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[banjo]

Hi People,
I need to silver solder the various bits that comprise the Mast fitting on my Tito.   I see that Maplins have a selection of Gas torches.  Will one of them be up to the job?
Any advice much appreciated..

Thanks in anticipation,

[catengineman]

Hi, having built a Tito I think you will need to find some various grades of solder so that as you fix one part the next will not desolder it (due to heat transfer) or make a jig with small clamps to hold all the bits then solder them all in the same solder (quite fiddly)

For heat if you have a large iron then it should be enough to complete the job, unless you are used to the gas torch I would recomend that you stay with an iron (easier to control and slightly more localised with the heat)

I built the mast in sections with heavy solder then when I wanted to fix all the bits together I used various grades of solder starting at the bottom of the mast.

I cant help you with the grade of solder as I have had several rolls of "lead solders" for many years.

Richard,

[banjo]

Thanks Richard

[tonyH]

Hi BJ,

Maybe a daft question but why silver solder?

It really does give super structural strength but needs a lot of heat which will temper or soften the (normally) brass wire used for masts etc. and can distort the whole thing.

I've not had a problem with the small blowlamps and silver, assuming the parts aren't large but you need to isolate the heat to the part being worked on, so don't use metal g-clamps to hold the job together or prop it up on metal V-blocks etc.
With larger parts, you may need to use a bigger blowlamp to heat the parts generally and use the little one for very localised heat.

Like Richard, I'd have thought that various heat ranges of soft solder would give ample strength with more control, whether you use a gas torch or a normal iron, without the problem that can arise with the silver.

Tony