Alumiweld vs Aluminum Weld: Was My TIG Welder a Waste of Money?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 เม.ย. 2021
- Testing out aluminum repair rods that work with a propane torch.
I picked up these Alumiweld rods from Harbor Freight out of curiosity, and thought it would interesting to compare them with an aluminum TIG weld.
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You can learn to weld. I'll show you exactly what to do in my affordable online welding courses at courses.timwelds.com.
I've been looking at online welding courses, and there are a bunch. Even free ones. What I personally think would be very helpful that I haven't seen, and could make yours unique, is some sort of actual interaction with a student. Like a package that includes a couple 15 min video chats.
The problem I, and I imagine others, run into is that videos are great when everything goes perfect, but usually at some point something doesn't go perfect or I have questions. For example my weld looks substantially different than your weld even though I think I did things the exact same. Then I spend hours googling trying to figure out what happened. But I bet you could look at and probably know immediately "oh looks like you went to fast here, try slowing down a little" or whatever it may be
I won't be selling my tig welders anytime soon but this stuff actually looks useful for small diy jobs. How it travels under the oxide layer was really neat to see.
I used this product several years back and made a ladder frame for lights for a saltwater aquarium. I had outstanding results. The joints were very strong, and when I sold my set-up, the rack was still going strong. This was after sitting above a 125g tank for almost 10 years. It's a great product for limited/specific uses I feel.
I have tons of soldering experience, no welding experience, and a giant CNC that can cut aluminum...I'm gonna order some alumiweld, thanks!
how'd it go?
Yeah how'd it go?
I'm now a follower, love that you get right to it without telling me your back story for the first 10 minutes, what's your favorite food or color, the name of your dog and his favorite food, etc. . Most vids like this I gotta jump ahead 15 minutes and half the time they still talking about, I don't know, losing weight after Christmas.
I did a repair on my poll screen enclosure. The aluminum upright started to tear a hole where the door closer attaches after the door blew open in a storm. I removed the door closer bracket, applied the Alumiweld, filled the hole, ground it down even with the support, reinstalled the door closer, and that was probably seven or more years age. It is still holding and you cannot see where I did the repair and painted it over. It cannot be used for everything but it works great for some things.
I install pool cages, always wondered if these would work on extrusion
Thanks for your comment, that's exactly what I'm researching to repair.
A stainless wire brush goes a long way to prep the metal for a good bond with alumaweld and similar products.
same with any welding process on aluminium. Yes ac should clean it a bit. But if you prep your material properly, that includes brushing with a stainless brush and then its recommended to clean with aceton as wel.
@@gabbermaikel yes, it definitely helps to scratch the oxides a bit to help the arc start. When doing fresh sheet metal (just sheared) it usually isn't needed unless doing a Tee joint. Open corners work great without it, as the oxides on the sides keep the weld focused on the cut edge.
Yea in their documentation they say to use a stainless brush on the parts beforehand, so if dude did that (and also heated the metals and wetted properly without the torch melting the rods) it would probably even stronger...
Yeah the whole time I was like hey, I know this might sound like blasphemy but like imagine if you prepped the surface with a wire brush first, like with brazing or welding.
@@666hobart yes you've got a good point also. Would you torch your solder before trying to lay it in? No. Would you take a torch to a welding rob before welding? No. Why was he heating the rods first?!?
Actually the Alumiweld fillet was strong enough for practical applications where loading doesn't produce ridiculous 90-degree part deformations, which is just about all the joints that people need in the real world. I'm glad you put the video out, Alumiweld is definitely going into my bag o'tricks.
I have used this to repair small engine carburetor fuel bowls that have gotten pin holes from water inside from poor winter storage. Worked awesome no leaks and it has been going strong for years now. This stuff does have it's applications.
I first used alumaweld 35 years ago on a 4" aluminum irrigation pipe that I nicked with a rototiller... the repair was done in the field and worked like a champ. You just need to use less heat than you think you do so as to not have the aluminum you are repairing melt.
Yes. Propane > MAP Gas as Propane's max burning temp is less than Aluminum's melting temp.
Hot tip!
Interesting! In all the brazing videos I've watched, nobody has ever shown "the oxide layer" in such detail. I appreciate it.
