Faux Copper solder

[WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith]

I am forging honey suckle flowers from copper pipe and attaching leaves forged from copper sheet, then attaching them to 1/4" rods (vines) on a farm gate.  This past weekend David Gaddis saw them and suggested using Faux Copper solder.  I had brazed the leaves on and, of course the brazing is a different color than the copper.  Does anyone know anything about Faux Copper and where to get it?

[Ten Hammers]

I weld copper with the torch.  Sometimes You need rod ( use whatever sized wire you need ) sometimes not.  IF you set the fillet up properly, you can just tack and then weld nicely.  Good idea to keep several sizes of drop stranded and solid wire on hand.

 

After re-reading, I see you are attaching copper to steel ?

[Timothy Miller]

One could weld copper to steel with copper wire.  You would be welding to the copper but brazing to the steel. 

[781]

At welding supply is where we get it for adding bottoms to roycroft vase. In a stick it patina just like copper hard to tell bottom is soldered on.

[WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith]

Thanks guys, I was afraid that using copper wire to braze copper that the thin copper tubing and sheet metal leaves that they would melt before the copper wire.

Thanks Roger, I had figured that I would check with my welding supplier but checked by doing an internet search and only came up with one supplier.  It came in a syringe as a paste but said that it melted at 13?? degrees.  It also seemed quite expensive.

[781]

I think it is phos copper.

[David Gaddis]

Wayne I have used copper welding via tig torch...to steel. That is the process I think you were referring to. Routinely I used phos-copper welding rod in the 36 inch length to attach copper products....via oxy-acetylene or oxy/propane. I suggest using the longer rods instead of the ones that are about 18 inches long, as they have less waste. 

 

copper tig is unusual process that can offer some unusual appearance. SOmetime it can be completely fused into the base metal but can also welded "cold" offering a less complete fusion with a fully copperous color onto the steel. 

 

There is a copper wire product for the mig machines but I have no experience with that. And copper tig welding can use lots of power, as the copper really soaks up the heat.

 

Good luck on your most-interesting project. Please post some pics for us to see.

 

Carry on

[SoCal Dave]

I was just brazing some very thick copper pieces together, (1/2"thick) with a tig machine.  I stopped when my friend want me to braze some standard home depot copper tubing to the 1/2" pieces.  My fear was that it took so much heat to bring the 1/2" pieces to brazing temp, that the tubing would have melted.  Any other methods?  I was thinking about using the sweating technique if the tubing was placed in a drilled hole?  

[Frank Turley]

Brazing with proprietary brazing rod? My comment probably won't help, but the brass rod melts at about 1600F and the copper melts at about 1980F.