Need help on what im dealing with.

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hello,So my dad hands me over this thing, not sure what its for but i know its old, and ask me to attach this round piece back on. My question is what type of metal am i dealing with on both parts? tin, copper, brass? Other question is how do i go about putting it back on? the round piece goes on the flat part of the main piece, can kind of see where it was attached originally.thanks,Brent
Reply:my guess is the piece that needs attached is brass... and the light fixture its to be attached to is copper. i would solder it being careful not to melt any of the nearby solder that is already there. definitely needs all cleaned first, they use an acid for this i believe but not sure what kind. hope this helps in some way
Reply:I would use jb weld
Reply:Cleaning will usually hurt the value of any antique.  It looks like lead solder on there.  It's hard to tell.  I might try to put the ring in place and solder just a few places with some 60/40 lead/tin solder.  An electric soldering iron would probably be best to avoid ruining the antique finish.  That's going to take a whopper of an iron though.  Second choice, I would probably use a propane torch.  I would only clean and flux the little places you'll resolder.  You're just holding the decorative trim ring on, so it shouldn't take too much solder.Dynasty200DX w/coolmate1MM210MM VintageESAB miniarc161ltsLincoln AC225Victor O/A, Smith AW1ACutmaster 81IR 2475N7.5FPRage3Jancy USA1019" SBAEAD-200LE
Reply:My 1st thought would probably be epoxy glue of some sort if you are not experienced with this sort of repair. It would be real easy to make a mess of this if you don't know what you are doing.A real soldering iron, either a gas fired one or an old one heated in a flame would be my next thought, though as suggested a very large electric one might get hot enough. After that would be an air acetylene torch with a small tip. Most propane ones will probably heat too large an area and take too long to heat what you want to the right temp. You will need to clean the area well to shiny metal, flux well, then heat it fast and solder, then cool it so you don't loosen other joints..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Is this repair purely for looks/functionality?If so, I'd use a silver solder.Is it for maintaining antique value?Take it to a professional antique restoration specialist.CWI, CWE, CST for Miller, Lincoln, Thermadyne, Hypertherm & ESABMillermatic 350PLincoln Invertec 205 AC/DCVictor combo torchESAB PCM 1125
Reply:Originally Posted by MaedarIs this repair purely for looks/functionality?If so, I'd use a silver solder.Is it for maintaining antique value?Take it to a professional antique restoration specialist.
Reply:well here are the results of what i did. I first tried to clean off both parts as best i could in the areas that would be soldered which were the original spots. I matched up the ring piece to the main piece where the original solder welds were and as you can see in one of the pictures its a bit off center but thats how it was. Then I soldered with 60/40. I used a propane torch as the heat since the solder irons didnt heat the pieces hot enough. In fact the propane torch was to hot even on very low small flame, but it was all i had. Yeah the solder welds dont look the best (look weak, at least two of them do) and was wondering what you guys would do? go back and fix them up a little bit or will they work? that ring piece is on there pretty good, tried tugging on it in different places but wouldnt move. Man this solder is harder to weld than actual mig or tig welding which is what im used to doing. Last edited by disepyon; 06-29-2010 at 05:45 PM.
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