February 11, 201412 yr The flux is Patterson #1. The label says it's for brazing, silver soldering, welding: cast iron, brass, bronze, etc. I looked up the MSDS online; it won't tell you the formula, the intent is to tell people what's in a product so proper precautions can be taken and proper 1st. aid and medical attention can be rendered. The MSDS does tell a person what's in it and this one said the #1 is anhydrous borax and boric acid. I don't recall if it was the #1 or #2 that also had iron powder. Whatever's in it it worked with deliberately really poor prep. I'll be bringing my can to the meeting at Jim's so folk can try it out. Frosty The Lucky.
February 11, 201412 yr Mark: Rereading I realized I hadn't answered your question about etchant. I'm not sure, I have hydrochloric acid on hand and that's my probably choice right now. I'd like to try ferric chloride but buying it is pretty pricy. However I may try making up a batch, I'll be asking a chemist friend for the details and safety precautions. I suppose I could use vinegar but it's pretty slow, so it's on the list but down a ways. What are you using? Frosty The Lucky.
February 12, 201412 yr Where do you get Ferric chloride in quantity? Last time I looked the hazmat requirements made it hard to find more than a few ounces at Radioshack. Frosty The Lucky.
February 13, 201412 yr I bought it from an electric supply place in I think Calf. It came as a concentrate, I needed to add water. Seemed to me like it might have been a we wont ship item but they sent it. I will see if I can find who I got it from, when I ordered it I got a fair amount as I thought it might be hard to get later.
February 15, 201412 yr I've swapped a couple E-mails with a chemist friend and Ferrous chloride is pretty easy to make. Dissolve rust in hydrochloric or muriatic acid and it's ferrous chloride. Dissolve iron/steel and it needs to oxidize and takes more time. I'll be asking him how strong to make it or if it matters. He's a blacksmith as well and does some etching so is familiar with the process. Still, if we can get it ready made it'd save time, effort, hazard and acid fumes in the shop. All good things as far as I'm concerned. Frosty The Lucky.
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