I've found out that there is a very narrow range of hot enough and too hot (for these rods). Inside that window it works fairly well. The key is a good understanding of the right range of temperature.
This is something I have been pondering for months. Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video
I have a lot of experience with soldering, and one thing I know is that flux is the secret weapon for dealing with oxidation. I Googled to see if there is such a thing as aluminum flux - and apparently there is. So I would be very interested in knowing if flux is effective in improving the process.
Harbor Freight stuff I got was made in USA It;s great. I plan to try bees wax and Rosin flux just to experiment.
Aluminum stick rod has a Flux coating that creates a glassy coating on the finished weld.
Aluminum stick rod has a Flux coating that creates a glassy coating on the finished weld.
Come on man are u talking about swiping flux? Seems like the torch heating it up would burn all that off
@@brandonknight7240 Flux works for lead solder. Yes after Flux and a torch it will reoxidize but if you do minimal torch work and work quickly and the rod has Flux I think it will help
thanks for actually knowing and explaining the difference between welding, brazing and soldering....very few youtube experts seem to understand this
Wow. Nice. I think for aesthetic joints, or low stress situations, this is an awesome option.
Never going to replace tig for aluminum, but it is nice to have it available.
I agree, not for structural, but I can definitely see it being useful. I wonder if it would hold up on a cracked head on a mower or something.
That's incredibly strong for what it's designed for. I'm very impressed.
I had a vehicle with a crack in the aluminum oil pan it was leaking oil real bad. I cleaned the crack inside and over the surface of it really well and I tried the alumiweld rods. It worked and the pan has been holding oil for 2 years now. It saved me about 10 hours of Labor and $200 for a new pan.
The way it wets the aluminium reminds me of how gallium interacts with it in a similar fashion.
Very informative and to the point. Thanks Tim!!!
Way way better than I was expecting , great video.
This is misleading people because you aren’t prepping properly or using the correct method for the Alumiweld. There’s videos on TH-cam that show how to properly do it and show how strong it is. It’s almost like you wanted it to fail.
There is no shortage of people who either don't know how to use alumiweld or deliberately do it wrong to show it in a bad light. I welded a torque tab to the gear case of my outboard motor and have been running it at 100+ mph speeds (occasionally) for nearly 20 years. Used properly, its a great product.
I wish I had an instructor and employer like you! I am very glad I found ur channel. Subscribed👍
Interesting, and good to see the strength of the dual sides solder in particular. OTOH, and for the lap joint especially, I would think that having cleaned the surface very well first to minimize the oxide layer may have helped a lot with the Alumiweld. Brushing hard with stainless steel for example. It didn't seem like you did that. Might have made a significant difference.
I've posted a very similar comment to you about the getting a successful lap joint. Stainless scratch brush and 'tin' both inside faces with lumiweld before mating the lap together.
That's my only gripe about this video. I understand you can "burn" through some impurities when welding, but soldering almost always requires some surface prep. When soldering copper pipe, I always found the key to a good solder joint was prep.
Hell ya Tim! Cool topic, Your channel has made strides since I 1st came across it! Congrats my man keep it up
This stuff is actually quite impressive honestly. As long as you get the quality stuff. I’ve been nothing but impressed with it personally.
How do you know if it's quality? Get name brand? Anything else to watch out for when sourcing this stuff? I've been curious about it for awhile but have yet to bite the bullet lol.
@@johnny0454 watch “the project farm” channel. He did and amazing head to head to head challenge with this stuff that explains everything as well as it can be 👍🏼👍🏼
@@Thewatson77 I watched it. However, he preferred Hobart which had a higher melt temperature. My problem so far has been that I have been attempting to use a $30 Coleman head with map gas. Even with Blue Devil Triple Play, I have been only able to solder shut a tiny area after blasting it for 10 minutes, so long as my torch does extinguish. So, since I really need to solder angles to a large 2x2 foot sheet of 1/8 the inch aluminum, 5052 or 3003, my main concern is a low melt temperature and a hotter turbo head. I am still unsure if this is possible.
I spent several hours trying to heat up and do a few welds last Sunday. Getting the area heated up enough was a challenge.
I am also wondering if I bought copper Flux, if this would make anything work better.
I do not recall which one melted at the lowest temperature on project farm .
