From our Digital Antique Books Library…
…
Soldering, Brazing and Welding edited
by Bernard E. Jones, 1916
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/18q
This 1916 book (republished in 1921) teaches the core skills of soft
and hard soldering (brazing) and introduces basic principles of
welding metals. It is a book derived from many articles by different
authors in the magazine ‘Work’, an illustrated weekly of the time.
Oxy-acetylene was a new process at this time and this kind of
brazing with brass, and welding metals other than steel were new
possibilities for metal workers. The excellent descriptions,
definitions and pictures are very clear and understandable. There
are some really interesting recipes and divisions of types of soft
soldering. The section on soft soldering has way more information
than any current book on the subject. The detail and images is very
good.
There are for example recipes for lead/tin solder for aluminum and
other oddities as well as fluxes for different metals. There are
some odd terms, “Killed Spirit” for instance is called zinc chloride
today. And ‘rottenstone’ is what we call Tripoli. Methods of using
paper cones to pour solder into water to make wire are described.
There are a number of solder recipes that melt in boiling water.
There are some very interesting and complex soldering iron shapes
for soft soldering work. Tinning methods are dealt with. Aluminum
soldering and solder recipes are covered.
There is some excellent on mouth blowpipes (still the
commonest ‘torch’ if you go on sheer numbers being used worldwide).
I’ve never seen some of the designs pictured. Thorough instructions
for how to build bench torches, blowlamps and heating devices are in
several chapters in the book. These instructions are unique in any
book. Gasoline, kerosene and other types of torches and their
maintenance are described.
Hard soldering is well covered with a number of recipes for silver
solders. There are lots of details on making hard silver solders,
and proper heating methods. Gold solder recipes are listed and gold
soldering dealt with well.
There is a large chapter on using ‘spelter’, that is brass powdered
as brazing alloy mixed with borax flux to join steel, copper, brass,
even cast iron. More on making torches and a ‘brazing
pot’ is included (Mind you there was a lot of asbestos used back
then, we would use other materials today). Brazing tips include wire
brushing superfluous brazing material off the top of a joint while
it is still hot in order to save filing and cleanup time.
There is a chapter on forge welding iron and steel. Electric welding
and thermite welding (with recipes) are addressed. There are even
instructions on how to cast iron into sand molds by burning out a
wax model with thermite, again something I have never seen
described. Oxy-acetylene welding for steel, iron, cast iron,
aluminum and copper is detailed: it is surprising how similar the
equipment is to today, though many welders then apparently generated
their own acetylene at the welding site. Flux recipes for all the
metals are detailed. Lead ‘burning’ or welding to make homogenous
tanks and surfaces for chemical and architectural use is dealt with.
An interesting and good book.
File Size: 9.82MB, 166 pages. Many illustrations