One tip I received many years ago that helped me wrap my head around this type of brazing is to remember the filler material ( brazing rod aka bronze) goes to the heat. Meaning it will always try to go to the hottest point. Flux will help it get there faster. That, and also understanding that the approach angle is what I try to focus on when brazing. I do ALOT of brazing with 45 and bronze is what I use the majority of the time. But your video was still very informative and entertaining. 😊
Thanks very much. That's a really great tip btw. It is a little weird trying to wrap your head around how that works, but it 100% fits with what I've experienced while practicing. One of my big issues was that I was trying to "heat the bronze" directly instead of allowing the job to heat up and then letting the bronze flow to that heat. Makes perfect sense when thinking about struggling to get the bronze to go to the right place.
Pro-hobbyist tip, run a slightly hotter flame than you think you need. Then, hold the tip slightly farther away to spread the heated area out a little farther. This helps prevent hotter than needed spots and a more even heat to the part, which in turn reduces the cracking probability when it cools. It also helps the filler material flow out better as more of the area is evenly heated.
Oh wow - first of all: highly-relevant video. Second: IDK what you've done here, but your video production quality is very high - not that it was bad before or anything, but that you've clearly been working at something - maybe writing ahead of time, maybe editing, IDK. whatever it is, it works. this is great.
@@StripeyType thank you very much. I have indeed been working very hard at it and to be honest it’s really nice to hear that. So glad you’re liking the vid and I sincerely appreciate the positive feedback. Cheers
Great explanation, I'll need to start trying this myself too soon. I have some broken cat iron (architectural decorative bits) that needs fixing. What size of acetylene torch tip did you end up using?
Thanks very much. I'm using a #3 tip the whole time here. I think a #2 or #3 is usually a pretty good general purpose tip for most stuff around the hobby shop, at least as far as I can tell in my limited experience so far. Thanks for watching btw.
For a first go at brazing cast iron you did really well, you are right practice is the key but looks like you are on the right path. Before i had acess to oxy or tig my first attempts were with a carbon arc torch on the wife's mini fixing bodywork many years ago. Not pretty but it worked 😂
I taught myself cast iron bronze brazing with the exact same lincoln portable torch kit you have. Never had any experience before diving in. SUPER HELPFUL TIP - Get the flux coated bronze filler rod in 3/32” … If you try and use 1/8” on a small part you’re going to struggle, only time I’ve ever found myself “needing” an 1/8” over a 3/32” was for a LARGE VISE crack which required the crack to be ground down for 4” and ran 6” across (part weighed 70+lbs). For almost all bracket repair or common cast iron part repairs weighing under 20lbs , the 3/32” rod will be perfect. The ease of use is night and day between heating & dipping your rods in flux… the ease and results you’ll see will be night and day just like when you try brazing with Harris Safety Silv 45 or 56. For brand I would go Hotmax or Lincoln, I tried US Forge but for some reason I had more trouble with that brand(batch?). Hobart, Forney, Harris would probably be fine too but since I can only speak from experience …which is I loved the HotMax 36” rods they made the process as user friendly as I could ever have hoped.
Thanks very much for the info. I'll definitely pick up some rods and experiment based on your recommendations. And I love this little portable kit. I grabbed it off craigslist for an absolute steal nearly brand new. Thanks again, and thanks for watching!
I am by no means an expert in oxyacetylene processes but the gas flame in the vise repair sequence appeared to me to be carburizing rather than neutral. Once again since I am no expert I couldn’t speculate whether introducing more carbon into the surface might have any effect but just wanted to throw that out there in case someone might weigh in. I have a little experience with TIG brazing using Silicon Bronze but have no idea if that method is applicable to cast iron. Thanks for posting your experience.
@@Dogfather66227 thanks very much. I didn’t end up with any excess carbon on the part, you might be seeing the flux burning as a result of me applying too much heat honestly lol.
Brazing is an art, not that I have any skill with it, I don't, but it takes practice and once it comes together it just works. My 8th grade shop teacher was a brazing Jedi. Why? Because he had done it a lot. The tip he gave me that helped me the most was to melt the rod with the piece you are trying to braze together. Melting the rod with the torch will never work.
