some random online pics. This would be the worst looking parts. The E Type structure has some clean looking work as well. There was a “furnace brazing” process for some of it. The guys familiar with the Reynolds’s process might chime in
I am in the process of repairing some rust issues on a 40 Ford coupe. While removing the early sixties applied paint and body filler I uncovered extensive body repairs using regular brass brazing. Whomever did this work really was a craftsman. The filler was as perfect as one could hope for. Their was no indications of any separations between the brass and the filler or the paint and the filler as well. The aged lacquer was beginning to fail as could be expected. The paint job on this coupe was initially flawless in every way as was the body work. I did some brass work on an F100 years ago. Had it professionally painted and it held up well. I did use flux with this process. The painter cleaned it well and it also held up for many years.
Can silicon bronze rod be applied successfully with ox/acetylene process? What about mig? Is the wire readily available? Can a standard mix gas be used or argon only? I think I would like to try it.
Here is an article about MIG brazing and it's advantages when doing body repair https://rts.i-car.com/collision-repair-news/mig-brazing-what-is-it-why-should-i-use-it.html
My suggestion is to get an old hood or fender and poke or drill some similar size holes in it and try what you are proposing to do. If it works well as expected, then its a no-brainer to do it on the vehicle. You obviously are already a talented welder, so it should work just fine for you. As you already know, a lot of your concern is about how much heat you need to impart into the panel. If you have no problem with the test piece, then you know what and how to proceed. In any case you will learn something to add to your welding knowledge.
I had a Model A rear fender that sat behind a garage upside down for many years. The fender was in great shape except for a couple of dozen pinholes that had rusted thru. I had the fender media blasted and took my TIG torch and put the electrode and silicon bronze filler wire right over a hole and stepped on the foot pedal. One little weld in every pinhole and it worked great. I use silicon bronze on almost every sheet metal part I make.
Maybe this is just me, but I don't allow my customers to tell me how to do my job. That is why they are called customers.
For electric arc brazing, MIG or TIG, you need to use pure Argon for best results. All welding supply stores have the filler material, or should, and it can be had online. https://store.cyberweld.com/search-...ronze#/filter:ntproducttype:Filler$2520Metals
I had one try to tell me how to fix his car. He was shown the door The manager of the shop told the customer to stay in his lane. This was one of our frequent customers and very good friend of the shop owner.
I can see by your work you will not have a problem, and it's the way to go on small holes. I also use it on the outside of header flanges, after welding the inside.
I ran across this guy at GNRS in 2020, he was showing his car there, this is his old hot rod he built back on the 50's. In our conversation somehow we got around to brazing on the sheet metal, I told him that many people say that's not a good way to do body work and he scoffed at that. Back in the day that's what they had and that's what they did. This car right here has brazing all over it. I know this is not what the OP asked about, he's asked about something different, but some of the previous comments, I recall one about knuckle draggers, yeah that comment and others, that's what you think about the guy who built this rod. Let's see your's.
I understand the use of “knuckle dragging” in the context it was put. When I started at a dealership around 1990, we had an old body guy brazing a qtr panel in. Cut short under the qtr window and back glass. Had a overlapped joint about 3 foot long. Smoothed over with about 1/2 thick filler. The boss had a duck fit. “I didn’t spend $$$ on welding equipment for you to use a torch” The silicon bronze used today by OE specs would include glass removal yielding a small bronze butt weld in the sail panel. But, not all “old guys with torches” was as crude as my example. I’ve dug into some impressive torch work on old rides.
Silicon bronze, like any welding process, definitely has its specific application. I've used it in butting thin gauge sheet metal and recently to attach a fitting to a Chevy oil pan. Used my TIG with 100% argon.
I remember watching a MASH episode, where Hawkeye used a pocket knife and a pen casing to preform a tracheotomy. As you blather up and down, back and forth this brazing thing, what should be remembered is a good weld isn't stick mig or tig, because that's a process. A good weld is one that meets the requirements of service for which it is intended. Silicon bronze is a wonderful product. And with any product, it comes with a need to understand it's composition, and the practitoner it uses and applications. But if you don't play with it, your missing out.
That was Fr. Mulcahey and Radar that did the trach on the back of a jeep under fire. Hawkeye talked them through it on the radio. Details people!
Silicon bronze has been used here and there on my coupe. I have a couple other spots that will likely get some, too, like a few pinholes in my chop, a repair on spare windshield frame, etc. Just thinking about it some more, there are quite a few other areas where s/b made sense.
All good examples of where TIG brazing is both appropriate and advantageous. P.S. I love the look of that shifter handle.
Would like to ask why you used silicon bronze on the header? Not criticizing your choice, just curious. I can see doing double welding to give strength and help prevent cracks and leaks, just don't know the reasoning for using the SB. I ask that because SB has a lower melting point and some headers get awfully hot. You usually have good reasons behind everything you do............
I also have a question. I have my old logan 200 lathe and one change gear is missing 2 teeth. I've heard that silicone bronze works good for building new teeth so my question is- have any of you gents used silicone bronze on cast iron gears? And how hard/different is it welding cast iron vs steel ? I guess that's 2 questions!.. .
I do it that way for a couple of reasons. After welding the inside, I use the silicone bronze to fill the voids on the outside. Not only does it finish it off nicely for coating, it allows some flex during the heat cycle, and vibration. If you headers get hot enough to melt the bronze, you have other problems.
I did the same thing on the countershaft cluster gear on a lathe. I brazed up a new tooth and hand filed the profile down so it would mesh with the adjacent gear. It has lasted for 20 years albeit with a little "tickey tickey" whenever I have it in back gear. I take light cuts so as not to stress the gear too much. So far so good. As long as you get the cast iron hot enough it is no more difficult to braze than steel.
If you have some time scroll through this video and you will find him doing what you want to do, making repairs to a former repair of gear teeth using brazing. Starts about 20:38 in the video. He uses a lathe attachmnet but you could do the same with some files.
A good oxo/acel torch I found for sheet metal is the Cobra 2000. I bought their kit at the Hershey show a few years back. Took a little practice, but it seems to work quite well as long as one follows their guidelines and have the flame set to "Just Of Feather" (jof). You use what ever rod is required for the metal you are welding. I bought this Oldsmobile motor once. It had sat in the dirt for however long and developed numerous pin holes. After cleaning and sand blasting, I used a MAP gas torch from Lowes, some acid core plumbers solder and flux, I soldered the entire bottom of the oil pan. You just have to watch the temp, too high and the solder boil away. If my motor ever exceeds 400 deg F, I'll have more serious problems. Seems to hold up ok so far. I guess I could have used fiber glass. There was back in the day an oxo/acel torch called a stitch-o-matic. Once you got the puddle moving, the device would move in and out in a controlled manner. Sort of like a sewing machine. Like tig, you can't move too quick or too slow. Oxo/acel - for old school guys, Tig-for young Hot Rods but give them all a try.
The Jalopy Journal
