Braze rod filler with flux wire welder

[knute_m]

I'm not as young as I used to be, so I've given away a lot of my toys. I'm now basically a hobby farmer with just a little 120 V/140 Amp Lincoln wire welder. The little wire welder does nearly everything I need done except for some occasional strange jobs around the house and farm.

I got rid of all my O/A equipment, and my early 1960's 'Lincoln Tombstone.'

But, there are still things that I would prefer to braze because it would be easiest/best/safest done by relatively low temperature or relatively small size pieces - but not suitable for hotglue gun or JB Weld.

Has anybody tried using a 120 volt flux-core wire or MIG welder, mostly for heating, while adding brazing rod like you would have done with a torch?

If you were successful, did you use plain brass rod, fluxed rod, alloy rod, or any additional flux. Could you make a joint, especially a sweated joint, similar using flux core or MIG similar to one with a gas torch?

Thanks,
Knute

 

[kensnelling]

Never tried it, I can't imagine how it could work, trying to use a welding wire to braze? Maybe I don't really grasp what you're are trying to do, but it makes no sense to me. You're going to run a bead with your flux core wire and add a brass filler to it? Try it and let us know. I don't know it all, but never heard of this.

Ken

 

[knute_m]

Never tried it, I can't imagine how it could work, trying to use a welding wire to braze? Maybe I don't really grasp what you're are trying to do, but it makes no sense to me. You're going to run a bead with your flux core wire and add a brass filler to it?

Ken

My thought is to heat the metal edges, such as 1/8-in to 1/4-inch thick bracket, onto a 2-inch thick plate, or thicker. Such as hold-down eyes to hold bungee cords across an i-beam, etc. I would flux for the brazing area between the pieces, heat with the wire welder arc, and fill/sweat with brazing rod.

Am I crazy to even think about something like this? In the old days I sure brazed a lot of small stuff to really big stuff with O/A.

 

[BIG DOOLEY]

Your trying to tig weld.
Not going to work.

 

[Car Doc]

I think I follow what he is talking about he wants to weld a bead around the edges 3 presumably and hopefully sweat the brass between 2 pieces he welded the edges with while its hot am I right?

fwtw I would plug weld the parts together by drilling a hole thru them and fill that hole with the mig.

 

[knute_m]

Car Doc is closest to what I want to do. Not like TIG - no melting except for the brass rod, and what little wire is melted heating the joints. I'm look at fastening steel to steel, much like soldering, but with brass rather than tin/lead for the capillary flow.

I guess I'll just go try it.

Am I so old that brazing is not done anymore, and people just don't know what it is?

Somehow I think what I want to do is feasible, I'm just not sure how to clean and protect the surfaces while doing it.

Thanks,
Knute

 

[hosspuller]

How about using a carbon as a heat source. Just for giggles, try a pencil lead with the mig welder as a current source. It might be hard to strike and hold the arc without shield gas. Low cost experiment .. !!!

 

[kensnelling]

My thought is to heat the metal edges, such as 1/8-in to 1/4-inch thick bracket, onto a 2-inch thick plate, or thicker. Such as hold-down eyes to hold bungee cords across an i-beam, etc. I would flux for the brazing area between the pieces, heat with the wire welder arc, and fill/sweat with brazing rod.

Am I crazy to even think about something like this? In the old days I sure brazed a lot of small stuff to really big stuff with O/A.

Ok, I've got a better idea of what you're trying to do now. For the thickness of steel you are refering to I think you'd be hard pressed to generate enough heat with a 120 volt machine to make a good braze. Again, I've never tried it, just can't see it working well.

As a substitute, for brazing I suggest looking into a Mapp/Oxygen setup like they sell at Lowes or Home Depot. They're inexpensive (compared to a O/A setup) for occasional use, and I would think would be a better choice for generating enough heat to make a good braze.

Just my opinions, and now you've got my curiosity up. If you do try it let us know how it works, good or bad.

Ken

 

[schmism]

KISS.... OA torch and proper brazing rod.

$280 Portable Welding Torch Kit w/ Oxygen & Acetylene Tanks
+ $10 for brazing rod at HD/TSC etc.

 

[Reyer Farms]

My thought is to heat the metal edges, such as 1/8-in to 1/4-inch thick bracket, onto a 2-inch thick plate, or thicker. Such as hold-down eyes to hold bungee cords across an i-beam, etc. I would flux for the brazing area between the pieces, heat with the wire welder arc, and fill/sweat with brazing rod.

Am I crazy to even think about something like this? In the old days I sure brazed a lot of small stuff to really big stuff with O/A.

If I understand what you are doing.... The heat Is not going to move like you want it to. You are joining steel to steel in a low stress application. Why not just weld it? I understand your 2" sucking heat from the thinner piece but weld grind and weld again to get a bite in the thicker material you are comfortable with. If you can preheat the thicker buy some other means since you don't have a torch I would do so to help your welder capability. Weld on the thick steel and roll it to the thin, more better than brazing but I do love to braze.