Making a fillet brazed steel bicycle stem!

Watch me chop some steel tubes and glue them back together using fire.
Things used:
- T45 steel alloy from proformancemetals.co.uk
- SIF 101 bronze filler
- Bicycle Design LFB flux
BAG MAKER
witslingers.com/
/ witslingers

[@bikenraider99]

Just what I was looking for. Appreciate you sharing this!

[@Spotter300]

Excellent, cant wait for part 3! The rack is the part im looking forward to most!

[@keithjurena9319]

Old school process! Oxyacetylene brazing is an art. I've been doing it for nearly 40 years, then tried GTAW silicon bronze and was amazed. The temperature increase was the hardest to learn. Longer arc is actually more heat, less concentrated. GTAW is constant current power supply with voltage being proportional to arc length so longer arc is more power. Inner fillet and complete joint wetting is important so I would use flux, at least on the first pass. Second pass can be a stack of dimes or more fluid, all a matter of puddle control. There is no way to stack dimes with 55% silver, that flows like water.

[@neonalon]

Yes, also a very nice process to use. I used CuSi3 a lot and it's a great and forgiving material for a lot of applications.

[@paulpiegsa6747]

Sweet stem and wonderful camera work. Thanks for your Video!🎉

[@hulsroy]

Thank you

[@TijmenKervers]

Another lovely video! I hope your thumb is feeling better.

[@marcus9157]

Inspiring content, looking forward for part 3...

[@hulsroy]

Thanks man! I know it has been a long time coming. I got the footage for part 3 but haven't been able to find the time to get the editing done

[@ivznh]

Loved it! As someone who fabricated an integrated rack on the stem relying only on the four front bolts this is a better approach as it removes a lot of the leverage effect.

[@hulsroy]

Thanks for your comment. I'd like to see your work if possible

[@JohnWick-ur6qh]

Surprised you didn't use a slitting saw to cut the relief cuts.

[@hulsroy]

I just bought one last week actually. I have only done one stem a year previously so never felt the need, but now I have more stems to do it made sense to speed things up.

[@Lil_T_161]

super nice. may i ask, why your flame is bigger while brazing silver than while brazing bronze? (at least it looks like this)

[@hulsroy]

Well, it looks bigger but it's less "hot". I back off on oxygen when doing silver instead of having a neutral flame. It's just something I have picked up along the way from somewhere. I can't remember the actual reason and there might be other ways of doing it but I works well for me.

[@tomthompson7400]

@@hulsroy i dont think your flame is that neutral when your brazing either ,,, but most folk online dont braze with a true neutral flame , the guy who taught me to braze over 45 years ago would have a fit if he saw me with a flame like I often see .. try adjusting it a bit ans see how it goes

[@hulsroy]

@@tomthompson7400 thanks for your comment. I feel confident I am using a neutral flame when brazing, but filming at the same time and that can obviously make things a tiny bit sloppy. I will make sure to check up on my process and maybe post a new video with more focus and close ups of the flame!

[@tomthompson7400]

@@hulsroy try with just a Tad more oxygen and see ..even if it's only on a scrap piece...but unless it's a trick of the camera that's not a neutral flame at all .

[@hulsroy]

@@tomthompson7400 well the footage is definitely not perfect in terms on conveying what I am experiencing, but there is always room for improvement so I will have a look at my process.

[@eliasverstappe692]

That hole saw drill thing looks wonky AF

[@hulsroy]

That because it is/was. Paragon Arbor and better hole saws on order.

[@eliasverstappe692]

@@hulsroy but does it matter anyway? Since I guess you could fix it with some filing? Or is it better to but straight and not worry about filing?

[@hulsroy]

In this case the fit was good. Hardly had to use a file. But miter was also from a smaller tube to a larger tube which is more forgiving. The arbor was trued for a different holesaw and I have been waiting for a paragon Arbor for a while anyways. Will be good with a more steady cut

[@nenenedufindestesnichtraus888]

What crmo tubes did you use, for the barclamp? 35mm x 2mm which you later reamed?

[@hulsroy]

T45 steel size 1.375"x0.065" from Proformance Metals I believe. ID is 31.7mm and I ream that to 31.8 gently if needed.

[@luiscarloschagasrodrigues6069]

How many hours do you need to do something like this stem? (including design)

[@hulsroy]

That's a hard one to answer. One of my future videos will be drawing up a bicycle frame and forks in Rhino. That will give a view into my design process. The stem and rack is for Wit Slingers and there has been a lot of back and forth. I didn't keep track of the hours. I think I can make a stem in a day. Here I was filming and machining special bits which you could buy and save time.

[@tomthompson7400]

thats a lot of hours by the look of things .

[@Adem-sb8mb]

What model finger belt sander is that?

[@hulsroy]

It's a Proxxon. They make an aku battery one and then this on a cord. I can't recommend cordless. I have modified mine a lot and prefer this over any other I have tried as it's very silent compared to compressed air-ones and because it's super light. It's not very good quality as you'd expect from a hobby tool. But I've been able to to repair and keep mine going since 2014.

[@frankhutton6747]

What filler material are you using?

[@hulsroy]

Sif 101 bronze rod