Muggy weld looks like the best solution, however I would spend.more money on the rods than the entire project. I would rather invest in Gold than their rods.
@@johnny0454 Aladdin 3 in 1
@@dennisgarber with such a large surface area I'd personally just have it welded up. Be it GTAW or GMAW though if they had oxy/acetylene it could be an option though I'd still prefer GTAW.
First saw these on a Project Farm comparison. Pretty cool stuff, means I didn't have to jump right to TIG or get an old or expensive AC-capable stick or mig machine. Crazy to see how it interacts with the oxide layer. Almost looks easier than sweating copper pipes, though that lap joint was disappointing.
Thanks for the vid!
Maybe disappointing but if it was wire brushed or properly prepped to first get rid of the oxide layer the outcome would have been better..
Lap joints are probably feasible if you wet the surface before attempting to bond, like how you typically solder electronics and wires, bond the braze to the material first, then remelt the braze to join the pieces. Proper surface prep would help a bit as well. Except there's not much you can do about the oxide layer itself during prep as the oxide layer reforms extremely quickly, which is why welding with shield gas and brazing products that interfere with the oxide layer are needed, and why you can't just 'get rid' of the oxide layer like you can with irons and steels.
@rpavlik1 it's as easy as sweating copper. I had great success with Alumirods. Just a little different torching technique as the aluminum cools much faster than copper
Thanks again for showing us the process
Thanks for showing us this! I will try this for some small not too heavy stuff.
This works better than I expected. I think a strong lap joint might be possible by covering the mating/overlapping surfaces with alumiweld then carefully heating bith surfaces before bringing them together. Definitely a good thing to have in your emergency tool kit.
Good job on the solder. I used that stuff several times to repair gm door handles and fill in pits and holes in damaged or rough pieces. I was amazed due to it being one of those as seen on tv deals
Perfect application, very good to know. I have used it to repair window regulators, intake manifolds, small engine brackets, and muscle-car-era emblems- many in the field or late Sunday night driveway repairs when other options are not available. As I recall, it fills and grinds away nicely, but it’s quite hard and is not suitable for tapping. For busted threaded holes, go with JB weld or a helicoil.
Using a MAP gas plumbers torch on a hose with trigger ignition, one could easily reach inside of a door cavity or tight engine bay to carry out an emergency repair. Standard bonding practices apply, de-oxidized surfaces work better. Using a carbide or stainless steel brush first, maybe a shot of brake cleaner or isopropyl alcohol, can make a huge difference. No electricity or welder skills needed. It has been a tool box necessity for more than 20 years.
@@mrbreakit6063 my best friend is a jeweler. If you do small repairs and have a natural gas and o2 tank its a wonderful thing. If not you can still do oxy acetylene. The hoses and tips arent very much and youll be freaking amazed at the difference in your overall repair. As good as it may look with a map gas tank yhe other is a game changer. You can get B tanks relatively affoedable if you keep an eye out. While sharing cheats. If you have any hard to fix plastic repairs get Q bond. Its amazing. Works on metal and plastics pp pe abs/pc it repairs fills voids makes molds cracked dash board? Sprinkle the powder in the crack and wet it with the adgesive. In 10 seconds the crack is filled. Sand cut melt mold drill. Repairs aluminum , cast, Q B 2 anywhere from 9.00 to 60. Online. Can be used without the powders as well.
Excellent, concise presentation.
For the lap weld, have you tried whetting both the surfaces to be joined with alumiweld and then joining them while they are still liquid, much like gluing them together after applying glue to both pieces?
I used the Alumiweld rods and some scrap alumInum flat bar to build a license plate bracket for my Volvo. It saved me $20 and a long shipping time for a new bracket. Work within its capabilities and it does pretty well. Of course, use a stainless steel wire brush to prep the surface first.
As a kid in the sixties, I remember, after our 16 foot aluminum boat had gotten beat-up on coral, when the tide went out, my dad used aluminum rod with an acetylene torch to repair the damage. After the repair, we used the boat for years without any problems.
Your dad is very good. Especially for sheet metal repair.
He may have known his flux.
I have used this to weld up cracks on an aluminum boat. Seems to work ok. Just had to wire brush real good with a stainless steel brush.
