I do it much the same way Dale explained. You have to develop replacement ability for not watching the flame. As you get the flame centered on the diameter of the pipe the typical noise the flame makes will soften and almost hiss when you are centered and close enough to the pipe.
You can use most anything handy as a pointer. I use a flint sparker to start one of my torches. When I get the torch running the way I want I'll sometimes hold the sparker on the pipe and use that as a reference to draw the torch tip close. Won't hurt if they touch but it will if you get careless and touch your other hand. You know those warning labels you always hear about? They are there because someone has already tried something stupid. I've run a torch across the backs of my fingers more than once and you can take my word for it, it hurts. Or you can try it yourself to see if I'm right. As the pipe gets hotter you'll know you are getting close when the solder actually sticks to the pipe. You don't want it sticking but the difference in temperature for sticking and flowing is very small time wise so be ready to move fast with the solder. I lay it over the top and let it melt downward around the circle of the joint. For cosmetics you can use a wet rag to clean up the joint but you have to do this fast or it will be too cool to work for you. For what it's worth I learned how to solder by putting pipes in a vice and just melting solder around them. I went through a few pieces like elbows and unions but that's how you learn. ----- Original Message ----- From: Shane Hecker To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2008 9:32 PM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] soldering questions When it comes to soldering, how do you know when you have the flame on the right place? It's not that I can't solder. The problem I have is keeping the flame on the spot where I want it, or I'll completely miss the spot entirely. Not talking about wires here, we're talking copper pipes. Shane [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
