Brazing Copper..

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When brazing copper lines, what safety equipment is generally required...  LIke do you need a shade 8 lens, or 12.   Or do you uses thick Mig gloves or thin Tig gloves. .etc.. etc...  Full leathers or lightweight jacket, or just sleeves... Thanks in advance!
Reply:Copper Phosphorus brazing rod melts in the range that aif-fuel torches will work just fine.I like air-acetylene, but also use air-mapp.Since you're not bringing pure oxygen to the party, clear goggles are fine, and the flame is too cool to produce UV.If you choose to speed things up by using oxy-acetylene, then goggles with a share 4 or 5 are a good idea, but a jacket still isn't required.
Reply:Originally Posted by rlitmanCopper Phosphorus brazing rod melts in the range that aif-fuel torches will work just fine.I like air-acetylene, but also use air-mapp.Since you're not bringing pure oxygen to the party, clear goggles are fine, and the flame is too cool to produce UV.If you choose to speed things up by using oxy-acetylene, then goggles with a share 4 or 5 are a good idea, but a jacket still isn't required.
Reply:Same here.  I'm not a big fan of gloves, except when needed, although I don't often gas weld, and don't like the sparks (I'm spoiled by TIG).BTW, don't throw out those stubs of brazing rod too short to keep from burning your fingers.Just lay them on a fire-resistant surface, overlapping a little bit, and melt them together into a new rod, using a really small oxy-acetylene flame.
Reply:Oxy fuel would be the process I would be using..    I was just curious as to what setting on autodark helmet to put it at... and if gloves would be needed..   Thanks guys... I will look into it some more info...
Reply:Well, if you INSIST on oxy-acetylene (which can make brazing MUCH more difficult), then shade 5 goggles are in order.You don't need a helmet as this process does not produce enough UV to damage skin (just your eyes), or sparks.  Same thing goes for gloves.You don't need (or want) autodarkening, because shade 5 is only a little darker than most sunglasses.If you insist on using an auto-dark helmet, then check your instruction manual.  My helmet can do from shade 9 to 13 in the dark state, and is shade 2 in the "light, but on" state, BUT its shade 5 in the off state (so I just shut it, and no settings matter).  Yours may be different!I don't actually use my autodark helmet for brazing, but I do use it like this for plasma cutting, to keep sparks from my face.If you skip the acetylene, and use oxy-propane, or oxy-mapp, then sunglasses for comfort are probably good enough, but these flames tend to waste oxygen, and don't have the "nice" pointy shape of an oxy-acetylene flame (so why even bother bringing oxygen to the party).Oxy-hydrogen (used by some jewelers, but not good for this), has a flame so dim, its even hard to see.
Reply:Thanks guys!