HI Chris
This is quite normal - the temperature of silver solder varies depending on the
hardness of the solder.
The higher the hardness the higher the working temperature. This also has the
advantage of starting with the
hardest and finishing with the softest if you have multiple soldering to do on one
piece.
Here is a link with some tips. - I have many clients who are jewellery manufacturers
which is where I
got all my questions answered. There are also great books on the market which describe
silver soldering in great detail
in the jewellery section of bookstores.
the link : http://www.fls.org.jm/users/fls/kerrst/boiler.html
Chris wolcott wrote:
> I'm new to Live Steam and soldering with silver solder. The few times
> I've done it so far, I've used a propane torch like you'd use to solder
> water pipe, and to get the silver solder to melt I've had to heat the
> work (Copper-Copper/Copper-Brass) until it glowed. Is this normal? I'm
> concerned that I'm going to melt something besides the solder doing
> this.
>
> Also, if I try to solder something to a piece that already has something
> soldered to it, will I not loosen the bond there trying to add the new
> piece? (I'm REALLY concerned if I ever try to attach something to my
> boiler/smokebox that I will compromise the pressure vessel's integrity.)
>
> Any hints on doing it right?
>
