On May 25, 9:27*pm, mbstevens wrote:
Peter W.. Rowe, wrote:
On Sun, 25 May 2008 11:02:47 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry mbstevens
wrote:

Yes, it is called phos-copper rod, available at many welding shops.
Sculptors loved it in the 50s and 60s when direct metal sculpture
was all the rage. *Makes a nice copper colored joint.

My probably incorrect memory of the stuff (at least a 30 year old memory) was
that it behaved more like a welding rod in that it didn't flow into a capillary
joint too well, but would nicely fill a gapped joint, just as one does with
stick welding rods. *Is that right? *or does it actually flow well enough to be
used like a solder? *Is the melting point low enough to also allow it's use on,
say, bronze or similar alloys?

Peter

...
seems to suggest that some kinds may melt a a pretty low temperature.-


I use copper Phos quite often in 3/32 and 1/8". It does solder quite
nicely but you do have to be careful with heat. Too much heat and the
stuff will ball up on you and become unuseable. If joining copper,
brass, sheet metal etc, the stuff I have seems to work best as a
'wetting' application vs. Brazing. I normally find the right
temperature with the torch and then wet the joints or pieces to be
joined. The color match is very good as well.

Myself, I prefer the low fume Bronze brazing rod. I usually scrape
off all or 'most' of the flux that coats the rod and use the borax /
ethanol homemade mix instead. It seems to work much better and is
waaaaaay less toxic than some of the stuff that comes off those rods.
The color match to copper is of course, pretty 'bad' but the tensile
strength is far better. The other downside to this is the amount of
heat you need to melt the bronze rod..... (about 50% hotter..)

If heat isn't an issue, I would highly suggest 'Silicone bronze
brazing rod'. It's flow point is about 1800 degrees but the results
are 'really nice'. The copper color is similar to that of a new penny
and the T Strength is superb. The 1/16" rods are great for reaching
those 'tough to find areas and makes joining small pieces really
convenient.

Cheers,

/Jman...