Silver Soldering for the Clockmaker

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Horological Journal Nov. 2020 …

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

HJ was delivered this morning, featuring a nicely illustrated article by Jake Sutton

Pages 434 – 439

Non-subscribers might find it available in a decent public Library.

MichaelG.

[Bob StevensonParticipant @bobstevenson13909]

I wonder how many sliver soldering articles there have been in HJ over the years?…..I shall look out for this.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Latest in a series or articles by Jake Sutton on The Clock as a Work of Art. Jake also builds steam models and is a noted painter. The previous articles have also been extremely interesting and well worth looking up, though finding HJ if you're not a member is hard.

[Bob StevensonParticipant @bobstevenson13909]

Just a comment on this interesting article which we are going to discuss at the next zoom meeting of my clock club (EFHC)…….I like the general tone of the article and one can tell and see that he gets good results using careful pre-planning and thought, the most important items when silver soldering in my view….

I noticed that he avoided any discussion about what exact flux he uses and just kept to "flux", as befits the wise man he obviously is!

One point which did get my attention was his mention of cleaning soldered items overnight in citric acid solution…….personally, I have had mixed results with this. I first tried it out useing the small sachet that came with my torch kit from our friends at Cup-Alloys and found that while it does clean the joint it also quickly attacks the brass surface leaving a a 'satin' finish with pink hue…presumably by exposing the copper molecules. I would hesitate to soak overnight in citric acid, but that just me!…anyone else tried CA and got good results?

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

Don’t understand you would have to wait 12 hours to silver solder a joint, perhaps you need to talk to Keith Hale (CUP) the man has over 40 years experience in silver soldering. Went to one of his lectures and dispelled lots of old wives recipes for success and since then my silver soldering has got better and better.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

I think it's 12 hours in CA after soldering, not before…

[jaCK HobsonParticipant @jackhobson50760]

At the start of this Covid thing, I took the precaution to buy and Oxygen concentrator 'just in case'. It is great for using with my chinese 'little torch' for silver soldering.

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

If using easy flo fluxes (not tenacity) it is only necessary to put in boiling water after making the joint.

[Keith HaleParticipant @keithhale68713]

Hi Bernard

Thanks for your kind words. You will probably remember that it doesn't matter in the slightest how clean the joint is at room temperature.

The only. consideration is the cleanliness at 650°C. Other than ensuring the joint is not covered in oil/grease, mud, residue from shot blasting or emery cloth, you can do nothing about that apart from making sure you use the right flux. That ensures successful brazing

Pickling before silver soldering is a waste of time.

Glad to have been of help in the past. You can always contact my friends at CuP Alloys or me via a personal message.

Keith

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

I happened to visit Jake Sutton's shop a few months ago to pick up an ebay tool purchase having no idea who he was or that the address was even a shop. A single magnificent longcase clock adorned the window but inside the door on one side was a 12 in optical rotary table and on the other side the chassis of I think an immaculate Bulldog (loco). His desk had a dial drawing in progress (manual draughting) and the walls were hung with watercolours, which I now realise were his own work. There were no other clocks on view.
Knowing his name and that he is a clockmaker should enable you to find his website without a link.

[Author]

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