Re: Repairing a Broken Tracker Bar

Hello,  One thing that I have learned about soldering is that
delicate or critical work is best done with acetylene-air torches,
not propane.  Propane requires a very high gas/air mix velocity which
makes the flame very hard to control.  Propane is okay for sweating
copper pipes and other rough work, but note that any professional
plumber uses acetylene, not propane.  MAPP gas is okay if you don't
have access to an acetylene torch.

With an acetylene plumber's torch you can adjust the flame to a tiny,
slow flame that still provides plenty of heat.  I can solder galvanized
metal with an acetylene flame but I never have luck with a propane
torch, which always burns the zinc into an un-solderable mess.  The
traditional way to solder galvanized iron is with a soldering copper
[i.e., a soldering "iron" of copper] to prevent burning, but a slow
acetylene flame works very well.

Whenever I need to do critical soldering of any sort, I use acetylene.
Once you try a job with acetylene and then with propane, you will never
use propane again.  Soldering with propane is like playing the piano
with mittens on.

Best regards,
Spencer Chase