If the fit it too tight, it will starve the joint for solder. Try using less pressure and more turns on the tubing cutter. the tube should stay in the fitting but not be so snug as to need a hammer to get it into place.
I'm positive arc welding is done by Braille or imagination / visualization. :)
I read through several web pages on soldering & here are links to the better (IMO) one
touch the fitting / tube gap at a point Oppostite the flame application...
that is, if the fitting is beig heated at 3 o'clock, apply solder at 9
the soldering starting to melt will give you the best indication of proper temp, heat just slightly more, take the heat away & feed te solder. The solder should zip right into the joint.
If the flux starts to smoke like crazy (black smoke)....too hot.
Think about the total joint volume, gap volume, you only need to apply enough + a little
a typical 1/2 copper tube joint will need a couple of inches of .1/8" solder......if you over feed it will just drip out
cheers Bob
Actually this morning at work I was reading some back posts on this group and picked out the same tip you did. So today I tried heating the joint and starting to sweat from the back of the pipe. That did the trick, it really sucked up the solder too! My god, push the solder tip on the pipe and solder squirts out almost the whole circumference of the pipe. So far so good, no more burned knuckles and the joints are starting to look better and better. I also noticed that I tend to get a better joint when the fitting is larger. I assume that means I'm overheating and the larger fitting is absorbing more of the heat. Whereas with the couple fitting there isn't enough copper to absorb the heat and the joint stays hotter longer.
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