@@hersch_tool hope you have been doing jobs to help your family! I'm working outside my comfort zone also been doing auto repair on engine heads seems no one around here doesn't want to anymore take care and best wishes
That's exactly what I did, spent a couple days pulling stuff out of the scrap bucket and trying to stick it together. Definitely glad I finally did it. Brazing has been one of those things that's been getting the best of me for a long time.
Thank you for doing this video. I have a brand new oxy/acet torch setup which I had purchased for the sole purchase of learning how to braze. I have hesitated trying because I really didn't know where to start. I now have some beginning ideas. So, here is my situation. I have a '62 Impala that has some rust holes in parts that are not available in the aftermarket. They are also very complex as far as bends and curves and would be very difficult to reproduce. Since this is in sheet metal which is already thin from the rusting, it appears I should try the silver/bronze vs. the straight bronze because of its ability to flow at a lower temp. I'd be interested in your thoughts since you just brazed razor blades.
You're very welcome, and thank you very much for watching. And that's a really great question. Remember, I'm no expert so take this with a grain of salt, but my initial thought is to say yes, give the silver brazing a try. That said, you also might pick an inconspicuous spot and experiment with both before committing fully. Either way you go, just make sure that you heat the part enough for the filler to bond. With silver brazing, you can melt the filler before you get the base up to temp if you're not careful and it won't stick well. So, whether you go with bronze or silver, you'll want to make sure that the base metal is glowing red before flowing the filler. Also, you can try getting some sheet metal of the same size and cutting it as backer for the holes. It's really difficult to build up and fill holes without some kind of backer, especially for beginners like us. This also give you the benefit of being able to concentrate the heat onto the backer while allowing the backer to help spread that heat to the part. It's very easy to blow a hole through sheet metal with oxy acetylene, so that should be helpful in reducing the pucker factor lol. Also you'd be getting some practice on the back side of the part while you're brazing the backer material in place. Good luck, and thank you for watching!
@@ninomaiorano6697 I don’t think so. The flux flows to the heat either way and if you apply it too early you might just end up burning it. But like I said, I’m not an expert so I could be wrong but that doesn’t seem to be how I’ve ever seen it done either. Thanks for watching btw
The part that you fixed on vice , you can't put alot of torque on it when tightening it down , wouldn't been better to TIG weld it instead ? TIG welding is stronger weld than Brazing . Either way interesting video , keep it up and thank you , William , MN
Brass or bronze has more UTS than the cast iron does. You just have to get the filler to wet out the parent material. That's what flux does, and why silver content is important.
Good question, honestly I don't know that tig would have been preferred for this particular repair. Given its small size and the base material being cast iron, I think there's a strong argument for brazing even if tig is available? But, I'm not the expert lol, and I also don't have tig either way. Thanks very much btw, and thank you for watching!
Sup m8? First! -edit- Damn, you just invented an actual ``safety razor``... What a remarkable feat of engineering! Not just one, but two safety razors in one... Shiet man, that`s some business mind right there in action :P Also, nice job... Yeah, brazing is fucking disgusting... I prefer tig above all other methods, even tig brazing, but that shit doesn`t fly with everything... Brazing is just the worst, right after painting... Cheers! Steuss
Haha, what up bro. Yeah, I don't have a tig, never used one, but I would love to get one and try it. And yeah, painting is I think legally classified as officially the worst... lol
One tip I received many years ago that helped me wrap my head around this type of brazing is to remember the filler material ( brazing rod aka bronze) goes to the heat. Meaning it will always try to go to the hottest point. Flux will help it get there faster. That, and also understanding that the approach angle is what I try to focus on when brazing.
I do ALOT of brazing with 45 and bronze is what I use the majority of the time. But your video was still very informative and entertaining. 😊
Thanks very much. That's a really great tip btw. It is a little weird trying to wrap your head around how that works, but it 100% fits with what I've experienced while practicing. One of my big issues was that I was trying to "heat the bronze" directly instead of allowing the job to heat up and then letting the bronze flow to that heat. Makes perfect sense when thinking about struggling to get the bronze to go to the right place.
You are to be commended for stepping out of your comfort zone....and sharing the experience. We are all learning. Thank you.
Thanks very much, I appreciate that. And thank you for watching.
Good video David! Learning from a modest newbie encourages us to give it a go also! Cheers, Cliff
@@Threadexpress thanks Cliff, cheers!
