Thread: Soldering stainless steel.

Can be done, just make sure everything is clean and I mean clean

Thanks DJ, the pieces are clean, but what do I clean them over with before I start?

Does the silver solder kit give a strong join?

I am asking now 'cause the WWW show is in a couple of days and I think I should pick up a kit.

Wiht a lot of patience and a lot of cleanliness stainless can be soldered with regular solder, but it involves it being heated and tinned and rubbed and so on and so on and etc etc etc, and after many times of this it will start to take on the solder and be able to be soldered.

By far your best bet is silver solder, as with most things cleanliness is important and it can be done with LPG like one of the little primis style bottles with the nozel that screws directly onto the bottle. If you use the right amount of flux, and watch for the flux to do its job, ie- "wet" the area that it has cleaned when the temp is right, you will all but need to touch the silver to the job in just a few places and it will almost race around your join and give you the smoothest of joins you have seen. A neat or tight fitted join will be lots easier to solder and it will also need far less silver to do the job and will get you away from the hastle of lots of silver on the job to fill gaps and the risk of blobs or lumps etc.

Do a search, I am pretty sure Graham has done a step by step on it. Hang on and I will have a quick look

Found it, Silver soldering by Grahame Collins

You can silver solder stainless , I think however you may need oxy rather than lpg , have you considered rivits, make your shape and where the mould meets run the ends out at 90 degrees away from the shape and rivit these

Rgds

Ashore's riveted joint would likely make a cleaner interior than a single lap joint, although a double lap (with backing strap) would be cleanest. I'd suggest a punch or cobalt drill for the rivet holes.

Joe

Hi I considered rivetting, the problem is I made these cutters 8 years ago and when I made them I was full of good ideas about welding - which never came to fruition. - But rivetting is a worthwhile suggestion and if I make more it will be the method of joining I use.

I did not make these cutters with extra material for a flange, so soldering is my primary option.
Thanks for finding the link DJ. However if it does not work, I may look at riveting a "joining flange/backing plate" to the end pieces.
Thanks to everyone for your help - as the idea is feasible it is time to go to the library for more research (after I read the link of course!)

If you can find somebody with a spot welder ,they are the shot

I have silver soldered small pieces of stainless with a big soldering iron.

I also found that some phosphoric acid helped but it is now hard to find.

Originally Posted by felixe

Hi guys
I have some cutters I have made from folded and bended strips of stainless steel, just like biscuit (food) cutters - only not for bikkies!! I want to join the ends together (just like a circle) to form my shapes and I cannot weld - well that's not entirely true, but I suck at it and don't have a kit. Welding stainless together sounds too hard, I think maybe starting with soldering would be easier for fine work and cheaper to set up a kit?

Can I use the silver solder kit from Carbatec for bandsaw blades?

I don't know about the Carbatec kit but as members have already been said silver soldering can be done but don't get the hot part of the envelope too close to the blade or you will melt it as well as get it dirty. You can also braize them. A work colleague does them that way, where has I use the electrical resistance equipment that is usually fixed to commercial bandsaws.

Am I wrong?

Is there an alternative?

Should I post photos of what I want to do?

Thanks!