Bronco Buffalo MPCV " BoneCrusher"

[MrT]

Wow! This is really coming together.

Terry ;D

 

[geegad]

cool looking forward to seeing you do it...show us how you go about doing it i have never really soldered anything
so you can be my teacher

 

[wyoroy]

cool looking forward to seeing you do it...show us how you go about doing it i have never really soldered anything
so you can be my teacher

Ditto ;D

 

[TBadger]

Alright guys, I took the leap since I got home far before the wife.....here's the SBS and a short video. I apologize for quality and content ahead of time.

My tools used: a spare tile as a heat safe work surface/ lead free solder/flux paste/ mini butane torch

Getting jiggy with it! Seriously, LionRoar made life easy with this!

Stainless frames inserted into their tab holders

The rear edge aligns all the slats perfectly

Brush the flux paste onto only where you want the solder to flow. Here being right where the slat meets the stainless frame at the 2 points

Next, shave off teeny tiny pieces of solder for each junction you wanna solder. Even these pieces were somewhat too large

To make the process quicker, I inserted nearly all the rest of the slats and shaved all the requisite solder in advance

Brush on the flux, which helps hold the shavings in place, and run the butane torch over the shavings only until they melt and flow into the gaps.

Your product will turn out like this once you carefully raise it uniformly from the jig after letting it cool completely.
I also annealed the entire structure to prevent warping from rapid cooling.

Store your completed pieces away so they remain safe and sound while you slave away on nearly 25 more assemblies




Here's my short clip which may or may not confuse the masses hope this helps others in their endeavors!

Flame Soldering Slat Armor - Bronco Buffalo MPCV LionRoar S

 

[spud]

Very cool, the jig is bloody handy.

what kinda solder are you using on this and does that even matter?

 

[TBadger]

I use the lead free solder designed for low temp.....whatever is the thinnest softest solder you can find with the lowest melting point. Make sure they don't have a flux core either since it'll just make a mess. You can use a standard iron with a tip, you just have to hold the tip to the metal to heat it enough to flow the solder into the joint. I find it easier to do this since the slats are so frail and easily bent.

 

[TBadger]

Total of 3 units done. Wife works late all week, so I figure 5 tomorrow and 4 each day after. It'll be ready by the weekend if I keep pace ;D

 

[dasboote34]

awesome demo, i may have to start my brass soon since its going to be tedious 8)

 

[geegad]

going great guns t like how yoyr slats are going nice that great wall have helped..just taken a look at my photo etch fromm ed and no jig whoops...

 

[wyoroy]

Great information. The idea of using a small torch instead of an iron looks to be the ticket.

 

[TRM]

Grat SBS on the soldering!! Wickedly nest work!!

 

[TBadger]

I was a little vague in the video as to where to apply heat and the solder chips....so i made a quick supplemental. Also, make sure to melt the paste flux with a little low heat to ensure it flows easily, because if it is a paste when your solder melts it will ball up and not pass through the small hole or flow along the seam.

Careful also not to add TOO mch heat and oxidize the solder which will make it essentially just a burnt lump of metal stuck on your parts.

 

[andrei383]

wow that PE looks like a great deal of work! will look great once its on though! nice work!

 

[Cave_Dweller]

This is one helluva build ya got going on here, thanks for posting such detailed pics. Really exceptional looking details with that PE brass and all the extra stuff. Thing kind of looks like a boat or something!

This vehicle is designed to be resistant to IEDs, landmines etc, right?

 

[TBadger]

Indeed that is the design intention.....

I'm done with 6 assemblies, with mixed results ( some slats have been popping off after that fact or with handling)
Tomorrow I'll be trying a better flux paste which hopefully makes the job easier, this Rosin based gel doesnt seem to be cutting the mustard. Water Soluble Paste I think would be a best bet considering it highly acidic and more liquid than toothpaste like.

These six assemblies mean I have soldered in 150 slats thus far and have 250 more to go.....not including the other shaped setups : Glad I have a 3 Day weekend ahead of me!

 

[TRM]

Labor of love!! Looking sweet so far!!!

 

[geegad]

they look superb buddy

 

[rookie]

You have the patience of a saint!

 

[spud]

Wow you are flying trough them,

 

[Subhuman1]

Good info on the soldering, and great progress, looking forward to more!