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Removing wayard silver solder

I just tried my hand at silver soldering for the first time today (45% silver, 1200 deg flow temp). I soldered up a crankshaft for a small model steam engine I'm building. The problem is that I apparently used too much silver solder on one of the joints and it formed a real nice fillet. Unfortunately, that fillet is right where a piston rod needs to go. After re-heating and various other attempts to remove the extra solder I have found that either it isn't going to be easy to clean up this joint or, more likely, I just don't know how to do it properly.

So, the question is, is there a trick to getting rid of this silver solder fillet other than filing it off and re-polishing the journal? Thanks.

Robert

Reply to
Siggy
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You MAY have luck using the technique for soft solder - a woven copper braid applied to the hot joint soaking up the surplus by capillary attraction.

For the future, paint typing correction fluid where you don't want the silver solder to go.

Andrew Mawson

Reply to
Andrew Mawson

Robert, The bad news is: you have to face it, there is no easy way to remove the excess silver solder. Its not like soft (lead/tin) solder that can be removed with a suction pump or solder wick. You will have to file or machine the suplus away and refinish as best you can. The good news is: you probably won't make the same mistake again.

-- Regards, Gary Wooding

Reply to
Wooding

Nice tip, Andrew. Thanks.

Harold

Reply to
Harold & Susan Vordos

Reply to
Don Foreman

This is called "stop-off" It's available commercially as a solution, and also in paint markers.

Jim

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Reply to
jim rozen

On gun barrels and sights, I use some scrapers I have, otherwise it's time for the needle files. A soapstone marking crayon works as stop-off, welding suppliers carry those. I've never tried using capillary action from solder wick, I'd think that the high melting point of the filler would turn that into a gob of slag before it had a chance to do anything. Either that, or it would pull ALL the filler out of the joint, not what you want. Silver brazing is an acquired skill, you'll get better at it the more you do. Even with stop-off and anti-scale compound, you'll usually have to refinish parts after brazing. Some cleanup is always necessary, the flux is nasty stuff.

Stan

Reply to
Stan Schaefer

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