Over the holidays I talked my brother-in-law into giving me a bit of guidance. On his recommendation I got a combined oxygen and MAPP torch. It is able to produce a lot more heat than I need but should be more versatile if I want to try any brass brazing. We cut some rings from the 1.125" as planned. My b-i-l is a tool and die man and had pretty serious reservations about "silver soldering" a bike together. He brazed a ring on and we ground off a couple of flat spots to verify that the silver was penetrating the entire joint. Then he watched as I did several more rings. After each one we would grind off parts of the ring/lug simulator and check for penetration.

When he saw how much penetration we were getting he began to get a bit excited about strength. As a test we placed the tube, on end, against the ground and my b-i-l used a 5/16 punch and a 24oz ball peen hammer to try and knock one of the rings off where we had ground through it to check the braze. After five solid hits there was no sign that the ring had moved at all. No hairline cracks in the silver joint. Nada. After that he blessed my endeavor. All of the folks that have gone down this path before me should be relieved. :-)

Here is a shot of a couple of joints after being ground through as a check. I have 15 more rings cut out to practice with. Maybe I'll be ready to order a frame kit by February.

I also need to add more hours to my study of geometry. Since my goal is to build a bike and not change the world with some revolutionary build, I will likey copy one of the frames I am already riding.