Originally Posted by
PrairieDog
OK, a couple of questions: how does a soldering wick work, and what is a welding rod? (That is, by "welding rod," do you mean the same 56% silver rod I've been using, or something else?)
The solder wick is just a section of braided steel cable. You heat it up and stick it into the puddle of brazing material. Capillary action pulls the material up onto the wick. You can then remove the wick and optionally give it a whack on a hard surface to eject the material and pull up more.