Decorative Brazing on Copper
Drawing Spirals
Find the center of the rectangle by drawing two diagonals with a long ruler and marking the intersection
Two choices for drawing a spiral
freehand and with the spiral drawer
normally we want spirals that open to the right – we want to lead the eye from the center up and out to the right side
With the spiral drawer
Wind the fishing line around the drill chuck – wrap counterclockwise to create a clockwise spiral as you unwind
Secure the sharpie marking pen in the loop – keep the pen vertical
Sight down through the center of the drill chuck and locate the ‘X’ at the center of the rectangle
Keeping the tension tight on the fishing line, start drawing the circle
When your arms get crossed over, let go of the drill chuck, switch pen hands, put the free hand on the drill chuck, center the hole on the ‘X’ and keep drawing the spiral
When you get to the edge, go off the edge, keeping tension on the fishing line, then start redrawing the spiral when you get back on the copper again
Finish the line to the center of the spiral with free-hand
Clean up any unwanted sharpie marks with solvent
Decorative Brazing
Use the #4 tip with the Meco torch and put the flame up to a fairly intense heat. If you can’t get the copper to heat up enough and the brass to melt, you need more heat
You control the heat by moving the torch closer to and further away from the copper – this is a key technique
The angle of the torch should be no more than 45 degrees. Higher angles will tend to blow holes in the copper
When the copper starts to glow red, touch the brazing rod to the copper at the exact point where the tip of the torch is touching the copper – the heated copper should be what melts the brass, with only a little help from the torch
Melt the brass onto the copper in small circles – if the temperature of the torch is right and the technique is right, you will get a ‘stacked dimes’ appearance. If it is too liquid looking, then the torch heat is too high.
To do the edges, start an inch in from the edge, melt on the brass, then raise the torch as you work backwards to the edge. It is very easy to burn holes in edges, so caution is the better part of valor
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