anyone ever braze a cymbal?

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drum cymbal....i have a few old cymbals with cracks in them....  I was wondering if I can braze them?they are cast bronze... an alloy I think.. maybe some tin?They usually crack in a straight line... following the groove in the cymbal... Has anyone ever repaired a bronze cymbal before?most drum guys say it can't be done.. or the repair wont last... Miller 211Hypertherm PM 451961 Lincoln Idealarc 250HTP 221  True Wisdom only comes from Pain.
Reply:http://www.drumsetconnect.com/drum-f...ed-cymbal.htmladd: Contact Dave at.... [email protected] for a quote on repairs. You'll have to send him a few pictures and work out the shipping details to Rockford,IL. He has repaired 2 Sabian B8's for me wi...Last edited by specter; 03-17-2010 at 09:07 PM.Co-Own CNC shop:Miller :1251 plasma cutter, MaxStar 700 TIG/Stick, & XMT 456 Multiprocess Welder.&  2 Hypertherm HPR260's Plasma CutterSorry I had a bad stroke but now I am back.
Reply:IMHO I'd go for silver solder not brazing. The melting temp of the cymbal and the rod are close to the same, silver solder is lower. Not talking from any experience here just thinking out loud so I'll defer to more expertise....Mike
Reply:Bell alloy has a high tin content, typically around 20%, cymbals are similar.The article below says that B8 alloy cymbals are 8% tin.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymbal_alloysI don't know where you would get welding rods  with such a high tin content.  Not knowing any better, I would probably TIG weld it with deoxidized copper rod, knowing that the tin content in the area of the weld would be lower than in the rest of the cymbal.  But I weld a lot of copper, which most people do not, and my current TIG welder has pulse, nice for thin copper and aluminum.  But I have never welded any high tin copper alloys.  I don't know how the conductivity and melting points of pure copper and bell alloy compare, although you could probably look it up.Nor do I know if annealing alters the tone of a bell or cymbal.   With copper being so conductive, a sizable area around the weld or braze is likely to be annealed and soft.Other questions include how much is a new cymbal, how much would the guy charge you to repair it, is the cracked cymbal now unusable, is there any sentimental value to the cymbal, etc.RichardLast edited by raferguson; 03-19-2010 at 01:08 AM.Reason: Add note about annealingSculptures in copper and other metalshttp://www.fergusonsculpture.comSyncrowave 200 Millermatic 211Readywelder spoolgunHypertherm 600 plasma cutterThermal Arc GMS300 Victor OA torchHomemade Blacksmith propane forge