Posted by Chuck(G) on October 13, 2002 at 21:54:48:
In Reply to: Re: Repair question posted by Lee Stofer on October 13, 2002 at 16:13:48:
Thanks, Lee for a very reasoned reply.
I have yet to see a cap that sustained a dent however, that didn't make it through to the bow. Maybe bad luck on my part.
I've sometimes thought that the reason that caps weren't soldered over their entire surface was that the resulting pressure from the vaporizing flux would distort the bow the way a large prace causes a small dent in the underlying metal when it's soldered.
My reasoning is by tinning all surfaces and sweating the bow cap on without flux, I'd stand more of a chance of getting better adhesion over a wider area without the risk of distording the bow itself.
I also tin all surfaces when soldering large tubes into a ferrule. It's more work, but I've yet to have a leak when done this way.