I've had my pots at the stainless shop for 6 weeks now, and they still haven't started on them yet! I'm considering bringing them home and doing it myself with silver solder. I've soldered/brazed refrigeration and plumbing in the past so I don't see too much of a problem, other that wanting some input on a BYO article and on 'dimpling' the holes.
Here's some of what BYO said
"If you're planning on silver soldering, keep in mind a few basics. Silver solder works best when the two surfaces overlap at least three times the thickness of the thinnest metal. If you’re going through the wall of a keg with a full coupling, there would be only the “overlap” of the pot’s wall. But if you were adding a half-coupling to a thin-walled kettle, there would be plenty of “overlap” where the bottom of the coupling meets the pot’s wall.
If you decide to silver solder a coupling or nipple into your pot, start by drilling a very tight hole, one with only .002-.005 (two to five thousandths of an inch) clearance. Harris Welco technician Jeff Heuerman says, “When the silver solder is drawn into the gap, filling it, that’s where you get your strength.” Silver solder should not bead up, like a weld filet. Actually, you could think of silver solder as an extremely hot, hot-melt glue.
Silver solder is expensive, over $30 a pound. But you can buy just a few ounces. The Stay-Clean liquid flux retails for $6.40.
The bottom line: Silver solder is simple and effective, but it may crack after a year or two of homebrewing service. While you can do it yourself, it’s just not as rugged or long-lasting as silver brazing or welding."
The hi-lited portion is what concerns me - I don't want to have to replace my pots every year or two - and I don't have any brazing rod (other than some leftover from refrigeration that may/may not be suitable for food-grade brazing). The brand, at the time was Silva-Braze, but I don't know the contents of things like lead, tin, antimony, etc. that may be unusable for my brewpots.
I just looked at an MSDS sheet on SilvaBraze - Doesn't look too promising.
http://www.matweb.com/search/datasheettext.aspx?matguid=4c1777b931a645eca1d1167d0de6f70b
"Silvabraze is used for brazing of copper and copper alloys, brass and bronze. It can also be used on silver, tungsten, and molybdenum. It is primarily used for the joining of copper-to-copper on vibration free joints. It is very effective for joining tight fitting copper pipe and tubing. Silvabraze should not be used on ferrous metals or copper alloys containing more than 10% nickel because of phosphorus embitterment due to reactions with iron or nickel. Silvabraze is extremely fluid at brazing temperatures and will penetrate joint with little clearance."
Any opinions on the longevity and on silver soldering as opposed to welding/brazing?