Tig welding nickel

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Hey fellas, so I was appoached the other day by my neighbors son and he has a tuba that is made of nickel and it needs to be welded. Sorry I don't have pics, is there a certain filler I could use on this that will work with this. I'm going to use 2% lanthanated electrode, 1/16 th filler and low amperage. I have a miller diversion 165 tig welder which leaves me with straight DC polarity or AC. What do you guys think or do I need more info? Thanks Steve
Reply:Nickel doesn't sound like it would be malleable enough to make a tuba. My guess is it's simply nickel plated brass. I'm thinking you might be able to braze it and then replate the repair..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:I agree, it would be nickel plated brass, So a high silver content silver solder would probably be best.That way it would still look close to the same colour.
Reply:Alright, I will try and solder it with silver solder first in a small spot and see how it goes. If that doesn't work I will try brazing. Thanks for the help Steve
Reply:Working on musical instruments needs some experience. When brazing or soldering a musical instrument one must consider the proper flux. My pal who works on these wind instruments has over a dozen different fluxes that he uses. I would do a little looking before torching the instrument.Regards,RobGreat Basin WeldingInstagramBlue weldersRed weldersMy luscious Table DIY TIG Torch cooler
Reply:About the only thing you will accomplish on the tuba is to either turn it into scrap, or make the real repair cost a lot more. Save this one for the instrument repair guys.
Reply:I definitely need to look into this further and use as little heat as possible when I actually do this. I will get some pics of what I need to fix, give you guys a better idea of what I need to do. Thanks Steve
Reply:I just contacted my neighbor about the tuba and told them to take it to a instrument repair shop, I would feel horrible if I did something that didn't hold up. Thanks for the great input Steve
Reply:Im with DSW and Robert Hall on this one. I have a paper thin nickel plated brass job sitting in my basement right now and refuse to touch it till i can practice on a scrap piece. My nephew is a drummer and hes gonna bring me some old broken cymbols as scrap so i can dial in on what i need to do. Never practice on a project is always my motto.I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Originally Posted by weldermikeIm with DSW and Robert Hall on this one. I have a paper thin nickel plated brass job sitting in my basement right now and refuse to touch it till i can practice on a scrap piece. My nephew is a drummer and hes gonna bring me some old broken cymbols as scrap so i can dial in on what i need to do. Never practice on a project is always my motto.
Reply:I agree with the others, leave this repair up to instrument repair guys. This job will suck if you turned his tuba into scrap metal. One of the greatest life lesson I have learned is "know when to say no". This is one of them.Millermatic 211Miller Syncrowave 350lx with cooler and tigrunner Thermal Dynamics cutmaster 811955 National Cylinder Gas O/A setup with original patina