Winter Bicycles

[Eric Estlund]

Thanks, Bill-

I generally use CO4 (Gasflux's 680 low fuming nickle bronze). Some time ago I called up GF at midnight (that's 3am in OH) expecting to leave a message. I was calling to schedule a rebuild on the old Mtn Goat gasfluxer I picked up from Paul Sadoff (he'd been using it as a door stop since buying a TIG machine 20 years ago). To my surprise a flux engineer picked up and we had a really great chat for about a half hour or so regarding fillers, fluxes, different combos, etc. He had nothing but glowing things to say about bike builders- I guess what we do is a skill set fairly well lost from industry (or now the purview of robots). He helped me order a box of bronze and a bunch of type U and B fluxes, as well as some H for stainless. I also ordered a refill on liquid flux.

That was sort of long winded- I also use P&I, Harris and Cycle Design silvers, and have used their LFB for some samples in the past, and may be ordering more when I work through this GF product. LFB is more then strong enough, but I like the extra strength of nickle based fillers (including nickle silver)- even if it is mostly academic. Those sample joints linked above where on three bikes in a small production run- same tubes, same miters, etc. Every combo worked just fine, and if you asked me which was which from the photos alone I'd be hard pressed to answer now that it is out of direct memory. I think most of it boils down to batch consistency and the operator. If the flux is good and rod after rod is of good quality and the same flow properties I think good brazers could adapt pretty quickly.

The tacks are somewhat based on positioning/ joint access. I have taken to doing more wideish tinning tacks at the tops and bottoms of tube miters- so that there is a slight wrap around the tube of maybe a centimeter rather then just a spot tack.