Brazing steel is a simple task for Muggy Weld SSF-6 56% silver solder.
Mike visited a local auto repair shop to provide technical training, and one of the employees brought out this damaged steel oil pan as a brazing challenge. The punctured oil pan had been removed from a Bobcat Front Loader, with a potential replacement cost of $500. To save his customer some cash, Mike made the repair in a matter of minutes, with a very small quantity of silver solder. One inch of SSF-6 flows 18 inches, so brazing the oil pan was an economical solution for a costly repair problem.
Mike chose a propane torch to make the repair, however, SSF-6 can be applied with any heat source. A good rule of thumb is the thicker the metal, the stronger the flame.
After thoroughly cleaning the oil pan and pre-cleaning the repair area, Mike begins brazing by broadly heating the metal with his propane torch. Notice the circular motion. Continually moving the flame is an important technique when utilizing Muggy Weld products, as failure to broadly heat while brazing may end in overheating and melting the parent steel.
Flux-coated SSF-6 takes on the task at hand effortlessly. As the steel oil pan begins to heat to working temperature, Mike applies the flux by melting it off with his torch. Be sure to apply only the flux, allowing it time to cleanse and prepare the steel for brazing. When the steel begins to turn dull red, Mike adds the silver solder rod and flows the alloy in a circular motion, continuing to broadly heat. Notice he doesn’t add a large amount of silver solder at once–Mike applies the solder in small quantities to ensure the silver solder flows and bonds with the steel.
Another example of a perfectly use-able part on the junk pile because the shop did not know there was a real metal to metal fix for this thin steel. From now on their scrap pile is going to be a lot smaller…..
TIPS:
- Think twice before you throw away a part because of a cut, hole, split etc. MuggyWeld may have your solution.
- Working on thin steel you can use almost any type of torch to make the repair.
- Flow out each drop of rod before depositing more.
Note: Please observe all AWS Safety & Health Guidelines when using Muggy Weld products.
