My goal is to do one joint a night, 5 days a week. A co-worker of mine suggested I clarify that I am talking about bicycle frame joints. So yeah, one bicycle frame joint per night. Usually it means cleaning up a joint that went into the trusty Home Depot orange soak bucket the night before, hand mitering the next joint, brazing it up, letting it cool (not much of a challenge in my MN garage), and throwing it in the soak. With the holidays and just life in general happening, this goal is a far stretch from reality, but one has to aim high. The last half of a week I have spent all my free time eradicating ice dams from an out-of-town friends roof. Next; friends in town and holidays and whatnot. Baby steps to getting this frame done.
why does it have to soak
ReplyDeleteWhen brazing the joint, a paste flux is used, which dries once heated and then cooled. It is real tough on files and gums them up. It is water soluble, so i usually soak it in some hot water so that i can begin cleaning up the joint (with files and sandpaper) within an hour or two. Cold water still works, but takes a heck of a lot longer (a day?).
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