A Process for Tinning and Soldering Aluminium.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Feb., 1898-Accepted, 23rd Apr., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Process for Tinning and Soldering Aluminium.
I, CHARLES VANDELEUR BURTON, of 33, Queen's Road West, Chelsea, London,
S.W., Doctor of Science, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The process consists of two operations, tinning and uniting; or of one operation
only, the edges or surfaces which are tinned being united by the process of
tinning.
Those parts of the aluminium surfaces which have to be tinned need no
preparation by scraping or rubbing, provided they are ordinarily clean, and no flux
or soldering fluid is required. An alloy (hereinafter called "the soldering alloy")
is prepared by dissolving in melted tin a small proportion of aluminium. The
exact proportion is of no moment, but one part of aluminium to twelve parts of tin
by weight makes a very efficient alloy. Small pieces of the soldering alloy are
placed in contact with the seam or edge or surface of aluminium, and heat is
applied until these pieces of soldering alloy are melted. The melted soldering
alloy is then gently rubbed upon the hot aluminium surface, with a small piece of
asbestos, a loop of iron or brass wire, or other suitable implement, and almost
immediately the surfaces of aluminium are seen to be thoroughly wetted by the
alloy. Too much alloy must not be used, or the aluminium will be too deeply
corroded, or even eaten entirely through. If the soldering alloy has not run evenly
along the seam, or if edges or surfaces, separately tinned, have to be soldered
together, unalloyed tin is next to be applied. Small pieces of tin are placed upon
the tinned seam or surface, and heat is applied until these pieces of tin are melted.
The melted tin is then gently stroked along the seam or surface with which it thus
becomes thoroughly and quickly united. In the case of a seam, a firm joint is the
immediate result; the seam may even be bent sharply at a right angle without fear
of disturbing the soldering. In the case of tinned surfaces which have to be
applied flat to one another, a little tallow may be interposed, and where practicable
some additional bits of unalloyed tin. But the tallow is not necessary.
If a surface of aluminium is tinned in the manner above described, by means of
the soldering alloy, and if a piece of any ordinarily solderable metal of not too low a
melting point, is tinned with unalloyed tin, with the help of ordinary fluxes or
soldering fluid; and if then the tinned surface of the said ordinarily solderable
metal is carefully cleaned, the tinned piece of ordinarily solderable metal and the
tinned piece of aluminium may be conveniently soldered together with unalloyed
tin.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The use of an alloy consisting entirely or substantially of tin and aluminium
to be applied with heat to an aluminium surface, edge or seam, so as to tin the

page_text: said surface edge or seam and prepare the same for subsequent soldering;
preferably but not necessarily with unalloyed tin.
2. The use of an alloy consisting entirely or substantially of tin and aluminium
for the single combined operation of tinning and soldering an aluminium seam or
joint.