Are tig torches soldered?

[Maker]

I peeled the rubber off a tired old 17 style torch to see how they were made and it looks as though the neck (Copper tube) is soldered to the brass threaded body.


But it can't be solder, as that would surely melt with the heat of welding, so what is it?

 

[rory1]

Brazed?

 

[brightspark]

silver soldered

 

[Paul.]

Probably silver solder, and they do melt sometimes, lens bodies have also been known to fall apart with the heat, I've seen a couple off in the last few weeks

 

[Spark plug]

Silver solder.

 

[Maker]

Is that just solder with a high melting point (Presumably containing silver)?

 

[optima21]

most silver solders used for hard soldering will melt above 600c, compared to the lower temperatures for soft soldering

 

[Wedg1e]

I have a couple of watercooled TIG torches I bought brand new off the bay of evil. If only the water and gas connections hadn't been mixed-up when they were soldered/welded/brazed on...

 

[voipio]

The assembly in the image in the original post looks like brazing with the components being joined using a non-silver-containing brazing spelter. Silver solder, as used for brazing, generally forms a lighter-coloured joint than the one which appears in the image, unless there has been some oxidation, and it melts at a much higher temperature than the silver-containing lead-free solder used for soft soldering, which is predominantly tin.