heat resistant board

[Dave]

anyone know where i might get a piece of heat resistant board 2' X 2' approx for putting behind pipes to solder them? like the bit on an ironing board for putting the iron down on

[David]

Any plumber's merchant, or even B&Q etc, will sell you a little flexible heatproof mat (glass fibre or something?) for this express purpose. David

[Ed Sirett]

Trouble is that flexible mats don't last at all well. I have a couple of 6" squares of a traditional solid fire proof material which work really well. I would recommend that you find some modern equivalent (Cape board IIRC) trouble is that it might be hard to find an offcut.

[Peter Twydell]

In article , Jonathan@Home writes

I've been using a glass fibre mat for years. Excellent gadget. The only problem with using a blowtorch/blowlamp is that the fumes from soldering tend to set the smoke alarm off!

[Andrew McKay]

I find that it is important to play the flame around the joint a bit - that way the mat behind doesn't receive a deadly dose of heat in one spot.

Also make sure you use a flame size that is appropriate to the joint - no need to light up a Saturn 5 rocket for a 15mm joint! My rule of thumb is that the flame size should be no wider than the joint being soldered, and in many cases smaller.

Hitting the joint with too much heat can be disastrous for a solder joint - you want the solder to liquify but not evaporate :)

Andrew

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[The Natural Philosopher]

I have used both mats and Masterboard offcuts. Both work well. The mat at least is FLEXIBLE.