Bronze welded to steel

[timh]

Can silicon bronze be welded to steel?

[Dr Stan]

No. It can be silver brazed, but not welded.

[dkaustin]

Inertia welding might be an option. Probably not something you're set up for in the garage, though.

[Dr Stan]

Inertia welding might be an option. Probably not something you're set up for in the garage, though.

The shipyard in Alabama can "weld" aluminum & steel (bonding would probably be a better term). I have a piece I've used in class for "show & tell". However, 99.999999% of the time welding refers to the joining of materials via heat that have the same element as the base.

[boslab]

the questions a bit vauge as Si bronze adequately describes a brazing rod but you can weld copper to steel, its a bit of an art but here goes, TIG, 1.2mm Deoxidised copper rod, helium sheilding gas, Helium and helium/argon mixtures - adding helium to argon will raise the temperature of the arc. This promotes higher welding speeds and deeper weld penetration. Disadvantages of using helium or a helium/argon mixture is the high cost of gas and difficulty in starting the arc, lots of amps the weld pool does either solid or liquid so downhill is a chalenge [ what we are welding is a copper tip onto a coaxial steel lance about 100 foot long], the steel melts also so it is a weld, seems to hold too, oxy goes through it at 70,000 m3/min at mach2 ish, bronze and the Cu we do are mostly similar, Si bronze may splatter a bit, phos bronze a bit better, you need a preheat, and a controlled cool or she will crack due to the different shrinkage rates, keep the torch preferentialy on the steel and moving, 1/4 " aim 250/300 amps
btw prepare to get hot! the last tip i put on [10" and about 160 lbs took 3 headsheilds and an apron made from morgan chrome blanket, the shiny stuff furnace gear is made from, they have a machine now i beleive]
mark [and glad i'm in a nice air conned lab now!]

[Ries]

You can tig braze solid silicon bronze material to steel, using a silicon bronze filler rod.
DC, straight argon.
I have done it a bunch. Its a braze, not a weld, but its very strong.

[boslab]

You can tig braze solid silicon bronze material to steel, using a silicon bronze filler rod.
DC, straight argon.
I have done it a bunch. Its a braze, not a weld, but its very strong.

I think i would on reflection have to agree, its a braze if there is a ferrous joined to a non ferrous, i'm not at all sure what i'd call the alloy that lives between the two, mess comes to mind, but i have to conceed that you can only weld metals from the same family, i.e. copper to copper with copper filler = weld, the same with disimmilar filler = braze or soldered joint.
regards
mark