Air/Acetylene for copper metal art?

streetcore · Apr 18, 2018

Hi everyone,

I'm interested in trying some metal art to create some pieces like the ones in the attached pictures, which are made mostly from copper tubing. My mom and dad bought these pieces from a local artist years ago. The artist has since passed away, but I had the opportunity to visit his shop/studio in the basement of his house with my parents when I was younger. I didn't pay that much attention to what kind of welding equipment he was using then, but since he was working in a basement shop I wonder if it would have been something other than oxy/acetylene. Or maybe he just didn't care too much about safety.

I've read that small acetylene tanks like the ones used by plumbers can be used indoors, so I'm wondering if an Air/Acetylene torch would be suitable to get started with this kind of welding? I do have an unheated garage that I can work in, but it might be nice to have the option to work in the basement as well, especially in the winter. I also thought Air/Acetylene might help keep the startup costs down, because I'd only have to rent or buy one tank. It would also take up less space than a full oxy/acyetylene setup. Which is a factor for me as well.

Thanks for any advice.

rlitman · Apr 18, 2018

Those pieces appear to be done in steel, with bronze brazing. Check them with a magnet.
It is "possible" to braze in bronze with air-acetylene, but I would highly discourage it. You really want the added heat of oxygen.

As for copper work, that's a slightly different story. Clean copper can be brazed with a copper-phosphorus rod, without any flux. That stuff melts at a low enough temperature that air-acetylene works well with it, on THIN pieces. So you could braze to copper wire, or tubing with much success. However, brazed copper is dead soft, so that is something to keep in mind.

streetcore · Apr 19, 2018

Thanks for all the advice. I checked the pieces with a magnet and it didn't stick to the larger main branches or the leaves. So I'm pretty sure they are mostly copper. The main branches are hollow as well and definitely look like copper tubing. Some of the smallest branches do appear to be steel, perhaps some kind of welding rod.

I have watched some of George Goehl's videos and he is great. I knew oxy/acetylene would be the best solution, so I'll have to figure out where to put the tanks. I've already crammed a mig welder into my small garage, plus a jointer and planer for woodworking, plus lots of other stuff.

JimboTN · Apr 18, 2018

You might want to watch YT videos by George Goehl. He does a lot of that type of work and has excellent tutorials and recommendations about various torches and their applications for brazing and such.
Good luck and show us what you create...many of us enjoy oxy/fuel.

Iain P · Apr 19, 2018

I was just going to suggest George's channel. He is like the Bob Ross of torch welding and he does a lot with copper.

Baloo2327 · Apr 19, 2018

I use an air/acetylene torch all the time for copper pipe, it's called a Turbo Torch. I love it for that application, but for fine detail work like that I would use an oxygen/acetylene torch. You have much better control of how you want things to turn out. I wouldn't think you would need a big setup to do that kind of work though, especially if you are just getting started. If you get a smaller setup, and find you need a bigger one, I would think you wouldn't have a problem selling it. Just my 2 cents. Good luck and have fun.

Air/Acetylene for copper metal art?

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