Silver solder maybe?

[Hungry Horse]

 I was over cleaning up around my late father-in-laws place yesterday, and moved an old metal chest of drawers. Behind it was a bunch of  square metal rods, that appear to be some type of brazing, or soldering, material. Under magnification the word silveloy is stamped on each rod. Is this silver solder,  or nickel silver brazing rod, or something else? Anybody know?

                        Hungry Horse

[bluenoser]

Are they about 1/2" x 1/2" x 12"?  That would be about right for auto body solder.  The solder pre-dates bondo.  I don't know what the ratio would be, but would assume about 50/50 lead/tin.  It is usually marked.

Laurie

[halfstock]

I'd say that would be about the same thing that my soninlaw used in his ac buisiness for hard and or soft copper, his was marked silflac I think. At any rate I'd say it was a high temp solder or brazing rod for use with an acetylene torch.

[tallbear]

Silvaloy has a wide range of products Link http://www.silvaloy.com/home.php

Mitch

[Hungry Horse]

Its not body solder. This is California, the home of lead sleds, I know what body solder is. A/C hard solder sounds right. This stuff is about 1/8th"X 1/16th"X 12" And is pretty tarnished. What is it good for? Besides A/C work of course. What kind of flux is needed for this stuff. Thanks all.

                            Hungry Horse

P.S. I found a small old fish tape that was broken. After a closer look it appears to be about ten feet of unborn sear springs, and hand springs, or maybe even  patch box springs as well.

[JTR]

It's most likely silver solder.
Look closely to see if there's a number on it. If not, heat some up and melt it on a piece of something, brass, steel, copper, and see if it flows and or what color it is when it hardens.

I'm sure whatever it is, the State of Calif has long ago found it carcinogenic   

John

[Hungry Horse]

Yup, If it works, its illegal in California. This rule generally applies to the people too.

                          Hungry Horse

[JTR]

^^^

 

John

[Artificer]

The one thing I DEFINITELY learned years ago was how some older silver solders had too much cadmium in them.  I was given a large quantity of silver solder flat sheet "wire" and the first time I used it not knowing about cadmium, I made myself VERY sick.  After that experience, I have never used a silver solder that is not advertised as "cadmium free" or does not show the actual alloy of the material.  I tried to find someone who could use the stuff, but eventually just had to send it to the landfill as no one wanted it.  

Here is a link explaining about the problems:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/eis31.pdf

Gus

[tuffy]

Are they about 1/2" x 1/2" x 12"?  That would be about right for auto body solder.  The solder pre-dates bondo.  I don't know what the ratio would be, but would assume about 50/50 lead/tin.  It is usually marked.

Laurie

Auto body solder is 80/20 lead/tin. I used the stuff for years until the metal in cars got so thin it couldn't take the heat necessary to use the solder. 

[FL-Flintlock]

Second to what Gus said, most of the older silver braze has cadmium in it.  Typically the cadmium content is 19-21% to reduce the melt temperature and improve the flow properties.  Silver braze alloys with cadmium cannot be used for any application coming in contact with potable water or food as it can leach under some circumstances.  As for working with cadmium content silver braze, it's not really any more difficult or dangerous than working with other potential hazards.  Zinc is a far greater intake hazard than cadmium or lead but the latter get all the scare-hype. 

[LRB]

  I have recently been using a solder, not a  braze, that is 95% cadmium, 5% silver. Flows at 650°. It is super strong, and very helpful where silver brazing heat is not wanted. I am assuming that at that working temp the cadmium is not as hazardous as at brazing heats?  I do have good ventilation.

[FL-Flintlock]

  I have recently been using a solder, not a  braze, that is 95% cadmium, 5% silver. Flows at 650°. It is super strong, and very helpful where silver brazing heat is not wanted. I am assuming that at that working temp the cadmium is not as hazardous as at brazing heats?  I do have good ventilation.

IIRC, melting point of cadmium is around 600*F, boil point around 1400*F and it will release some fumes but it's not real bad until the boil point is approached or exceeded (much the same as most other metals).  Cadmium bearing silver braze alloys have a flow temperature in the 1130-1170*F range while cadmium-free alloys typically have a flow range >1310*F.  The actual temps will vary according to the specific alloy but at normal working temperatures, the cadmium is not a major concern if one applies the common hot-work safety practices.  Just some FYI, overcharging or rapid charging common lead-acid batteries will often put far more cadmium in the air than soldering/brazing operations that are done correctly.