My beautiful jug RIP

It is with a heavy heart, just no, why did you have to go so soon? I thought we would spend the rest of our lives together. I thought we had a handle on this. Alas you’ve split on me.Is there anything I can do to repair the damage?

Take it to the local frame builder and get it welded? Maybe add a head badge whilst they’re at it?

Silver solder, dead easy. Blowtorch and a cheap ebay kit.

Make up a story about how your great grandfather used it to tunnel his way out of the Russian tundra or something then…

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08l581p

by Ajahn Chah

“You see this goblet?” asks Achaan Chaa, the Thai meditation master. “For me this glass is already broken. I enjoy it; I drink out of it. It holds my water admirably, sometimes even reflecting the sun in beautiful patterns. If I should tap it, it has a lovely ring to it. But when I put this glass on the shelf and the wind knocks it over or my elbow brushes it off the table and it falls to the ground and shatters, I say, ‘Of course.’ When I understand that the glass is already broken, every moment with it is precious.”

Silver solder, dead easy. Blowtorch and a cheap ebay kit.

Thanks! I’ve been looking for an excuse to buy a blowtorch for a while 🙂

Make up a story about how your great grandfather used it to tunnel his way out of the Russian tundra or something then…

Hopefully they won’t recognize it off Amazon then 🙂

It only lasted 5 years 🙁

Beautiful-really?, get yourself to the nearest charity shop and move on, sounds harsh but it’s for your own good.

Maybe buy a better quality one?

my steaming jug is now 17 years old and still going strong. Dropped a few times, unscathed.

Plus one for silver soldering it.

I have fixed a couple of seives similarly. Useful skill to have and it will end up being YOUR jug more than ever.

Regards “stuff” I try to follow the repair/repurpose/recycle/replace order of action. I have to admit this doesn’t always sit well with SWMBO.

Plus – blowlamp!

Regards “stuff” I try to follow the repair/repurpose/recycle/replace order of action. I have to admit this doesn’t always sit well with SWMBO.

We really  really need to get back into repair being a thing.

Then charity shop

Then second hand

Then new replacement.

With repurpose/ recycle being the disposal options where necessary.

The default for something like a jug should be repair. Like there is zero reason not to.

Plus one for adding a headtype badge aswell mind.

Finally got round to getting started on this! Had a WTF moment when the silver solder kit arrived, a posh looking thick white envelope which at first sight contained nothing but a small sachet of white powder!

Regarding the process, I watched this video, seemed to say everything I needed to know:

Except for mixing the flux powder which found here (water + small drop of washing up liquid + powder to make thick creamy consistency):

Practised by solder a pair of washers together, which was very easy. The jug itself though, little more difficult. Held the jug in a small vice with pieces of wood, and with the handle placed in position.  I heated both then painted the flux on (lifting handle with thick gloves to do so).  Had heated the jug and handle too much already, which made a bit of a mess with the flux. I had cut little pieces of the solder rod to be placed in strategic positions and then heat. Unfortunately, they kept rolling off (doh) so again probably ended up over heating everything resulting in quite a lot of discolouration.

Of course this now warrants a new tool to clean it up! A non-big-brand electric rotary tool for Christmas!

I now have concerns about the food safety of this process. Quick search suggests it is not, unless specific food safe materials are used. However, it is external so should be okay.

File to take off most of the excess silver and then scotchbrite pads. It will be just fine, but here are some tips for when you next play 🙂

This is a much better video of silver soldering – shows how you use the heat to pull the silver through the joint (you’ve got a lot of silver outside to clean up because that was the hottest bit so it flowed there).

Other tips would be:

Larger fluxed area (including inside where it has gone blue).

Never heard of or bothered with adding washing up liquid (don’t want random extra chemicals in there).

Heat more evenly – especially from inside. That would have really helped to pull the silver into the joint.

Don’t get too hot (once the flux goes clear and you have the faintest dull red colour it is ready).

Work reasonably quickly – silver flux gets “used up” really quickly and it will go black and not flow if you keep heating it.

Don’t bother with the little bits of rod. Wait until the joint is ready before bringing the rod in.

Bend one end of the rod so you don’t get poked in the eye and know which end might be hot.

Try and apply rod to one side and use heat to pull it through the joint (silver was applied to the holes in this head badge and pulled through to the outside with heat)

Excellent, nice to have a new skill and your old jug back. I’d not worry about food safely with the repair being on the outside.

LOLZ you’ve managed to make my soldered plumbing look neat!  Bit of practice with mick_r’s tips above and I reckon you’d be surprised how tidy the results can be but I also doubt that handle will be coming off again any time soon so you won’t be getting the practice