Dude you just gave the best explanation I've heard when you say your heating to creat a pool and then adding to it. Well said🎉
Thanks for the demonstration on the differences. For lap joints with brazing, specifically, is there a means of sweat soldering the two pieces, or some sort of flux that can be added to assist with the capillary action?
Tinning the mating surfaces
Try it on patching a hole in an aluminum canoe. I’m curious how it holds up.
It would be interesting to see if there would be a difference if you aimed the torch on both metal pieces on the lap join. As it was now, you aimed it at the upper metal piece. Maybe the heat travelled so well since alu is a good heat transporter.. i just got curious.
I’m pleased you’ve done this test as I’ve a small split / crack on an panel with Ash wood frame touching underneath and I’m thinking this might be better than Tig in this situation because not as much heat needed? For the last 30 years it’s wood screws along the crack then filler but after a few years the crack shows through the paint again 🤬🤬 what’s your opinion please?
I fabricated a device to relocate my start key on my motorcycle back in early 2000s using the soldering aluminum. The switch was still in place in perfect condition after 20+k miles when I sold it last year. The only thing I did different was to clean up the joints before soldering with a stainless wire brush. It really worked well however I have since purchased a Tig welder and haven't used that device in several years.
Okay but what kind of wear and tear does a switch bracket take anyway...
@@dangerous8333 It likely doesn't but it shows there are projects where it will work fine.
This video helps alot! Im thinking of making an aluminum sqaure type box to make for handle bar risers and I wanted to build with aluminum but some other videos strength tests show the weakness with the joints! Funny thing is when you took a hammer to the t joint with welds on both sides that gives an accurate indication of how that would work and I haven't even brazed aluminum yet! Its weird how numbers can't help me make the deshion as easily as seeing that strength test because you actualy get to see how plyable the aluminum is! So now im back to aluminum as an option for handle bar risers!
looks like you had the can buttoned up until the last dab and you can see the hole (I think)
thanks for the video
Yeah..I saw it too...
Thanks for the demo!
Super excellent video. Not full of the "wait for this" click bait junk. Great voice and informative. Thank you.
Very helpful video, showing the limitations of soldering. Thanks very much!🎉🎉
I'm impressed, I didn't think it was gonna work at all.
This video is really impressive. The alumaweld rod product is obviously very high quality, despite seeming like a gimmick. I do know that commercial pipe fitters, they spend the majority of their time cleaning the surfaces before soldering and brazing. Most of their labor is spent "prepping" the metal. They clean way above and beyond what is required, to get absolutely perfect soldering and brazing with no air gaps or dead spots. I was trained the same way in silver brazing. You actually clean the silver braze rod, you clean the material you're brazing, and you always use flux. I suspect that cleaning the aluminum oxide off completely, on both the rod, and the material, would lead to an even better bond. I know from experience that the number #1 problem in the home garage, is not being clean enough, and not doing the proper surface preparation on projects.
I always always always clean my TIG rods with acetone before using. Use a white rag with some acetone or brake parts cleaner on it and you wouldn't believe how dirty the aluminum filler Rod is usually it's just the drawing Lube to choose though.
You can't clean aluminum oxide off. It forms in a fraction of a second. This is why we use AC for aluminum TIG welding, as the back current repeatedly burns up through the oxide layer, continually breaking it up. We still use shielding gas to keep it protected as well.
@@MAINTMAN73Careful with brake cleaner containing chlorine. You'll make phosgene gas if any of it is still there when you weld on it. I stick to acetone, and just fill lab wash bottles with it for easy dispensing.
This was a fantastic video. I’ve got some cracks in my John boat and was debating having someone weld it or braze it. Obviously the weld is the way to go but very informative and helped me make my decision!
I found it very difficult to get enough heat into the metal. I was joining 2 pieces of 1 x 2 tubing, 1/8 inch wall. I preheated the parts in my kitchen oven at 450 for a while, but had no luck with either propane or mapp. I ended up using a mapp/oxygen torch to get the parts together.
I used a product like this years ago and I remember they supplied a tungston, I think, wire to
scrape the alloy surface under the pool to remove the oxide and expose the clean metal, worked
really well as I recall.
Your TIG welding skills are amazing! Some of the best TIG welding I ever seen in my life! ✌️
I have always wanted to use it to TIG with.
