Copper tubing

Hi there,

Don’t be put off. I have just made the most beautiful table (stand
for a sculpture) out of copper. We used 3/4" copper tubing and
brazed the joints with phos-copper rod. If you can bear the organic
look there is no need to have perfectly fitting joints. You do not
need to clean the copper before brazing. The bronze rod is tricky to
use if not enough heat is applied (upi must get a salmon pink colour)
as it ‘sticks’. Practice well beforehand. This was my first project
and I am blown away at how easy it is. You could always colour the
joint weld by using old pickle with metal in it to colour this. The
ideas are limitless. My stand has twigs and branches at angles
around the sides plus four l/4" slanted crossbars to hold the thing
steady.

You do NOT need to heat the whole piece your are working on - only
the area to be joined - so your tubing does not get soft at all.
Have a large bucket of water next to you to douse the brazed bit
after finishing, or hold it over the bucket and pour water over it.
Having clamps to hold pieces together is good. Wear gloves and eye
protectors. If you have done silver soldering you will take to this
like a duck to water. Make b/b’s (blobs) at the joint and then
either build on them to cover the gap or removed rod and use flame
to make them run smooth, the flow goes to the heated area . It is
great. GO FOR IT.

Glen Paris
gparis@olympus. net