HHO torch

Giles

Western Thunderer
About 18 months ago I bought a cheap HHO machine off eBay, on the off chance it was actually as hood and useful as I thought it might be.
It rapidly disappeared into my wife's workshop, where she uses it all the time for her silver work - so with one thing and another, I have never had the chance to try it....


But I have now.

 

John Baker

Western Thunderer
Hi Giles,
I realise this thread has been dormant for a few months now, so I hope you don't mind me resurrecting it!
I find the idea of silver soldering very interesting, and once I return to the UK (currently working abroad), I intend giving it a go. The HHO torch seems like it could be a worthwhile investment!

Now, this is a little off-topic, but...... In one of your videos on silver soldering, you mentioned using a 'pickle' to help clean up parts. As with many of us in the hobby, I seem to spend as long cleaning up brass surfaces to free it from oxidation as I do actually building the model, especially here in the tropics where the humidity makes it even worse. I had been thinking for a while that a 'bath' of some form of liquid to remove the oxidation and generally make it beautifully shiny again would save me a lot of time. I'm quite vain when it comes to my models - I do like them to look good, and shiny brass goes a long way to achieving that! Would the 'pickle' you talk about achieve this do you think? If so, what do you put into it, or is it a secret recipe?!

John
 

John Baker

Western Thunderer
Back from Brunei?
Dave

At some stage - most likely to be in about 12 months from now. One more year of the contract left, and then with a little one on the way, the lure of having the family close by might just outweigh the other lure of perpetual travel!
 

daifly

Western Thunderer
I spent a year based at the Empire flying for RBA in 2010/11. Bailed out after a year - not enough pubs, cinemas etc. and, as you have oft remarked, it's damned difficult to get anything you need there!
 

adrian

Flying Squad
Now, this is a little off-topic, but...... In one of your videos on silver soldering, you mentioned using a 'pickle' to help clean up parts. .... I do like them to look good, and shiny brass goes a long way to achieving that! Would the 'pickle' you talk about achieve this do you think?
I'm not sure that it would give the shiny brass finish you are after, you have to be scrupulous in keeping the pickle uncontaminated. All the stuff I silver-solder ends up pink after I've pickled it. It's like a copper plating and in someways it's beneficial as I think paint sticks to it better than brass anyway so it doesn't bother me. I use the pickle for removing the flux residue - during silver soldering the flux vitrifies and is very difficult to remove. I use a dilute sulphuric acid pickle to remove the remaining flux.
 

simond

Western Thunderer
Well worth keeping a long way away from your workshop, as it seems to attract rust...

Best
Simon
 

John Baker

Western Thunderer
I'm not sure that it would give the shiny brass finish you are after, you have to be scrupulous in keeping the pickle uncontaminated. All the stuff I silver-solder ends up pink after I've pickled it. It's like a copper plating and in someways it's beneficial as I think paint sticks to it better than brass anyway so it doesn't bother me. I use the pickle for removing the flux residue - during silver soldering the flux vitrifies and is very difficult to remove. I use a dilute sulphuric acid pickle to remove the remaining flux.

Pink sounds interesting, however if the paint sticks better then it's definitely worthwhile. I wonder if different recipes have a much different effect?

Well worth keeping a long way away from your workshop, as it seems to attract rust...

Best
Simon

I have enough problems with rust here as it is! 'twill be kept in a very secure room ;-)
 

Giles

Western Thunderer
Sorry to be late to the party!

The pickle will do A good job of technically cleaning the job, but won't of itself give you that shiny finish!

Used pickle will certainly deposit copper onto the job - I've pickled a small nickel-silver chassis in pickle that had mostly been used for brass, and it came out a nice Matt copper colour - not that it mattered at all.... but it does show that the process leeches out the copper to an extent.

For pickle, I use PH Down swimming pool chemical, which you can buy cheaply on Amazon or eBay. If I wanted to keep a job pristine, a would just mix up a new batch....
 

John Baker

Western Thunderer
Sorry to be late to the party!

The pickle will do A good job of technically cleaning the job, but won't of itself give you that shiny finish!

Used pickle will certainly deposit copper onto the job - I've pickled a small nickel-silver chassis in pickle that had mostly been used for brass, and it came out a nice Matt copper colour - not that it mattered at all.... but it does show that the process leeches out the copper to an extent.

For pickle, I use PH Down swimming pool chemical, which you can buy cheaply on Amazon or eBay. If I wanted to keep a job pristine, a would just mix up a new batch....

Then I shall overcome my obsession with shininess and give it a good pickling before I paint my models :) However if anyone discovers a concoction that will do both, then do let me know!!
Thank you Giles :)
 

adrian

Flying Squad
Then I shall overcome my obsession with shininess and give it a good pickling before I paint my models :) However if anyone discovers a concoction that will do both, then do let me know!!
Sorry to say but I think shiny brass and good for painting are mutually exclusive states. Polished brass is notoriously difficult to get paint to adhere to it, which is why many try chemically blackening brass prior to painting and/or a good etch primer.
 

John Baker

Western Thunderer
Sorry to say but I think shiny brass and good for painting are mutually exclusive states. Polished brass is notoriously difficult to get paint to adhere to it, which is why many try chemically blackening brass prior to painting and/or a good etch primer.

Yeah, I understand.....I think I’m a bit like a parent not wanting their kids to grow up ;-)
I was thinking the shiny solution more for cleaning up after a working session where the brass gets tarnished through sweat and greasy fingers etc. a scrub in hot soapy water to remove the flux, followed by a quick bath in a ‘polishing pickle’ would be perfect! But no doubt if it was possible, it would already have been done! Ah well, never mind!
 
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