Superstructure - The boiler

First job at hand in the detailing process is to solder the various appliances on top of the boiler. That was easier said than done. The boiler is made of solid brass which drains all heat soldering irons can possibly apply. So I bought a gas soldering torch. I wanted to solder the smoke stack (chimney), bell, steam dome and sand dome (from left to right on the photo below) with 240C silver solder. Long story short, I tried four different fluxes but the solder simply would not flow. After a few hours of experimenting (on scrap parts!) I capitulated and soldered the lot with 188C standard solder and my standard acid flux.

 

Ugly job!!!

 

As the solder went everywhere the boiler got a thorough cleaning job, but be fair: with good result