[CR]Re: Silver solder

(Example: Framebuilding:Tubing:Falck)

From: <StuartMX4@aol.com>
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 15:37:26 EST
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]Re: Silver solder

I hesitate to stick in my two penn'orth as I am the archetypal non-expert... jack of all trades, master of none, but......
       It is too dogmatic to assert that silver soldering is not a correct term. I have never bought silver solder as anything except silver solder. I have two small packets in front of me with the legend silver solder on them. Regarding the lower temperatures, some Morgan three wheelers raced pre-war had the lugs silver soldered rather than brazed. That may have been to avoid weakening the tubes but I have always understood that it made it easier to remove the lugs for retubing or repair. It is impossible to get a brazed lug off a Morgan; you have to saw it off and machine out the stub of tube. I think I am correct in saying that accidentally bending a tube while brazing results in it snapping while with silver solder you will get away with it. I have to admit that I have never tried to break a tube that way. Sorry if this is off topic, but I do rather object to being told that "silver soldering" is a term never used by engineers. How about modifying that to "never used by twenty first century engineers in the USA?" Stuart Tallack in quaint old-fashioned Sussex Postscript even more off topic. The large rear chassis lug on a Morgan tricycle which carries all transmission and rear suspension loads is soft soldered. It tends to creep round under all that load but takes several decades to move a few degrees.