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FliesLikeABrick OP t1_jd45xwc wrote

The lessons:

  • heat management: think about your strategy for heating the material before lighting the torch and start pointing the torch at things

  • It was good to wrap a wet rag around the shank near the handle, to slow down heat propagation that would melt/burn the rubber

  • Surface prep, even for a quick/dirty braze repair on a garden tool.

  • To do correct surface prep, fully breaking the broken thing may be required and beneficial

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thoraway97 t1_jd48908 wrote

Looks really clean; the heat management in particular is pretty clever. How well does the joint hold up under use? I've only seen braze joints in fixed piping systems, just curious about the strength for other applications.

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FliesLikeABrick OP t1_jd4m1gv wrote

So far so good. I've done braze repairs mainly on cast iron and that has held up great, even a vise I repaired

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KRed75 t1_jd61gjv wrote

I'm one of the biggest DIYers I know and even I would toss that in the trash and buy a new one....But not before I kept it for 8 years telling myself I would weld it back together once I get some shielding gas to weld stainless.

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FliesLikeABrick OP t1_jd7u3a1 wrote

/r/Anticonsumption - in the future if you do have something you don't think you can /want to repair, consider giving it to a friend or someone who would (or at least could learn or practice on it). Thanks for your comment!

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KRed75 t1_jda8d12 wrote

If I can't or won't repair it, I certainly don't know of anyone else who could or would.

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snuggle_sauce t1_jd4gtxp wrote

Why not weld it and be done.

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FliesLikeABrick OP t1_jd4lwgy wrote

It is stainless and I am not set up to weld stainless

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snuggle_sauce t1_jd4nkay wrote

If you don’t have a welder you should find an automotive shop, they would probably do it for nothing. It’s only take a few seconds.

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556223556 t1_jd4rmjy wrote

Seems a lot easier to just fix it in his shop with what he has vs driving to a mechanic and bothering them to weld something they don't want to deal with and may not be equipped to do.

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FliesLikeABrick OP t1_jd4tlxd wrote

This is exactly right, I have multiple welding processes available but do not have the right mix of welder, technique, and materials on hand to weld stainless - it is something I have never needed to do in my shop and I am skeptical of the quality of stainless here in the first place.

As it is I can't tell if the original joint was a weld or something more like a silver solder/braze. I imagine if it was a weld they would have had better penetration and cross-section than it had, so who knows if it was material that was even amenable to welding.

That is all to say I 100% agree with you. I knew it would take braze regardless of alloy, and with brazing there was almost 0% chance of destroying the base metal with poor heat control or other inexperience. Especially because I do not have any tiny OA tips or TIG available, the chances of me burning through the plate portion would just be too high.

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snuggle_sauce t1_jd4sefr wrote

You can weld stainless with a MIG, TIG, or a simple stick welder. There are lots of places you can ask to do stuff that they don’t normally deal in, just takes a question and the guts to ask it. Just around my small town I know of a boat place, 3 mechanics and a machine shop that’d do this in a heartbeat. Hell, if you have a friendly farmer nearby they could do it too.

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FliesLikeABrick OP t1_jd4t6ff wrote

Thank you for prompting me to clarify - I have multiple welders (stick (no stainless electrodes and too thin), MIG (no stainless wire), and my OA setup(no filler and inexperience)) but I do not have TIG or another way to weld stainless, like the thinner part of this trowel here. I could have technically done it with OA, but I do not have stainless filler, don't know what alloy this is theoretically supposed to be, and would probably burn through it since it would be my first time welding stainless with gas

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pseudonominom t1_jd4jyw2 wrote

Isn’t that what was done?

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snuggle_sauce t1_jd4k6qg wrote

Welding and brazing are not the same thing.

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pseudonominom t1_jd4kded wrote

TIL!

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sh_hobbies t1_jd5k1ow wrote

Welding melts the two parts together and usually adds in a third for extra filler.

Brazing basically just expands the pores of the metal of each part (simplifying here), and adds in a low-melt-temp material to fill the pores. The part cools, pores shrink, filler hardens, and it's all stuck together.

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Stinkyfisherman t1_jd5l3xg wrote

Just bought one of these for camping. I'm glad to know I need to reinforce it before I try to dig any holes.

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FliesLikeABrick OP t1_jd7h5s6 wrote

We have a couple more with similar joints that haven't broken yet- my plan is to drill a hole through the middle for a small fastener, like a #10, #12, or maybe even 1/4" screw+nut. Should have zero downsides since there is no weldment in the middle of the joint, so the bolt should only add strength.

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WT5Speed t1_jd6byre wrote

What rod/flux/torch did you use?

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FliesLikeABrick OP t1_jd7hkea wrote

I splurged last year on a Victor Journeyman 2 kit for my first oxyacetylene setup and have not regretted it - especially since my other braze repairs have been larger and I have had some uses for a cutting torch as well as the rosebud as well. I have some flux-coated brazing rod I got from the local welding supply shop, but it is too big for this (1/8" diameter I think).

I have a pack of smaller/thinner brazing rods, I think they might be Bernomatic WB5 https://www.bernzomatic.com/Products/Brazing-Welding-Rods/WB5

This small brazing job could have been done with a MAP torch too, but I happened to have my OA setup in the garage. I might try the next small brazing repair (like if another trowel breaks) with MAP just because.

3