In a message dated 9/22/2005 11:13:52 PM Eastern Daylight Time, fred_rednor@yahoo.com writes:
<< I might be mistaken but it looks as though Tom Kellog use both silver and bronze brazing rods on this frame. The rear dropout areas appear to be attached using bronze rod (which "fills" better) whereas most of the other joints appear to have been done with silver rod. Is that truly the case? >>
Sure! Virtually all modern USA custom builders have done that.. the brass fills the big voids at the drop out ends and, the theory goes, is less of a heat issue there cause the parts are so chunky. Silver is used the rest of the joints because the gaps are so close and you have thin stuff to deal with which, the theory continues, would be otherwise be damaged by the higher heat that brass requires. As you may infer from my phraseology, some pooh pooh all that heat build up stuff and point to the Euro builders who have built a zillion bikes with brass and suffer relatively no failures due to apparent overheating. The debate rages on.....
Dale Brown
Greensboro, NC USA