Tutorial – DIY Inside Corner Bracket

Step #2

Cutting down the stock.

Each bracket of mine is composed of 2 pieces of the angle brass, one 4” in length and one 2 1/16” in length

Tools:
I use a cutting bandsaw:

Alternatives: chopsaw, cutt-off saw, dremel with a cutoff wheel, standard bandsaw, handsaw with a miterbox, tablesaw with a sled, scrollsaw, sawzall.

I also use a sanding disk to finish the edges:

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Step #3

Add the mounting holes.

I suggest making a quick marking jig to make your holes consistent from bracket to bracket:

Then use a center punch to create divots for your drill:

Weapon of choice: springloaded center punch

Drill all your holes:

Be careful here! I’ve noticed brass has what I call pull-thru. When standard drill bits exit the far side of the material, they will catch on the under-surface and cause the material to jump up towards the chuck. You can hold it down easily, but just be ready for the jump.

Weapon of choice: drill press.

Alternate tools: drill

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Step #4

Slot the 4” piece.

First mark a midline slot:

Next cut the slot out (I’ve also added a pencil line for the next step):

I use my bandsaw:

Alternate tools: dremel with cutoff, hand miter box.

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Step #6

Bend the 4” piece.

Clamp the 4” piece in a vise, with just about 1/64” addition from the previously scored bend line to accommodate the bend radius.

Then I apply some gentle heat, and pound the bend in with a hammer.

Video (click to view)

Tools: vice, hammer, butane plumber's torch

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Step #7

Prep your soldering surfaces.

Some people feel that prepping is a good but not essential step. Surface preparation is CRUCIAL for welding and soldering. If you don’t take time and prep, the solder will NOT hold and you might as well not do any of this.

Prep the interface surface:

I used an 80 grit sanding triangle on a Dremel Multimax followed by 220 grit by hand, then cleaning with a paper towl.

Alternates: plumber’s cleaning cloth, sandpaper by hand.

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Step #8

Setup your soldering jig.

I’ve got my brass pieces ready to solder together, but it is best to do so while they are attached to a jig. So I put together 3 pieces of ¾” square tube together to a corner, held by external L brackets. This is important so that you know your bracket will come out shaped properly.

Next, I secured the inside corner bracket to the jig with some screws and tape.

We are going to make a butt joint, where the ends of the folded 4” piece will meet the surface of the 2” piece. This is why the 2” piece is actually 2 1/16” in length because it sits down losing 1/16” of its length to make the joint.

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Step #9

Gather your tools to solder.

We’ve got for soldering:

1) Small butane lighter
2) Larger propane torch (not necessary but makes it faster)
3) Flux and brush
All available at any hardware store in the aisle for copper plumbing.
4) Solder--I’m using standard Radioshack solder (it’s leaded, so remember, wear mask).
5) Forceps or tweezers for handing hot items, maybe some hot mitts

Safety:

1) N95 mask, especially if you are using leaded solder
2) Gloves
3) Something to torch on, in this case an old aluminum motherboard tray
4) Squirt bottle of water
5) Fire extinguisher

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Step #10

More prep.

Make sure you surfaces are sanded and clean bare metal.

Then add flux. Flux will dictate where the solder will go, 2 important things to remember:

1) Work the flux down into the surfaces of the actual joint (especially on the edge of the folded piece--in fact its probably better to flux this surface before mounting it to the jig).

2) Only put flux where you want solder to go--in fact I will mask off areas to lay down my flux:

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