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Cleanliness next to Godliness. Especially if you're using silver solder! You want the cleanest joint you can get. Very high proof alcohol, or acetone to degrease the ends, then scrub with a clean SS wire brush, and clean again! Then use a good flux. Borax (from the Boraxo company) is what my dad taught me to use. I've also done some jewelry work, and they use some fluxes with a bit of fluoride in the flux. It's more expensive... but it works well on precious metals, which are sometimes difficult. Borax is cheaper. You can also use Boric Acid. If you can use an oxy-acetylene torch with a fairly large tip. You need it heated to at least red heat as fast as possible. Dip the hot end in your flux. Repeat for the other end. Then align them, butt them together, and and heat both ends red hot again, while pressing them together and adding more flux! While they're still red hot add your solder after warming it and dipping it in the flux, too. Press them together some more, while heating. Then leave the joint alone until it's stone cold!?

You can dissolve borax in distilled water or alcohol, and IIRC, you can dissolve boric acid in alcohol, too. Been a really long time since I last used it. Though I've got about 3 pounds of boric acid sitting here. Borax is quite a bit cheaper, and works just as well in my experience. You can usually find a 4 or 5 pound box in the laundry detergent aisle of almost any grocery store for around $5 or $6...

Works for brazing a lot of other stuff, too.?

Bill in OKC