Hey guys! A rare Sunday work session and it let me get the gutters and downspouts completed and chemically treated.
I needed to make two more gutters for the clerestory roofs bringing the total to 8 (6 for the main house and 2 for the kitchen). I then drilled the hole for the downspout by first drilling a small pilot and then opening up to the 1/8" on the drill press. I drilled #75 holes for the 0.021" brass wire that will pin the gutters to the eaves. I broke 2 carbide drills doing the small holes and went back to using high speed steel drills which are more forgiving. Brass grabs drills and likes to break the carbide drills when it does. At $1.50/drill that makes those very expensive holes.
The new tubing I bought from Special Shapes was thin-wall 1/8" brass. I annealed it using a micro torch to heat it until the brass changes color and let it air cool. After annealing and using the spring-based K-S tubing bender I was a able to get kink-free bends for the bottom and the s-curve to bring the tube closer to the wall.
I use the RSU to do all the soldering and it's so slick. Here's a before and after of making the tube-to-gutter joint. I make a ring of solder around the joint after putting on some TIX liquid flux to help the rosin core solder a bit. I have some very fine gauge rosin core that I bought in Germany in 2000. It was a big roll and I still have a bunch left. It's about 0.030" diameter or its metric equivalent. I clamp the RSU on the gutter and just watch until the ring melts and forms a filet around the tube joint.
After the flux bubbles off, here's what happens in about 15 seconds. (focus could be better)
I added the brass wires and used the TIX lower temp solder so all the other solder joints wouldn't de-solder. After soldering I trimmed the front flush and filed it so they wouldn't be seen again. I cut the piece protruding out the back to about 1/4".
I then brushed on the JAX metal blackening chemical and let it work. Instead of dipping I tried brushing since it would use less chemicals and be more controllable. It works. I found that using some steel wool on the brass enabled the chemicals to wet the surface better and give a more even toning.
After the tone was reasonably dark, I brushed on the chemically added patina. At first it looks like nothing's happening, but as it sit and dries it gets stronger. The end result is quite amazing. It still needs to be more even and I'm going add more today (Monday) to even it up a bit. The best way to simulate patina is PATINA.
Today, I'll start building the shed roof and, after more treatment, attach the gutters. I'm thinking about giving it a coat of Dullcoat to preserve the finish on the brass. The green can rub off on your fingers which tells me that it's the chemical that changes colors and sits on the surface, rather than the substrate changing color. I'm going to add a ring with pin to mount in the middle of the downspout to tie it to the building wall. It will stabilize the long dangling pipe.
