In full compliance with Murphy's Law I just tried to unscrew a brass (might be bronze - how do you tell?) shaft from a tripod and twisted the top third off. My options look like either 1 - make a new piece from scratch, or 2 - hold the top and bottom tightly together (very clean break, about 3/8" diameter contact area) and zap it with a spot welder.
Option 2 is much less work. Any comments on whether this would work?
Thanks. Steve.
Spotwelding any copper compound is going to be real real tough unless you have a truly monumental spotwelder. Even aluminum requires a machine that costs like $50k.
I'm just learning about spotwelding is why I'm shooting off my bazoo about it lately.
GWE
I've tacked aluminum sheet using a 220V Miller spot welder. Copper might be a problem though because the tips on the welder are made of it!
Grant Erw> SteveF wrote:
Ditto on spot welding being a long run for a short slide...
I can't see the piece, but can you drill into the broken ends of both halves with a 3/16" drill about 3/8" deep, make a 3/4" longn steel pin "splint" and silver solder the whole thing together?
That ought to be plenty strong for that kind of application. Might even be good enough just silver soldered without the splint.
HTH,
Jeff
I spotweld brass ribbon to bronze round stock with a capacitive discharge spotwelder.
RJ
No (but that's beside the point). Brass/bronze is also much, much less conductive than pure copper. An inductor estimating program I have places even red brass below aluminum in conductivity, and yellow brass and phosphor bronze between zinc and tin.
Hey Steve, ain't got any silver solder on hand? A dab of that would fix it instantly.
Tim
-- "I've got more trophies than Wayne Gretsky and the Pope combined!" - Homer Simpson Website @
But at the expense of losing the work hardened condition of the stud. Likely to be worthless when finished because it would be too soft, and the thread could be easily screwed up with solder, too. I'd say that's a long shot. How about making a new one?
Harold
Hmmm, true. So don't screw it in so damned tight in the first place!
Spot welding needs nice high temperatures too though, it'd have to heat much of the work (depending on shape) pretty hot anyway, no?
Well, you'd only use enough to fill the capillary crack.
Tim
-- "I've got more trophies than Wayne Gretsky and the Pope combined!" - Homer Simpson Website @
Steve
It is really easy to weld that brass with even a poor spot welder. I've "spot welded" thousands of copper straps together by sandwitching a small flat piece of silversolder between two clean pieces of copper. Press the spotwelder's "weld" button till the brass gets hot enough to melt the silversolder.. Regular soft solder works too if strength and/or heat isnt a problem.
Jerry
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