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This might not be the place to post this, but I figured you guys would know. The handle on my new high-$ Matfer-Bourgeat bain Marie cooking pot is too short for comfortable campfire use. I want to attach/to solder the cut-off end of a big stainless steel campfire cooking fork to the pot handle. Is that do-able?? The solder joint will not be near food inside the pot.
Regular tin/lead solder would probably fall apart. Silver solder would work great and no chance of food adulteration. Another option would be to TIG welding.
No TIG welder within 50 miles.
Silver bearing soft solder (the stuff you can apply at regular solder temperatures) might lose strength if the handle is getting too hot for comfort where you'll be soldering it. I'd recommend a silver braze with the correct flux for stainless (regular borax flux, as I recall, doesn't work well with stainless, but I don't recall what does). You'll need bright red to orange heat to get this stuff to flow, but you should be able to do that with MAPP or even couple propane torches, or preheat in a forge and use a torch to keep it hot while you make the actual join.
Thanks! My bain marie's 5 1/2" handle is now 10 1/4" long. Brownells liquid flux and silver solder worked like a charm. This will be a handy 2 1/4 qt campfire pot and even more handy over my 2¢ hobo stove. For our non-chefs, a bain marie is a double-boiler-purpose pot as tall as it is wide. Mine's 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" . . . with a new 10 1/4" handle.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Michel
I may reinforce it with a 6-48 Weaver head screw . . . then again, I may not.
My first thought was rivets, brass or stainless.
Hmm. I'd stick a bolt through for safety. Reminds me of the dilemmas one faces without a ready welder 2 . I needed to have a bunch of aluminum parts welded for a machine. It can weld steel -stainless steel -aluminum. It can do it from batteries or a welder. Basically a spool gun welder. So handy for instances like that. I'm no pro, but it has been a very handy tool. The parts i was able to repair would have cost much more than the welder, and I can still use it for little projects like yours.
I tried silver brazing on SS pottery and it started to rust. Maybe low temp silver solder would work, but no brazing.
Finished it. I used two 6-48 x 1/4" Fillister screws as insurance. I boogered the threads for a semi-tight fit in the tapped holes. The 1/4" screws were only slightly too long, so I filed off the protruding, bottom ends.
Here's an overall view with a Heinekin for scale. One more inch on the new handle, and the lid-less pot would tip over. I didn't take that in to consideration, but I lucked out :-)
http://www.castbullet.com/camping/ph...ainmarie02.jpg
Here's a closeup of the joint. The solder joint is a good one. The protruding Fillister screw heads are not a bother--no need for Weaver head screws.
http://www.castbullet.com/camping/ph...ainmarie01.jpg
PS: That pot + lid + shipping cost me $81.27 from culinarycookware.com . That's outrageous. I've since found them on the web for ~$20 w/lid + shipping but with NO handle. A fellow with access to a TIG welder could easily cut off a $3 extra long campfire cooking fork and make himself a bain marie with a handle.
White brazing flux with harris #15 brazing alloy.
I'd find piece of pipe or conduit that slips over the end.
I used a piece of elk antler screwed to the old short handler- cooler to hold.
Loren
(sigh).........I really miss Junior...........
+1 I refer to his writings quite often.Quote:
Originally Posted by centershot
Likewise. I still re-read some of his articles on his website. RIP Junior.