The original advertisement showed repairing transmission ears. Transmissions can exceed the melting point of alumiweld. I used it years ago to repair mounting holes on an ATVs skid plate.
Hi Tim! I started to watch your channel for some time and I learned a lot theoretically, as I don't have a welding machine yet. I did some repair work with a borrowed stick welder, but far from productive work, like installed automatic gate system to my house, so some steel pieces were required to be welded/bolted to the cement pillars for those actuators, the weld came out functional, not very aesthetic. I intend to get a good hobby TIG/MMA dual welder and continue to watch your channel and learn. Cheers and thanks from Romania! Florin
I really appreciate the fairness of this video. I don't think anyone's surprised that welding is stronger, but I was surprised at how strong the "brazing" could be. I have a project where I want to replace a big bulky plastic trim on an aquarium with a slimmer angle-aluminum frame, and I was hoping I could find a way to put it together without fasteners and without a welder (besides, it's been about a decade since I welded anything in community college, lol). This seems like it should do the trick. the forces that the trim is subjected to are quite minor, just a few pounds of force, but that stress taken off of the glass is what's important. Wonderfully helpful video
High temp soldering. Same thing you do in freon lines and thick ridgid copper.
That oxide layer is no joke to get through without melting the aluminum under it. Takes twice the heat and really needs the AC to break though without overheating. The AC balance on modern TIG inverters is a game changer.
I was able to successfully repair an A/C line on my car where it had rubbed a hole in it against the frame using the Bernzomatic brand aluminum rod. Been working good so far for a few years already. One of the keys is to clean the repair area with acetone to remove any impurities. Thanks for the video.
I also used those rods for mine too. You must have a 2004 Ford Explorer 🤣
@@mikewithers299 Lol close. It's a 2004 Mazda MPV with a Ford 3.0L Duratec in it. So basically a Ford.
@@chilimax21 that's funny. I had to ask. I've never had that happen to any other vehicle, but it worked when I needed it to
informative and well done..as always.That pop can part was LOL thx
I'm glad you called this soldering and not welding because that's what it is.
However, I have used multiple brands of aluminum weld sticks with Mapp gas and it simply does not work.
Mapp gas won't get the aluminum hot enough to melt the sticks.
I performed several tests with a variety of torch tips and could not get the aluminum above 450 degrees with Mapp gas. The required melt point for Alumi-weld sticks is 720 degrees Fahrenheit.
This surprises me…I heated a steel 3/8th x 2 inch bolt on my makeshift firebrick hearth with Mapp and a Rothenburger torch. It became bright orange in about a minute. Were you heating a large area of 1/4 inch thick sheet or something?
Brazing.
I tried working with those rods and similar rods. The problem is the amount of heat that needed to be applied would remove any temper the aluminum had. The whole piece would lose stiffness after it cooled, and couldn't resist bending before the heat was applied.
The temperature at which aluminum starts to lose its tempering is about the same as the melting point of the rod.
I eventually invested in a TIG welder.
You can rearden the temper by baking the AL in an oven around 350 degrees for a few hours. The AL will also reharden on its own over time, AL age hardens
On the lap weld, did you try 'tinning' the face of the plates first with alumiweld first and clearing the oxide layers before joining the two? I'd be curious to see how strong the bond would be if the joined faces would have been stronger if that oxide was removed from the process, and whether it would work better than sanding/wire brushing.
I didn’t spend much time on the lap joint, but I think what you’re suggesting would work much better.
So for all those interested, these rods are made of Zinc. One interesting thing that can be done with these is the ability to join aluminium to copper, I understand it is difficult, but doable.
That plus high heat sounds bit dangerous. I remember guys forge welding galvanized pipe and tig tacking washers together commenting on how dangerous/toxic the fumes were.
@@randomidiot8142 I would have zero concern using these rods, if you heat the work hot enough to burn the zinc, you will melt your work piece. Remember the dangers everyone keeps talking about from welding galvanised materials comes from buring zinc, when you burn zinc you will essentially inhale zinc oxides this gives you something called metal fume fever. It sucks, but I do not believe I have ever heard of someone dying from it. It will give you bad flu like symptoms, but I understand that is the extent of it...
Just curious, if you had lightly sanded that joint; would you have gotten a better harder holding weld?
