[TheForge] Brazing vs welding

[Dave Brown]

At 07:24 11/16/02 -0800, you wrote:
>Do they make any brazing rod for stick welders?

Chris,

I couldn't find any references on the web for brazing rod for stick 
welders, but I did find a number of references to bronze welding rod.  The 
working temp is higher than what I understand to be the heat range for 
brazing, but is below the melting temperature of steel or cast iron.  One 
good informative page that I found is 
at  http://www.meg.co.uk/meg/app21.htm, where it says in part:

>                 Bronze welding is a process of joining metals in which 
> the edges of the
>                     metal are heated to a temperature below their melting 
> point and a
>                     bronze alloy is simultaneously melted and caused to 
> flow over the
>                     edges and join with them. By this means a strong and 
> ductile union is
>                     produced between high melting point metals, i.e. cast 
> iron, steel, copper
>                     and malleable iron etc.
>
>                     Bronze welding resembles brazing up to a point, the 
> application of
>                     brazing is generally limited to joints where a close 
> fit or mechanical
>                     fastening serves to consolidate the assembly. In 
> bronze welding the
>                     filler alone provides the joint strength, and is 
> applied by the
>                     manipulation of a heating flame in the same manner as 
> gas welding. The
>                     heating flame to serve the dual purpose of melting 
> off the bronze filler
>                     and simultaneously heating the surface to be joined. 
> the operator in this
>                     manner controls the work, hence the term "bronze 
> welding".
>
>                     Almost any copper-zinc alloy can be used as a medium 
> for such
>                     welding, but the consideration of costs, flowing 
> qualities, strength and
>                     ductility of the deposit, have led to the adoption of 
> one general purpose
>                     60-40 copper-zinc alloy with minor constituents 
> incorporated to
>                     prevent zinc oxide fuming and to improve fluidity and 
> strength.



Dave Brown
Heritage Smithing
Green Bay, WI
ABANA, UMBA, GoM, MODA, ARG