The Pulaskian., 1915-06-25
Soldering Tin Cans


 used quite generally by farmers for esnning surplus fruits and vegetables.
 The ordinary outfit for soldering the caps on tin cans and making them alright consists of:
 A capping iron, used to melt the sol der on the solder-hemmed cap and unite it with the can top.
 Tipping copper, commonly known as soldering iron, used for melting and applying solder to the small vent hole in the center of the cap and to leaks.
 A small brush, porce ain, glass or erockery cup, something that can Lot be used for drinking cup (never al low flux cup to stand where little chil- dren can reach it, in which to keep soldering flux; sal ammoniac; few scraps of zinc; muriatic acid; a soft brick or piece of soft limestone, and small supply of soldering lead
 Soldering Aux is a solution of zine in crude muriatic seid and is used for brushing the tin and solder surfaces so the solder, in it's melting condition, will adhere to the tin.
 To make the Aux, purchase at the drug store about 10 cents worth of crude muriatie acid and place this in a porcelain, croekery or gl ss jar. Such a jar or cup is used rather than metal, as the acid would usually attack or as the acid would usually attack or eat the metal. Add as much sheet zinc in small pieces S the acid will thor oughly dissolve. Before the Aux is used, let it stand 10 to Is hours Dilute with water half and half and strain the flux through a piece of cloth or muslin. Be careful not to spill this acid flux on the c4othing and always keep 1t out of the reach of children. When using the soldering Aux, keep it well mixed and always free from dust and dirt. Provided one does not care to make the soldering Aux, it can usually be purchased at drug or hard ware stores.
 Timing the Capping and Tipping Irons.
 The tipping copper or eapping iron may be cleaned of smudge, burned ma tersl, etc, by securing it on soft brick, piece of sandstone, sandpaper or it may have to be filed if rusty. A mixture of sal ammoniac and solder is used for timing the capping iron and topping copper and to put bright, smooth surface on them. A few pieces of so.der are melted with the solder ing iron into or 10 cents worth of sal ammoniac, which can be purchased at the drug store. The clean capping iron is heated until almost red hot. Then dip it quickly into the flux and then thrust into the box containing the sal ammoniac and solder. It will convert the solder into a liquid and thus coat or tin the iron so the solder will flow even.y when sealing the cans. Rotate it in the mixture until the soldering edge of the iron has become bright and thoroughly covered with solder. Again dip it in the Aux. The tipping copper is timed Covered with solder) very much the same as the capping iron. Heat the tipping copper, dip it in the Aux and then rotate 1t in the mix ture of solder and sal ammoniac until the tip has became covered with melted solder and rendered bright as silver. Then quickly dip it in the Aux. The tipring copper should be flied to near ly a sharp point, as it is easier to work with than when blunt. Remove all particles of smudge, burned mate rial, etc, from the tipping copper be- fore the timing process begins.
 Capping the Tin Can.
 When putting caps on large nunoer of cans already filled with fruits or vegetables arrange the cans in rows on the table while the capping copper and tipring irons are in the fire heat ing. and wipe can the trough arounl the opening. Tske handful of the solder -hemmed caps which come with the cans and place one on each side of the cans ready to be capped. Then have close at hand the Tux jar and the small brush. Plsce the finger on the vent hole in the cap, lcld the cap in place, and run the brush covered with Aux lightly aroand the solder and cap evenly with one stroke or sile stroke of the hand, being careful not to allow any of the t,ux to enter the can. Do this with all the cans ready to be capped. Then take the capping iron from the fire. Insert in the cen ter of the handle of the capping iron the upright wire or rod This rod IS used to hold the cap firmly in posi- ton while the heated capping iron melts the solder To melt the solder on the cap the heated iron is brought down in contact with all points of the can rim and the solder -hemmed cap and rotated back and forth about three strokes to swing the melted sol der into the groove evenly. Do not bear down on the capping iron as It will force the heated solder or lead out from under the cap. A forward and ba kward stroke of the capping iron if properly applied will perfectly sol der the cap in place.
 Remove the capping iron and in spect the joining. If any pinholes are found, resolder or recap. Occasionally pinholes are found, winch may be flileI up by the use of a piece of wire sol der CT waste solder rims from the dls- carded caps may be used to add to the broken or pinhole places of the cap. Often when a large number of caps are purchased, few will be found to have ha SOldQr rims