Fillet Brazing This Week

Will brazing steel.jpg

I like fire. I like setting fires. In high school, I used to steal chemicals from the lab so I could colour the family home’s fireplace. LIthium in enough quantities would create this red/fuschia flame, while cupric chloride would make green flames. Luckily no one at the shop has taught me to use the brazing torches, otherwise I would have slagged frames left and right and burned Davidson Bicycles to the ground by now.

That’s why Will Meyers is brazing my new frame, not me. Here he’s doing a fillet braze around the head tube. Notice the glowing red spot visible from inside the head tube; that’s the steel where he’s laying down brass. I didn’t have my camcorder otherwise I could have shown you how he carefully flicked the torch to keep a steady temperature without over cooking the tubes. The flame is a lot less than when he brazes lugs.

We're riding townies, adventure, and mountain bikes. Find recommendations on our store page. As Amazon Associates we earn from qualifying purchases.