Making a stinger with solder

[Snowwheeler]

Is solder going to be strong enough? I am using 3/16 steel rod and 1/8 steel plate for the winch mount. If it should be strong enough, which type of solder should i use?

Thanks

[BLKXJ 96]

Your best bet is to MIG or TIG weld it if your using 3/16 rod, 1/8 plate is kinda over kill. 20ga steel is thick enough and easy to work with and cut.

[transambill]

I solder everything and beat the hell out of it and the bars have bent but the connections have never broke. It's cleaner and less work to clean up before painting.
With welding theres a lot more clean up with the welds that you dont have with soldering. Plus a real good welder is going to set you back more in the long run as compared to a torch. Most the pros on here do a spot weld to hold the bars in place then follow up with solder to complete the connection.

[Snowwheeler]

Thank you for the replies! I have a soldering gun, is that going to be enough, or do i need a mapp torch? The gun gets up to 900 degrees..

[sloppy]

Originally Posted by Snowwheeler

Thank you for the replies! I have a soldering gun, is that going to be enough, or do i need a mapp torch? The gun gets up to 900 degrees..

No it wont get hot enough... You need at the least a quality mapp torch..

[Snowwheeler]

ok, sounds good

[Snowwheeler]

wouldnt a propane torch get it hot enough?

[Duuuuuuuude]

Nope.

[Snowwheeler]

damn, ok.

[tazman]

I think what you're going to end up doing is brazing not soldering. A braze joint will hold as well as a weld, but not solder. That's for electrical connections.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Originally Posted by tazman

I think what you're going to end up doing is brazing not soldering. A braze joint will hold as well as a weld, but not solder. That's for electrical connections.

Wrong. Speak not of that which you do not know.

[shelljeep]

If your fit is nice and tight, is solder a viable method if using 3/16 brake line?
I'm thinking it might need the solid rod for enough surface area for good strength and bond?

[transambill]

Originally Posted by shelljeep

If your fit is nice and tight, is solder a viable method if using 3/16 brake line?

Yes, as long as your joints are nice and tite. Just fishmouth the tube where it joins the others. A solder joint is pretty strong as long as your not trying to fill gaps with it.

[sloppy]

Originally Posted by Duuuuuuuude

Wrong. Speak not of that which you do not know.

He wasnt totally wrong.. Soft soldering is for electrical connections.. Soft soldering wont work(for real world use anyway)..

Brazing and silver soldering are pretty much the same process with the exception of the filler rod.. They are commonly lumped together because of their similarity.. You can find people "brazing" with silver solder all the time..

[Charlie-III]

Originally Posted by sloppy

He wasn't totally wrong.. Soft soldering is for electrical connections.. Soft soldering wont work(for real world use anyway)..

Brazing and silver soldering are pretty much the same process with the exception of the filler rod.. They are commonly lumped together because of their similarity.. You can find people "brazing" with silver solder all the time..

Definitions:

Soft solder is for electrical connections or low pressure plumbing. Usually tin is a major part of the solder itself (used to be lead). Soft solder is usually a roll of material and may have a flux agent (acid or rosin are common) inside the solder itself.
You can soft solder with a small soldering iron, a soldering gun or even a gas/atmosphere torch.

Hard solder is a general term for a couple types of connections, "brazing" and "silver soldering" are examples.
Hard soldering uses a typically hard filler rod (brass or silver are common materials) that may have a flux agent over the outside of the rod. The flux may also be a paste applied to the joint/connection.
Hard soldering can be used for plumbing (usually high pressure or HVAC) or "structures". It is normally NOT used for electrical connections mostly because of the heat involved.
You can hard solder with a gas/atmosphere torch (usually propane or MAPP), or a 2 part gas torch (oxy/propane, oxy/acetylene, etc).

This is a quick review to help correctly use the term "soldering".

[crawlinnTN]

Originally Posted by Snowwheeler

wouldnt a propane torch get it hot enough?

yes! it gets well hot enough! that's what i use!

[Snowwheeler]

My buddies got an arc welder, so I'm just going to head over there and get this done

[tazman]

Thanks for the correct definition between soft and hard solder. I just never heard it called hard solder before, i always knew as brazing.

[moron88]

i'd like to correct a misconception about soft soldering. it IS strong enough for structural work. i have built cages using 60/40 acid core solder and on a hard impact, the rod bent but the joints held. it's also cheaper than any other form of soldering because a 1 pound roll of 60/40 lasts about 10 medium projects and cost $10 last time i bought some (i got a welder 2 or 3 years ago which massively replaced soldering, if only for convenience, and havent had the hankering to do much building in the past year).

[dirtracer20]

Just have someone tig it for you,no clean up involved. Iam currently buliding a bumper from stainless rod that I will tig together.