He'll "figure it out" !A first time fix, by a brazing neophyte is not likely to go well.
He'll "figure it out" !A first time fix, by a brazing neophyte is not likely to go well.
This is the comment I am using to figure this outThe 'trick' to understand is cast iron takes heat AWAY from the heat source real fast, so you need a lot of heat BEFORE you can start brazing the patch.
brazing is just 'high temperature soldering', the way I look at it. Get the parts hot and bronze flows,remove heat and you're done.
Ok yes, hit the cast iron way harder with grinding wheel, and the patchOK, those parts are NOT clean enough to braze !
I know what you are saying but: at the weld shop, i intentionally got rods without flux to keep them separated like the guy did in the video I am trying to emulateBTW the coating on the bronze rods IS flux. I never used anything BUT the rods.
Yes this is the advice that I am following from the other post (I did not try this yet)You need to preheat the point where you want the bronze to go
THEN place rod there and heat will melt a small amount of bronze and it'll flow a bit
REMOVE the flame !
Now go to the opposite side of the patch and repeat the process..
preheat,add bronze, move to another corner..
Once several corner are attached, go 1/2 the distance and
preheat,add bronze, move away....
After an hour or so ,you should be able to get the timing right of applying the correct amount of heat, dab of bronze, cool and continue
They had chinese lenses for $7, I did get them because I need to be close to the flame to see exactly what it is doingYou ARE wearing 'brazing googles' ?? Mine are a dark blue tint.
Are you aware that many of the Chinese lenses give virtually no protection? Spend the extra money and get a US-certified and made product. If you harm your eyesight, it isn't like getting a cut or burn that heals. Eyesight damage is for a lifetime. Looking at that flame is like looking at the sun during the eclipse. It was reported that many of the people who bought cheap Chinese counterfeit glasses got permanent eye damage.This is the comment I am using to figure this out
Point the flame on the cast iron, get it super hot, then push with left hand the bronze on that area until it flows, enough to encompass the 2nd entity, if the bronze rod is sticking, the area is not hot enough to melt the bronze (that happened on the last attempt)
Other details: the bronze stuck way better to the steel patch, none of the bronze stuck to the cast iron
Now I go experiment: how much heat can I give cast iron before damaging it? And I try to do the tack welds, give big heat to the edges, melt a bubble that would hold the patch on, then try to do like I am outlining
Ok yes, hit the cast iron way harder with grinding wheel, and the patch
I know what you are saying but: at the weld shop, i intentionally got rods without flux to keep them separated like the guy did in the video I am trying to emulate
Yes this is the advice that I am following from the other post (I did not try this yet)
They had chinese lenses for $7, I did get them because I need to be close to the flame to see exactly what it is doing
Good advice Jim!Some thoughts.
Beads show that there is not enough heat. Try preheating the pan in the oven and see if that helps in your test case.
Cast iron needs to be clean. When you get to the engine, you may need to bake out the engine oil and other contaminants prior to grinding.
Rods will work better when coated with flux. Before brazing, also apply flux everywhere you will be brazing to prevent metal from oxidizing and blocking braze.
Eye burn is forever.
One of those burners might be very handy. I don’t have one but think they put out some serious BTU’s.I'm the least qualified on this thread, but we all agree the cast skillet is not hot enough. The block wil be more of a challenge.
* You could try preheating with a propane torch like people use to burn weeds. Preheat a large area and maybe keep heating while you braze. This is where a third hand might be useful. This will take a lot of propane, but it is cheaper than acetylene.
* Insulate the outer part to reduce the heat loss and keep the object at as constant temperature throughout as possible.
Brazing is just like having sex. Once you have the torch in your hand it will come back to you. Just like sex, you won't be good at it the first time, it just takes a lot of practice. When you get old, brazing is just like sex, you have the desire, but sometimes it is just too much work, so you don't bother. YMMVI did some brazing decades ago and have long since forgotten how to do it.
I’m learning along with Joe…..you guys are great.![]()
Clue: YOUR amateur brazing ain't gonna work on the frying pan, and even less so on your engine block!Bronze sticking well to patch but not to the cast iron skillet
View attachment 135737
Hit the cast iron and steel patch real hard with grinding wheel
View attachment 135738
View attachment 135739
Second try with new data,
Forming beads around the patch trying to get it to stick, Hitting the cast iron with flame using right hand, Then coming in with bronze rod using left hand mounting a small puddle, attempting to make the bronze hold the cast iron and the steel
View attachment 135740
The flame being used
View attachment 135741
No bronze wants to stick to cast iron skillet, Bronze sticking very well to steel patch
View attachment 135742
My theory: not enough heat on the iron skillet to allow it to bond to the bronze
My next experiment: Hit the cast iron with the flame until you noticeably see the cast iron melting, I need to get it to that point so that the bronze can bond with it
View attachment 135744
This weld I am showing: Hit it with sledgehammer thinking it would break, nope, it is fully bonded to the patch, most of them are
Speak for yourself, if the first time had been any better I might not have lived through it.Brazing is just like having sex. Once you have the torch in your hand it will come back to you. Just like sex, you won't be good at it the first time, it just takes a lot of practice. When you get old, brazing is just like sex, you have the desire, but sometimes it is just too much work, so you don't bother. YMMV![]()
Haven't you "figured out" that Joe has to "figure that out" for himself ? Reminds me of something dad once told me "you can tell aClue: YOUR amateur brazing ain't gonna work on the frying pan, and even less so on your engine block!
You can not put enough flame to it to melt cast iron!My next experiment: Hit the cast iron with the flame until you noticeably see the cast iron melting, I need to get it to that point so that the bronze can bond with it