The Home Machinist!

The cadmium bearing solders are primarily tin/lead While it may certainly be true that there are cad-bearing soft solders, they have never been a solder that the general marketplace usually connects with or warns against cadmium in the alloy. On the other hand quite a large percentage of all silver...

Charles, Cadmium in silver solder is used to improve its fluidity at liquidus (flow) temperature and non-cadmium bearing solders are noticeably less fluid than the cadmium-bearing types. Not a great huge difference, but noticeable. But considering the health hazards associated with cadmium fumes I'l...

It's considered "general purpose" and thus more likely to be had off-the-shelf. The higher silver content solders while not exotic by any means tend to be formulated for specific applications. Most of what I use is 45% although I do now have some 55%. I can't tell much difference. The REAL...

Alan,
The most readily available alloy over here, meaning what is usually found stocked locally, is 45%.

Although I've never heard of it being done, I kind of agree with Fred here, wrapping a few turns around the boiler. The first obstacle that comes to mind is having enough room under the cleading to cover the tube of sufficient size without having to do something funky on the outside. At 2-1/2" ...

Larry is a good friend of mine and you couldn't find a more honest guy. In the last two years he's been asked to take on the sad task of helping to liquidate the remaining hobby-related assets of two of his close friends who've passed on, Fred Ellis, and Bob Paule who was the orginal founder of PMS.

This applies to all the auctions for castings which are selling in "Lot #so-and-so"

I don't know the history, but I know where they came from. The majority of them are from the UK and are for O-gauge, which means they came from Stuart Turner, Bassett-Lowke, Walsall Models, and/or Locosteam. Stuart Turner, Bassett-Lowke, and Locosteam no longer supply wheel castings. Some of the cas...

When comparing prices, remember that silver solder is sold by the mfgs and dealers in TROY weight, not Avoirdupois, and there is a difference, so X-ounces from a private source may not be the same amount in "ounces" as you'd get from a mfg or dealer.

Most of it I've looked at has been scorched or burned.

I am building a Double Tich (for 7-1/2"ga) and have bought "Clupet" rings for it.

Since I no longer subscribe to ME I don't know what the current state-of-technology on PTFE/teflon rings is in the UK, but some years ago folks in my club and others tried it and discovered it would make a good ring but only IF it didn't have to pass over any ports. IF it passed over any ports, squa...