A stainless steel scratch brush does a great job of providing and abraded keyed surface. The problem with abrasive papers is they tend to leave a contaminating deposit on the surfaces.
You can clearly see the saving grace for alumiweld in all of your experiments. The aluminum parent material yielded long before the joint does so for light duty aluminum brackets or something along those lines it works as a great alternative to an expensive aluminum capable tig welder.
I actually thought it worked pretty well.
@@TimWelds I think it does as well. The argument I hear against alumiweld is always "it isn't as strong as a tig joint" but as you show in this video the parent aluminum is all kinds of twisted before it actually breaks off.
I've been TIG welding for 45 years. I might try this stuff. It might be useful if you had some long joints that needed to be air or water or light tight. Maybe such a joint could be tack welded and have adequate strength but then go back over the complete joint to seal it with a whole lot less heat input. Not a miracle but possibly another tool in the drawer.
I'm still partial to the welder myself, but after playing with it, I do think it has it's place for simple repairs. As far as heat input goes, though, I had to get those samples way hotter than I would have cruising over them with the TIG or MIG. Definitely another tool in the drawer, though. Thanks for watching and for the comment!
@@TimWelds Why not simply use a cheap mig or tig to apply these aluminum weld sticks?
I had a hard time heating up my part to get this stuff to melt. At least 9 minutes blasting with map gas to get a half inch line hot enough. I was using a 30 buck head, maybe I should use a turbo head.
I ditched the idea of doing more than threadlocking bolts with it. I epoxies my 7 inch angles to the large sheet. Of course I would feel better if I could epoxy the center and aluminum weld the perimeter, but I wonder if the heat would cook all of the wet epoxy before it crosslinks.
I'd really like to see if this could perform better by /not/ remembering the instructions on the pack. What's that lap joint like if you do add flux? What about some other echtant, or just a good steel bristle brush?
Very useful. Had a small hole (3mm) in a carburetor chamber bowl on a 92 Suzuki. Hard to find parts for that bike and when you can find parts they're ridiculous $$. I used this stuff to fix it. No more leaks.
Thank you for your sharing this , more you learn , more efficient you become
I thought part of the process was to de-oxidize the surface with a stainless steel brush - apparently helps with penetration.
I'd call it adherence rather than penetration.
Brazing is a great skill to learn ,used it many times ,makes a really neat joint and fast as long as temperature is correct.
I have seen demonstrations where the corner of an aluminium bloc was broken off and replaced by the rod and then machined.It seemed to work fine.
Good stuff, thanks. Maybe try running a full circle around the hole, then bridge across.
I have used this stuff with a small brazing torch tip and brazing technique, a more concentrated pinpoint heat helps control puddle,.. a clean weld surface (wire brush) before welding works best!!!
Alumaweld is a Zinc alloy with just a little bit of Aluminum in it. It melts at a temperature substantially lower than Aluminum. I have tried it and the main problem that I have with it is that the results were inconsistent. That is one T joint I could bend 90 degrees without failure but the next one would fail before I even bent it 45 degrees. To be fair, this was my first time using it. My recommendation is that if you have a MIG welder, get a spool of .030" E5356 and use an .035" contact tip and you will get much better and more consistent results. Keep your MIG gun cable as straight as possible and use just enough tension to feed the wire. And don't forget, it is DCEP and about 20 CFH Argon. As far as the Alumaweld goes, I would use it on thin parts that need a small repair. There are also other aluminum brazing rods that have a flux core. For these, try Lucas-Milhaupt and Harris.
It looks like it is actually amalgamating with the base metal, so not soldering or welding, but actually alloying/mixing with the base metal. Unfortunately that means it is weakening the base material with the filler rod.
It may still be handy in places that don't need the strength though.
That's impressive. I used a similar product maybe 10 years ago and it was way worse. Though i'd like to see a test with some dirty old broken piece of aluminum, i think it's usually used on that kind of parts, not on new shiny parts.
Huh?
I wonder how if it could be used as a body filler. Also can you sand it and polish it?
It's not as strong as a good Tig weld, but it has its uses where the Tig would be very difficult like on a thin casting. I have repaired thin model engine crankcases (cash damaged) with this stuff many years ago and it holds up fine. The rods I had back then recommended 'scratching' the puddle with a bit of stainless wire to break the oxide film. It's useful stuff.... and easy to use... Cleaning the surfaces is of course essential...a stainless steel wire brush is the tool for that for best results....