Pro-hobbyist tip, run a slightly hotter flame than you think you need. Then, hold the tip slightly farther away to spread the heated area out a little farther. This helps prevent hotter than needed spots and a more even heat to the part, which in turn reduces the cracking probability when it cools. It also helps the filler material flow out better as more of the area is evenly heated.
That makes sense, I'll give it a try. Thanks very much for that! And thank you for watching
Oh wow - first of all: highly-relevant video.
Second: IDK what you've done here, but your video production quality is very high - not that it was bad before or anything, but that you've clearly been working at something - maybe writing ahead of time, maybe editing, IDK. whatever it is, it works. this is great.
@@StripeyType thank you very much. I have indeed been working very hard at it and to be honest it’s really nice to hear that. So glad you’re liking the vid and I sincerely appreciate the positive feedback. Cheers
Great explanation, I'll need to start trying this myself too soon. I have some broken cat iron (architectural decorative bits) that needs fixing. What size of acetylene torch tip did you end up using?
Thanks very much. I'm using a #3 tip the whole time here. I think a #2 or #3 is usually a pretty good general purpose tip for most stuff around the hobby shop, at least as far as I can tell in my limited experience so far. Thanks for watching btw.
For a first go at brazing cast iron you did really well, you are right practice is the key but looks like you are on the right path. Before i had acess to oxy or tig my first attempts were with a carbon arc torch on the wife's mini fixing bodywork many years ago. Not pretty but it worked 😂
Lol, sometimes we gotta use the tools we have and "force" it to work! haha And thank you!
I taught myself cast iron bronze brazing with the exact same lincoln portable torch kit you have. Never had any experience before diving in.
SUPER HELPFUL TIP - Get the flux coated bronze filler rod in 3/32” … If you try and use 1/8” on a small part you’re going to struggle, only time I’ve ever found myself “needing” an 1/8” over a 3/32” was for a LARGE VISE crack which required the crack to be ground down for 4” and ran 6” across (part weighed 70+lbs). For almost all bracket repair or common cast iron part repairs weighing under 20lbs , the 3/32” rod will be perfect. The ease of use is night and day between heating & dipping your rods in flux… the ease and results you’ll see will be night and day just like when you try brazing with Harris Safety Silv 45 or 56.
For brand I would go Hotmax or Lincoln, I tried US Forge but for some reason I had more trouble with that brand(batch?). Hobart, Forney, Harris would probably be fine too but since I can only speak from experience …which is I loved the HotMax 36” rods they made the process as user friendly as I could ever have hoped.
Thanks very much for the info. I'll definitely pick up some rods and experiment based on your recommendations. And I love this little portable kit. I grabbed it off craigslist for an absolute steal nearly brand new. Thanks again, and thanks for watching!
I am by no means an expert in oxyacetylene processes but the gas flame in the vise repair sequence appeared to me to be carburizing rather than neutral. Once again since I am no expert I couldn’t speculate whether introducing more carbon into the surface might have any effect but just wanted to throw that out there in case someone might weigh in. I have a little experience with TIG brazing using Silicon Bronze but have no idea if that method is applicable to cast iron. Thanks for posting your experience.
@@Dogfather66227 thanks very much. I didn’t end up with any excess carbon on the part, you might be seeing the flux burning as a result of me applying too much heat honestly lol.
Brazing is an art, not that I have any skill with it, I don't, but it takes practice and once it comes together it just works. My 8th grade shop teacher was a brazing Jedi. Why? Because he had done it a lot. The tip he gave me that helped me the most was to melt the rod with the piece you are trying to braze together. Melting the rod with the torch will never work.
+1 For that last statement.
100% agreed. Thanks very much, and thank you for watching!
Great video man, good info..
Thank you!
nice work!
@@mike9500 thanks!
Very interesting. Nice work sir. I don’t have much experience on brazing.
Thanks very much. And me either haha, but I'm working on it!
great tips. Maybe consider adding flashback arrestors to the cutting torch. Just in case
Thanks very much. I'm not familiar with flash arrestors, but I'll look it up! Thanks again, and thanks for watching!
Very cool video. LOL
Haha, "cool", I see what you did there...
Welding=cohesion, brazing=adhesion
Cool thumbnail!
Thank you!
thank you for another great video. wish i could produce what i do but i don't have the temperament!
