The Royale, a new upscale burger joint in Plano, TX, asked me to create a three-dimensional, brass and neon version of their logo's crown.
A few notes for the curious:
▶ The solder paste is Solder-it CSP 41 Plumbers' Solder. I got it from Amazon. Many people have said they can find it at Lowe's, but I couldn't find it in my area.
▶ The Solderite board (or pad) is fantastic for this kind of work. It comes in different sizes and in a hard or soft variety. I got the soft. (I don't really know the difference.) You can draw on it and stick pins in it, but it won't catch on fire. I also got it from Amazon.
▶ I cut the brass using Harbor Freight's 2 in. Mini Bench Top Cut-Off Saw (#62136 ). I bought it specifically for this job and it performed like a champ.
▶ The ring roller is also from Harbor Freight (#36790). It gets mixed reviews, but has worked great for me on aluminum and brass.
▶ I picked up the paste flux and solder in the plumbing department of one of the big-box stores. In the video, you can see I sometimes failed to heat up the rod enough before trying to apply the solder, but it was my first time doing this, and I got the hang of it as I went along.
▶ The bit I used to create the saddle joints in the tubing is a Dremel High Speed Cutter (I think #115). I used it in my Proxxon rotary tool, featured in this video: • Making a Circuit Board... . (More details in the description.)
▶ I cleaned the brass both before and after soldering with acetone and 220-grit sandpaper.
▶ I applied two coats of clear to the whole crown help prevent tarnishing.
20 авг 2024