In germany we call it soldering and we differentiate between Hardsolder (with flame) and Softsolder (with Solderingiron)
Works great on pot metal
try that with your tig
Thanks for the movie, always great info
May not replace welding, but for a guy like me who just wants a couple custom tanks for a couple projects it's probably going to be amazing. I can't really justify the expense of TIG for a radiator overflow and oil catch can. And I don't think either of those would be more stress than the solder could handle.
I used it to solder cast aluminum on my chainsaw case. It is a solid repair. Can't think of anything else that would've worked as well. Thought I would've had to scrap the chainsaw. But it saved me.
Awesome! I think repairs like that are the perfect job for this kind of stuff.
One is not a substitute for the other, i was using aluminium brazing rods 45 years ago on refrigeration cases, you needed a flux to make them run, they were excellent for what they were intended for and you could even build a bead if you wanted but no where near as strong as tig, the rods were a lot more expensive than tig rods.
I used something similar to build antennas with aluminum arrow shafts about 25 years ago. It didn't weather well and was awfully brittle. The stuff I used was almost pure Zinc with a few percent Aluminum added. I see varying amounts of Tin are used in Aluminum solders now. I also see some with Copper and Silver. I expect the cheap stuff is almost all Zinc and Aluminum.
The stuff worked fine for me if I reinforced the repair with gussets or patches to reduce the load by 50 to 67%. and protected from moisture. The stuff I use wouldn't take vibration or repeated stress.
I have never welded anything deliberately but this Alumiweld is great for small works. I have soldered all my life and this alumiweld is a great addition.
Class video! Wonder how it works on a cracked aluminum casting on a saw? How do you think it will perform?... Subscribed!
Thanks! I think it would probably work if you can get it up to temperature, but there is a lot of variation between castings. I would probably grind it out a little and brush it really well before applying to get the best possible result. I have done many weld repairs on aluminum castings...sometimes they run great like butter, sometimes they are the worst. My approach to these repairs came from one of the best welders I know, Roy Crumrine (@crummywelding). He says it was scrap when it came in...it may be scrap when it leaves.
On a lap joint, wet both sides of the parts to be joined then reflow the solder while positioning the parts together squishing out excess solder. Much stronger bond.
Have always wanted to give this a try and never did. This video has inspired me to give it a go. 👍
when you sweat solder joints you're supposed to 'tin' the surface first.
It looks like if you wipe off the bubble and then place the but together you are going to have a really strong joint. Thanks for the video it was very educational.
The best way to use those rods is to clean the aluminum with a stainless steel brush and clean it with a solvant. Then, when you want something very strong (relative) you coat both parts with a thin layer of the filler. you then join the parts together and reflow the filler and add as required. When done right, it IS actually a strong solder.
I have used this stuff to fix aluminum radiators and a circular saw foot that I dropped off a roof it's pretty good idk if I'd use it for a ladder rung. Well first 2 or 3 rungs I probably would but no higher than that
Really good video. Thanks
So would you get better adhesive if you scuffed up the lap joint contact surface or drilled a hole in the middle and filled the hole after bonding the edges?
I think that both of those things would help. If I were to try something else with these rods, I’d sand the oxide layer down, clean it with acetone and apply a flux. Not sure if that would work out with these rods, but that would be my next attempt.
I had a rototiller setting out and the wind blew down a tree and the tiller got hit knocking off the carburetor...ugh I used alumnaweld to repair the carb. and it worked beautifully, made a very nice repair and I got many more years out of the motor without failure
I used this to make a outboard motor bracket For my kayak . I do not see any cracks or signs of fatigue nor do I see any corrosion. But to be fair I did paint the structure as it's in salt water
I think in the demos I saw of this stuff back in the 90's they came with a stainless steel scratch pin that you were supposed to scratch the puddle with to break up the oxide layer.
In your opinion. Would the alumaweld be a good route to take for filling rivet holes in a small aluminum boat?
here's a good question will alumiweld / brazing work on diy intercoolers and the charge pipes. would it be strong enough to handle daily drives and small time racing? I'm not talking about 20 or more psi more of 14-17 max psi.