Question: Soldering to stainless and 1018 steel

NDRancher

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Feb 20, 2017
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Hi, I'm new to this forum and engraving. I'm actually not an engraver yet, still saving for the equipment. That being said. I have purchased dead soft nickel, brass and copper sheet to cut out and over lay on bits and spurs ( which I'm learning to make right now) and whatever I can solder something to.
My first attempt was to solder a bronze brand to a stainless cup. And failed miserably. Long story short is I had to take it all off and do a lot of sanding to restore the cup to looking like stainless.
I'm curious about the steps for soldering and if you can do something in prep so you don't have to use pickle at the end or if pickle is a must. And also if you are overlaying onto standard 1018 metal, what kind of pickle to use.
Any info would be great, Thanks.
 

NDRancher

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Thanks Brian,
I'm not sure what tinning is. I assume its heating the part until solder runs on it prior to soldering. I had the parts cleaned and fluxed and tinned the brass. But the stainless is an insulated Yeti cup so all the heat had to come from on top. So I wasn't sure if you can over heat the part or if you should preheat the cup and then set the brass piece on it.
I got some fire scale preventer so that should help with cleanup. And I built a contraption today that can hold pressure on the work while I solder it. Being round and awkward it was hard to position. I'll give it another try and see if round two is better.
Thanks Jay T
 

Brian Marshall

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Let's change direction here...


What solder are you using? And what flux?

On an insulated stainless cup I'd be choosing a low temp silver bearing solder - NOT a silver solder (at brazing temp) which you'd be using the black flux for...

I'd also start a small patch of solder to melt on the stainless before laying the overlay on top and sweating everything together...


You can remove most of the low temp fluxes with hot water or an ultrasonic. (it may contaminate your solution, so use old stuff)


Brian
 

Ron Spokovich

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The question arises if you'll ruin the insulative integrity of that cup, as the insulation may not take even a lot more than it was designed for. I'd not want to run that risk, but I don't know if those cups can be dismantled, or not!
 

Brian Marshall

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There are silver bearing solders in the 400+ range that might be safe.

The thing that would worry me is whether that space between the walls is occupied by vacuum or just sealed air insulation?

You could break the integrity of a vacuum or have a minor explosive reaction if it is sealed in air...


Brian


Another possibility is that there is some kind of insulative foam injected into the space? Somewhat like the expanding stuff you can buy in aerosol cans?

Someone needs to cut one open and see...
 

NDRancher

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The cup is vacuum sealed air so if I cut it, the insulation will be ruined. I realized last night that I had used Hard Solder from Rio. So I ordered easy solder and will give that a shot when it gets here.
 

Southern Custom

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Stay-Brite all the way. The silver easy from Rio is made for jewelry soldering which is far to high a temperature for your application.
Clean well, flux well. flow solder onto one of the pieces. Heat the larger of the two pieces first.
Layne
 

NDRancher

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Thanks for the info StayBrite is what I ordered.
This site is really sweet. Before I became a member I lurked our trying to learn stuff and it sure shortens the learning curve when you guys are willing to share a few tips and tricks.
Thank You, it is greatly appreciated!!!!
Jay T
 

monk

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micro mark staybright and tix flux has worked for several stainless buckles i have done. not sure of the ss alloy, it was rather difficult to cut, but soldered well
 

bronc

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Jay, lot's of bit and spur makers are mounting these cups now. Some are using low temp solder like StayBrite and some are using silver solder--probably 560. And if you use low temp, you can get by heating the cup with a heat gun instead of a torch. A friend of mine contacted Yeti about this and was told mounting the cups would void the warranty. I've heard some guys say they thought the cups didn't work quite as well after being mounted and I've heard others say it didn't affect performance. One thing to think about, this is not an easy solder job no matter how you approach it. You might think about tackling some easier projects and working your way up. As far as a pickle for steel, diluted muriatic acid (50% acid, 50% distilled water) works pretty well. Toilet bowl cleaners like Sno Bowl and The Works also work pretty well. But don't put pieces that have been low temp soldered in the acid -- the acid will eat the solder if you leave the piece in there very long. And any time you use acid, soak the hell out of the piece in baking soda solution after. Good luck!
 

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