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New guy trying to join copper
cubegleamer -
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - 10:21am
Welding Hello, I'm Dan from Gainesville, Fl. New member and first time poster. This is my first time working with metal. I've been painting buildings and cityscapes for some time and I really want to try making something similar out of copper. I bought some 16 mill copper sheet metal I can't seem to get the copper to join together. The solder won't stick. I must be using the wrong materials or I'm missing a step in the process. Can anyone give me some advice?  Like Dick said, it requires
don johnson -
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - 7:03pm
Like Dick said, it requires a lot of heat and will require some kind of torch. The Oatley flux is common for plumbing and should be used with their solder. Corrosion is a problem with any flux. A big issue is always keeping the metal clean. Sand with paper or Scotchbrite, wash with Acetone, and keep your fingers away from the joint. Wear gloves if needed. Practice on scraps. That type of solder will be silver colored compared to the copper. If you need a color match consider other welding processes. Don  Joining Copper...
Jman -
Saturday, September 26, 2009 - 5:23pm
Hey there Dan, Have you tried 'Tinning' the copper first ? Quite often that's all you need to do in order to get a good bond between pieces. Make sure your pieces to be joined have been cleaned well and slightly abraded with a good rough scrubby or a fine grit piece of sandpaper. Finish by cleaning up with a bit of acetone. Using a Torch or a Soldering Iron (100 watt or better) "TIN" the surface of the pieces that will be touching (try not to forget the flux) When soldering I prefer to use a 60/40 or 95/5 solder as I find it takes a bit longer to flow and helps with 'Control'. Put both pieces together (flux not required after 'Tinning') and then heat 'EVENLY' until both pieces have melted together (sweat them together). This will work ESPECIALLY well if you have flanges or 'lips' on the copper to be joined. Once you are finished, remove any visible solder or simply 'PATINA' any visible solder with 'COPPER COLORED' stained glass solution. This is the 'other reason' why 60/40 is good to use as it hold a patina very well and you can use a few different colors. Make sure to clean the surface of the solder with a fresh scotch pad or stainless steel wool BEFORE HAND so that the PATINA will adhere properly and 'evenly'. Cheers, /Jman... I like to use bar solder
bigfootnampa -
Sunday, October 25, 2009 - 9:33am
I like to use bar solder (from roofing suppliers). I use the plumbing flux. DO pre-tin surfaces. I use a small cheap propane torch that has a little hose. I have had poor results with irons (which are actually copper) though they are traditional and many prefer them. The torch makes it easy and fast for me. I have done roofs with them. Bar solder is much nicer as you will have to feed wire like you were a mig. The bar is so much heavier that you have plenty of solder feeding into the joints as you get them hot. Roofers will use multiple torches to heat a tray of molten solder into which they dip the clean-sanded and fluxed edges of their copper for pre-tinning. The short ends of your bars make good metal to melt in the trays (my scotch ways). |
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ArtMetal
You ought to describe in
You ought to describe in detail what you're doing. How you're going about it is at least as important as what you're using. I think your solder is acid core. That means it has a flux inside the wire. If that isn't compatible with the other flux you're using there could be a problem. Are you using adequate heat? Copper is a terrific conductor and heat from your flame or iron flows away from the point you're soldering pretty quickly. If the piece you're heating is laying flat on some dense surface, it acts as a heat sink which could be preventing the copper from coming up to temp. Try heating a small piece of copper and see if you can melt a little snippet of solder onto it without using your flux.