Do you need some assistance with your brass welding project? Brass welding can be tricky, so its ideal to educate yourself on how to do the best job possible.
Below are a list of tips that will help you make sure that you are successful with welding brass.
- Check the Zinc Content
- Form a Protective Shield Around the Brass
- Mix a Flux With Water Until It Creates a Paste
- Check Welding Tip Size
- Do Not Allow Too Much Oxygen to Build Up
Below, I will touch on these tips in depth. I will explain the purpose of these tips and steps to make sure that you do not make a procedural mistake.
Check the Zinc Content
One of the first parts of the brass welding process is figuring out what the zinc content of your type of brass is. This is because that will determine how strong of a flame is necessary.
Form a Protective Shield Around the Brass
You will need to obtain some oxyacetylene gas which is used to create a protective shield around your brass during the brass welding procedure. The acetylene and oxygen gases are separately stored. However, they are combined during the welding process.
Mix a Flux With Water Until It Creates a Paste
To create a paste, you will need to mix a flux with water. Paint this mixture onto brass surfaces that you want to weld. You should select either a braze-welding flux or a flux that is specifically designed for the welding of oxyacetylene.
Check Welding Tip Size
You will need to make sure that the welding tip that you select is at the very least one size larger than the one that you would select for steel of comparable thickness. This is because brass has a relatively high heat conductivity, and this will make welding the brass together an easier process.
Do Not Allow Too Much Oxygen to Build Up
Adjusting the acetylene gas to a low level until you have reached a relatively strong and stable oxidizing flame that is able to develop a coating on brass. If there is excessive oxygen, the welding process will become much more difficult.
Also, having sufficient oxygen makes sure that zinc fumes are not released from the brass metal.
Final Words
Brass, an alloy of zinc and copper, is a very useful metal that has numerous applications in both the personal and commercial industries. However, it is a tough metal to weld since zinc and copper have very different melting points.
Zincs has a much lower melting point. The low melting point may be off-putting to many welders. However, if you remember the tips above, then you will discover that welding brass is easy.
