine.
You actually can use a propane torch for high temp silver soldering, if you use a heat-reflecting surface like fire brick or charcoal.
Bill

mr_edge · Post by **mr_edge** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 11:05 am

Thanx alot Bill. I knew we could count on you to be watching over our shoulder.

mrbigg · Post by **mrbigg** » Sat Oct 18, 2003 1:42 am

mr_edge - there are two ways to do it, mr deshivs has described the soldering technique, while my method is "braising" which is much stronger than soldering (even though it doesn't need to be) - i guess no matter what method you use, as long as you get enough heat, the solder/braise will flow under your bolster, and attach it quite nicely!

mrbigg · Post by **mrbigg** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 1:10 am

well here are some finished shotz of my "biggy" custom purpleheart frankenpick.....

Post by **Bill DeShivs** » Mon Oct 20, 2003 12:08 am

Brazing requires much higher heat, and is much stronger. Attaching bolsters does not require the strength of brazing (high temp. silver soldering,) and high heat can anneal your liners, making them bend easily at the joint. I use both methods at times, but usually use lead (soft) solder to attach bolsters to brass. When stainless is used the soldering alloy must have some silver content.
Bill

mr_edge · Post by **mr_edge** » Mon Oct 20, 2003 12:35 am

That is beautiful Mr. Bigg. You did an amazing job!