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Making lamp irons by Adrian Cherry

Another little workshop guide for information.

It's another one of those little details which I like to get right. For me, I'm not keen on the etched solutions, particularly when there is a step on the lamp-iron. They are ok for the plain bent ones but as soon as you start to fold them back on themselves they are getting too bulky. In the same way lost-wax lamp-irons are too chunky and need a lot of filing to thin them down.

For more information on Silver Soldering see here

This is my method for making lamp-irons.

First, I get a strip of nickel-silver, usually just a scrap part from a etch usually about 5 to 6mm wide.

At each end put in a 90 bend so that the main part sits vertical on the base sheet.


These strips are then silver-soldered on to the base plate.

I cut the solder into little pellets (pallions) and place on the joint and then coat with some easy-flo flux mixed up in to a paste.


This is very gently warmed with a torch, first the flux goes translucent, then starts to boil the water off.


As the water boils off you are left with a white residue, increase the heat and then it starts to melt. Then as you bring the metal up to a nice red heat the solder suddenly flashes across the joint. It is quite noticeable.

A short dip in the acid bath to remove the worst of the flux residue.


Back to the workbench and I then cut a slice.


A little filing and bending later gives me the following lamp irons.

The first couple were rather variable but there is plenty of material so after a few attempts I managed to get 3 that looked vaguely similar.

The beauty of this method is that I can soft solder them to the loco without any fear of them falling apart.


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