Another Aluminium Solder.
Page 19
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[1233] " C. S." (Holloway) writes :—" I recently came across a way of making aluminium solder which is not very widely known, I think, amongst mechanics. It is advertised and sold at various fancy prices. I got the idea from an old coppersmith, and have used it successfully on several occasions. Perhaps readers will take the trouble to experiment with it themselves ? It presents some little difficulty in the preparation, but is satisfactory in use.
"The essential ingredients are : zinc, 50.03 parts ; tin, 47.99 parts ; aluminium, 1.76 parts ; and phosphorus, .22 parts. The phosphorus should be added to the other ingredients in the following manner. A piece of 1 in. gas-piping, about 12 in. long, should be obtained, and a cap screwed on at one end. A tin plug should then be used to close up the other end. The phosphorus may then be dried carefully between blotting paper, and should be exposed to the air as little as is possible. The screwed cap should then be removed, and the phosphorus dropped into the tube, and the cap screwed up. The tinned end of the tube should then be dropped into the molten tin. The heat of this will be sufficient to melt the plug, and the phosphorus will be mixed with the molten metal without danger. The zinc and aluminium can then be added until the whole forms an. alloy. " The phosphorus acts as a flux, and, consequently, no sal ammoniac or spirits will be required when making a joint. An ordinary copper bit should be used, and no difficulty should be experienced in making a good firm joint if the instructions given are carefully followed. The greatest care should be taken with detail in order to ensure a gourl, firm joint's being made."