Brazing Rods

[Ross Dillion]

Is there any type or brand of brazing rods that you guys prefer? I’m brazing mild steel.

[rich pierce]

I just get them at a big box store and don’t pay too much attention.

[hudson]

In my early years as a mechanic I did allot of custom exhaust work. We were furnished with a rod with a blue flux great stuff never found out the particulars until later years. Looked into it a bit some time back it supposedly had some silver in it $$. Now I usually use what is available at my supplier. Generally pipes and such I gas welded, braze (brass) is quite brittle (work hardening) and in most cases didn’t work under vibration and stress.

[P.W.Berkuta]

My dad was a welder and he gave me two different silver brazing type rods - one pound of each. They are 1/16" in diameter and about 16" long with flux on them. I normally remove the flux for my small work and use a paste type of flux in a small amount at the location of the joint. These are high temp brazing rods so propane will not work unless the work is very small. If I were to buy this type of brazing rod it would cost a fortune now a days.

[B.Barker]

I use 260 brass alloy with borax for flux. I generally use the scrap from the sheet brass I use for other projects. Don't know the last time I bought commercial brazing rod.

[WadePatton]

I fillet brazed my mountain bike frame from tubes.  If all you can get is pre-fluxed (cowboy rods), knock all that stuff off and use paste flux, they sort that soaks off in water after the joinery.  The pre-coated rod flux doesn't.  Flux up until it drips off and makes a little mess.  The right flux flows just as the metals get to the right temp.