Soldering OK?

[Norcal crawler]

Hey, i was thinking about making my own tuber. I have always seen people braze, and was just wondering if soldering would work. It just seems that brazing is harder and takes more time, so why would they braze the pieces together instead of solder? Does it not hold up as good or what? Also, i would be using brake line and i don't know if it is the stuff that makes bad fumes.

I don't have the stuff to braze, but i have soldering stuff, so that is why i am wondering. Thanks.

['83 chevy]

solder sucks, not strong enough


yes the tubing will make some fumes unless you get the galvinized coating off first.

[Norcal crawler]

Ok, that is what i thought. How do you reccomend i get the galvanized stuff off? I saw a thing on Extreme 4x4 how you can get it off. You put it in a type of acid or something, but i can't remember exactly.

[Robb]

A light sanding.



And at the minimum, you need to braze it. Forget the soldering.

[Norcal crawler]

Yeah, i think i might have some of the right stuff to braze.

[mrpink]

Originally Posted by '83 chevy

solder sucks, not strong enough

might as well duct tape it together.

[hairba11]

galvanizing is zinc. the wetting angle of solder (Pb-Sn or Ag-Sn) is too extreme agains Zn for it to get into any crevises and hold onto anything even with flux. same problem for the steel of the brake tube. Copper has a very small wetting angle with flux and solder (the flux helps reduce the wetting angle further like a spot free rinse at the carwash) so you may be able to solder a copper chassis, but it will be weaker and heavier.

[Kamikaze]

UHHHH I build all my tubers with silver solder, I'd put it up against brass anyday, I've had the same super for over a year and ask anybody thats seen me drive....I beat on my crap to no end. I have had zero failure out of any joint, even to the point that steel mounts have fatigued and broken in half but not the solder joint.

[Norcal crawler]

So Kamikaze, are you saying that soldering is ok? I have seen some of your tubers, and they look really good.

[Kamikaze]

Well not soldering like you would wires, its more like brazing but with silver solder. I use Harris safty silv 45t and the white flux paste. I have soldered 1/4" solid rod together and bent the rod in all directions and not hurt the joint. We use it at work all the time. It is the easyest way to build a tuber cause it flows around the joint so smoothly, most times if the joint is coped right you just have to heat it up and touch the solder to it and it does the whole joint at once. Its expensive though, somewere around $8 a troy oz. but well worth it.

[Norcal crawler]

So, you are brazing with a certain type of solder. Ok, i got it. Thanks for the help.

[mrpink]

Originally Posted by Kamikaze

UHHHH I build all my tubers with silver solder
-------------------
Well not soldering like you would wires, its more like brazing but with silver solder. I use Harris safty silv 45t and the white flux paste.

so you are brazing right... I think 90% of the builders here use silver.

Let not confuse the issue here. Soldering, like you would do to an electrical connection, will not work on a tuber. It just will not penetrate deep enough.

What are you using to apply the safty silv? torch or iron?

[Thorsteenster]

wow, where do you get your solder at, i see it more like 20 a T.O.

[Big Mike]

I'd consider what Kamikaze is doing to be brazing - just with silver solder.
You can't do it w/o a torch.
Harris Safety Silv is STRONG stuff. Done properly it will be almost as strong as brass. Plenty strong enough for a scale tube chassis.
I've used it to solder either brass or steel fittings to steel knife blades - if you have to take the fitting back off again, it's always a battle.

Let not confuse the issue here. Soldering, like you would do to an electrical connection, will not work on a tuber. It just will not penetrate deep enough.

100% correct - you can't properly apply the term "soldered" to any tube chassis, no matter what the material...

[Norcal crawler]

Ok, thanks for all the help.

[mrpink]

Originally Posted by Big Mike

100% correct - you can't properly apply the term "soldered" to any tube chassis, no matter what the material...

I use harris silv on all my tubers and when I am done I can stand on them (brakeline, not solid) Strength is in the construction and design as much as the material used to bond.

[Norcal crawler]

Yeah, the shape has a lot to do with the toughness of it.

[Kamikaze]

It's still considered soldering, guess I missunderstood the question. Soldering is soldering, doesn't matter if you use a torch or an iron. And soldering and brazing do not penitrate anything. The base metal is untouched with either proccess. Soldering is the correct term for either proccess, brazing is also correct. But if you are using anything but solder you can't call it soldering. You can call soldering brazing. All brazing means is to join with a non ferrous metal that has a lower melting point than the base metal.....I'll shut up now

[Norcal crawler]

Basicly, I was wondering if you can use a soldering iron to connect the brake line, or whatever you are using, together. What i meant by brazing is by using the torch to heat up the joint, then apply whatever metal you are using to connect them.

[Mad Scientist]

Even with a big 240 Weller iron, it would take forever if it even worked at all. Use a torch with MAPP gas