Furnace brazing compositions

Claim 1

A COMPOSITION PARTICULARLY ADAPTED FOR USE AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES IN MAKING CARBON-FREE FURNACE-BRAZED METALLIC JOINTS, SAID COMPOSITION COMPRISING ESSENTIALLY: (A) A CARRIER WHICH IS A GEL OF ORGANIC MATERIAL, SAID CARRIER HAVING A CONRADSON RESIDUE BELOW ABOUT 0.5%; (B) INORGANIC OXIDIZING AGENT HAVING A MELTING POINT ABOVE ABOUT 200* C. AND CAPABLE OF OXIDIZING CARBON BY REACTION AND DECOMPOSITION AT HIGHER TEMPERATURES, SAID OXIDIZING AGENT BEING FURTHER SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF THE ALKALI-METAL NITRATES, NITRITES AND PEROXIDES AND THE ALKALIEARTH-METAL NITRATES AND PEROXIDES, AND BEING PRESENT IN AN AMOUNT PROPORTIONAL TO AT LEAST 4 PARTS THEREOF BY WEIGHT FOR EACH PART OF CARBON IN SAID CONRADSON RESIDUE, BUT NOT SUBSTANTIALLY IN EXCESS OF THE AMOUNT THEREOF REQUIRED TO SCAVENGE BY OXIDATION ALL CARBON WHICH WOULD BE DEPOSITED BY SAID CARRIER IN A FURNACE-BRAZING OPERATION IN THE ABSENCE OF THE OXIDIZING AGENT; AND (C) FINELY-DIVIDED SOLID MATERIAL ADAPTED TO YIELD AT THE BRAZING TEMPERATURE A MOLTEN BRAZING METAL, SAID MATERIAL BEING SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF METAL POWDERS AND REDUCIBLE OXIDIC COMPOUNDS OF BRAZING METALS; SAID BRAZING-METAL-YIELDING MATERIAL AND SAID OXIDIZING AGENT BEING UNIFORMLY DISPERSED IN A SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF SAID CARRIER TO PROVIDE A SMOOTH PASTE.