• Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.

    We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.

    Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103

soldering brass

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

weekilt

32 Cal.
Joined
Jul 22, 2006
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Hello to all!
Been lurking a couple for a months. Learned alot, thanks!
Wanted to put a brass 'turtle' blade sight on my brass barreled coach gun but havent soldered anything since my high school shop class.
What kind of torch/solder/flux? How should i prep and finish it? Would a brass blackening product react funny with the solder.
Any tricks to finding the center top location for the sight or just eyeball it and scratch a mark?
I know nothing so any tips would be a help!
Thanks in advance.
Luv this site!
GK
 
Can't answer all your questions, but I would suggest using 50/50 plumbing solder becuase it takes little heat to flow. The hotter you get brass, bronze, or copper, the weaker it becomes.

Use "tinning flux" and a small pencil torch tip, keep the heat only where you want it.

This is a suggestion from an HVAC man, I've never done this to a barrel. I'd reccommend checking with Zonie, I think he's a mechanical engineer. :hmm:

Good luck

Legion
 
Legion has it right on how to solder the sight on. Make sure that the barrel and the sight are steel wool clean. Rust or oxidation will make it difficult to solder. The 50/50 solder works well, but make sure that you have a Flux as well. Flux the metal well, before heating and soldering. You will surprised how quick the solder works.

Try and get the sight in the right place, but if it isn't, you can always heat it and move it.

Many Klatch
 
Here's a few suggestions.The post aboutthe heat is correct.Keep your heat more focused on the barrel as it is much thicker.After finding where you want your sight(sorry,can't help much there)you can take a pencil and mark around your sight.This will keep your solder where you want it as solder will not run over lead.You may also like to flatten your solder with a clean hammer to help it melt quicker and make for a smaller contact spot.Once you get your solder onto your sight/barrel then work your heat around focusing on your thicker brass.Remember that you're forming a bond so treat both pieces so make sure they both get the heat they need.Hope this helps.It's really not complicated and will take less time than it took for me to type this. :grin:
 
Legion said:
I'd reccommend checking with Zonie, I think he's a mechanical engineer. :hmm:

I always thought he was a "rocket scientist" :rotf:
...seriously though, Zonie would be the one to know. another one of those brains that needs to be put on CD rom!
 
I'm a big fan of the pre-mixed lead-free solder/flux in paste form. It comes in a screw-top container and is easily used. I bought mine in the plumbing section of ACE hardware
 
If I were going to solder it on, I would “tin” the sight first.
Melt the solder on the sight. Then clamp it to the barrel
and heat the barrel around the sight. Till the solder on
the sight flows.
[url] http://www.mediacollege.com/misc/solder/tinning.html[/url]
[url] http://www.aaroncake.net/electronics/solder.htm[/url]


I epoxy mine on. J. B. Weld or the like.



Tinker2
 
Last edited by a moderator:
gkoch
I have a long piece of 1/2" square stock that I use to find the center line for the front sight on an octagon to round barrel. I rest one end of the square stock on the top flat of the octagon breech the other end I move backwards and forwards onthe top of the round part of the barrel
at the location of where I want the front sight to be. This will leave a line on the center of the barrel. I then use a small straight edge and a scribe and make the mark a little more difinite and a little longer than the sight base is. find and scribe the center line on the front and back of the front sight base. this will allow you to line up the sight with the center of the barrel.
As mentioned by others tin the bottom of the front sight base with solder.
I made a little tool from the metal banding that is used to strap parts and material to wooden pallets. It is a thin spring steel. I cut a piece about 8" to 10" long. put one end about 3" long in a vise and bend it to an L shape. In the short arm of the L use a hacksaw and cut a slot in the center. This will make two fingers that will straddle the front sight blade. The end of the long arm of the L is wrapped with wire or what ever to keep it in place and keep pressure on the short arm that will hold the sight in place while you solder. Flux the cleaned barrel and put the sight in position under the spring fingers of the L tool you made. Apply heat from the bottom of the barrel. You will soon notice that the flux will start to boil, keep applying heat and suddenly you will see that the solder melts and the sight will settle into place. Remove the heat and let the barrel cool. The sight should now be soldered to the barrel with the blade on the center line as held by the L shaped tool you've made. The sight will be permanently soldered in place. If you happened to get a little too much solder and it squeezed out from under the sight base, just take another piece of the spring banding and sharpen one end like a flat chisel and use it to scrape off the excess solder till you get a nice joint with no solder smeared on the surface of the barrel.
This all sounds complicated and it is a little time consuming but it's not that bad and it will look right. Plus if you ever want to do another it will be very simple once you get the experience under your belt. Oh, and save that L shaped tool if you think you will be doing more sights on octagon to round barrels.
Sorry to be so long winded, but I couldn't think of a shorter way to explain it and be reasonably clear.

Regards, Dave
 
Got to thinking... If you do use tinning flux, anywhere you put it will turn silver when heated (as the flux has solder ground up in it, hence "tinning").

Put the flux only where you want and maybe solder upside down; that is with the sight pointing down so any flowing solder will not stain your barrel.

Just a thought...

Legion
 
A lot has been said about using flux, and I can't argue with any of it.

You cannot use an electric soldering gun (or that gee whiz thing they advertised on TV). You need a small propane torch. When using this torch, keep the flame low. Slow is good, even when your heating up a thick thing like the barrel.

I can say there are basically two kinds of common flux used with solder.
The first is rosin core flux, often imbedded in the solder itself.
This rosin core solder is made for electrical wiring and will not work well for brass to steel joints like you need.

The other flux comes in a tube or little can. Without going into what's in it, this is the stuff you need. You will only need a tiny bit of it, just enough to wet the surface of the parts prior to tinning. More is not better.

The metal has to be absolutly clean and free of oils (including your finger prints). The flux will desolve these to an extent, but it is best to take some sandpaper and scratch up the surfaces slightly before fluxing and keep them totally oil free.

Remember, too much heat is just as bad or worse than not enough heat. This is especially important when you flux and "tin" the bottom of the sight.
You only need the part to be about 480 degrees F to melt the solder and that temperature is reached almost instantly on a tiny part if your heating it with a torch.

As was said, to tin the part first clean it, then flux it, then gently heat it touching it with the solder every little bit. When it's hot enough, the solder will melt onto it.
Do Not apply torch heat to the solder. Let the part heat it until it melts.

If you apply too much solder and it forms a bead, take a piece of thick material like denum (or a clean wire brush) and brush off the excess solder.
You are trying to make a uniform, very thin layer of solder on the part, not a big blob. :grin:

When your done tinning, you will have a thin, bright layer of solder covering the entire area you want the joint to be in.

When the parts are cool, put the sight where you want it and lightly clamp it in place with a little C clamp.
Now gently heat the barrel all around the sight, keeping the torch flame away from the actual sight.
After bit, the barrel will be hot enough to melt the tinned solder and a tiny bead of solder will appear at the edges of the sight.
Don't touch a thing!!! Just stop heating the barrel and go get something cool to drink.
Sip it down and when your finished, remove the C clamp. You should now have successfully soldered the sight in place.

zonie :)
 
I've yet to try it yet. But have heard of using water base white out as a mask to protect areas where you don't want solder to stick.
Then wash it off once soldered.
Anybody tried it?
 
Back
Top