Silver soldering / brazing hearth

Hi, Matt,
I'm thinking of a trip to Guildford but not sure whether Saturday o Sunday. Maybe we could meet and have a BBQ after. ;-) Got your Centec yet? Roy
PS. I like kippers
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FWIW, I keep a few Thermalite blocks around to build small hearths with as required. Since Thermalite is soft, it is easy to cut holes and slots in to hold work in place.

I have a few insulating firebricks - the type used to make lightweight kilns - these are similarly easy to stack together and cut to shape if need be and are good for 1400 degrees C.
Regards, Tony

What sort of temperature will Thermalite whithstand? A few blocks came floating down the canal recently, I've just used them as blocks to sit steel plates on for cutting, that sort of use hadn't occured to me.
Cheers Tim Dutton Dry-Dock Traditional & Modern canal craft repairs Vintage diesel engine service

I doubt if they are going to withstand prolonged high temp - if I'm not mistaken, they are a cement-based material rather than a ceramic, and so are likely to de-nature somewhat if you heat them up too much/too often.
Regards, Tony

I've used a cast iron BBQ stand for years. Take the top stuff off and use good old-fashioned fireplace fire bricks. They come in useful sizes of 1' x 1' and 2' x 2' and form the sides, back and base.
The smaller ones are also very useful on the bench when silver soldering smaller jobs as being about 1" or more thick little or no heat goes through them.
Alan

Hi Roy
I'm definitely going on the Sunday to Guildford, let me know if you ar too.
After my traumas with Centecs I managed to add a self-induced one wit the nicest TS E-type I've ever seen. Gorgeous one on ebay this week. was going to bid 1400, but a crisis at work meant I missed it. It wen for 1220.00 :-(
One ray of sunshine: I picked up a clean base for my Amolco head, so now have a simple, but pretty sturdy bench mill - anyone got any advic for using these?
Cheers
Mat
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