@@robertharper8776 thanks very much. And yeah, sometimes it’s really difficult honestly. Thanks for watching btw
@@hersch_tool hope you have been doing jobs to help your family! I'm working outside my comfort zone also been doing auto repair on engine heads seems no one around here doesn't want to anymore take care and best wishes
I need to get better at this myself. Need to find some junk to practice on.
That's exactly what I did, spent a couple days pulling stuff out of the scrap bucket and trying to stick it together. Definitely glad I finally did it. Brazing has been one of those things that's been getting the best of me for a long time.
Thx for the vid., and as another commenter stated, melt the rod with what you're trying to braze not the torch.
Yeah this is 100% true. Probably the most important thing to get right. Thank you, and thanks for watching!
Thank you for doing this video. I have a brand new oxy/acet torch setup which I had purchased for the sole purchase of learning how to braze. I have hesitated trying because I really didn't know where to start. I now have some beginning ideas. So, here is my situation. I have a '62 Impala that has some rust holes in parts that are not available in the aftermarket. They are also very complex as far as bends and curves and would be very difficult to reproduce. Since this is in sheet metal which is already thin from the rusting, it appears I should try the silver/bronze vs. the straight bronze because of its ability to flow at a lower temp. I'd be interested in your thoughts since you just brazed razor blades.
You're very welcome, and thank you very much for watching. And that's a really great question. Remember, I'm no expert so take this with a grain of salt, but my initial thought is to say yes, give the silver brazing a try. That said, you also might pick an inconspicuous spot and experiment with both before committing fully. Either way you go, just make sure that you heat the part enough for the filler to bond. With silver brazing, you can melt the filler before you get the base up to temp if you're not careful and it won't stick well. So, whether you go with bronze or silver, you'll want to make sure that the base metal is glowing red before flowing the filler. Also, you can try getting some sheet metal of the same size and cutting it as backer for the holes. It's really difficult to build up and fill holes without some kind of backer, especially for beginners like us. This also give you the benefit of being able to concentrate the heat onto the backer while allowing the backer to help spread that heat to the part. It's very easy to blow a hole through sheet metal with oxy acetylene, so that should be helpful in reducing the pucker factor lol. Also you'd be getting some practice on the back side of the part while you're brazing the backer material in place. Good luck, and thank you for watching!
You may also be interested in some videos by Ron Covell then. He's great with sheet metal!
@@rjordans Yep, already subscribed to Ron's channel. He's an amazing guy.
Would it help to apply flux to the joint of the cast-iron vise you braised? Just wondering.
@@ninomaiorano6697 I don’t think so. The flux flows to the heat either way and if you apply it too early you might just end up burning it. But like I said, I’m not an expert so I could be wrong but that doesn’t seem to be how I’ve ever seen it done either. Thanks for watching btw
This Old Tony's kid???
This guy really does have a ToT vibe!
Don’t be a nuisance
The part that you fixed on vice , you can't put alot of torque on it when tightening it down , wouldn't been better to TIG weld it instead ?
TIG welding is stronger weld than Brazing .
Either way interesting video , keep it up and thank you , William , MN
Brass or bronze has more UTS than the cast iron does.
You just have to get the filler to wet out the parent material.
That's what flux does, and why silver content is important.
Good question, honestly I don't know that tig would have been preferred for this particular repair. Given its small size and the base material being cast iron, I think there's a strong argument for brazing even if tig is available? But, I'm not the expert lol, and I also don't have tig either way. Thanks very much btw, and thank you for watching!
Sup m8? First!
-edit-
Damn, you just invented an actual ``safety razor``... What a remarkable feat of engineering! Not just one, but two safety razors in one... Shiet man, that`s some business mind right there in action :P
Also, nice job... Yeah, brazing is fucking disgusting... I prefer tig above all other methods, even tig brazing, but that shit doesn`t fly with everything... Brazing is just the worst, right after painting...
Cheers!
Steuss
Haha, what up bro. Yeah, I don't have a tig, never used one, but I would love to get one and try it. And yeah, painting is I think legally classified as officially the worst... lol
Hello, I'm here for the puns.
Finished silver and bronze braze looks very good. You’re much too modest in declaring your lack of experience.
@@ellieprice363 thanks very much, I appreciate it.
Way too much filler. Use capillary action to fill joint.