Alumiweld rods from Harbor Freight! Do they work? Can you easily weld aluminum with just propane?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ม.ค. 2021
- Low Temperature Aluminum Welding Rods, 8 Pc - Item #44810 found at Harbor Freight
Weld aluminum with any low temperature torch - even a propane torch. These aluminum welding rods are harder than mild steel which results in minimized parent material distortion during welding. You’ll also get a stronger weld than the parent aluminum material without flux or other welding material.
Harder than mild steel
Low working temperature (730° F)
No flux or fumes
Excellent corrosion resistance
Minimize parent material distortion during welding
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*PLEASE READ* To clarify the procedure, you need to heat the parts being mended and allow those parts to melt and wick up the rod. You "can" lick the rods with the flame to keep them warm. At 5:05 I had melted the rod and allowed it to lay in the crack of the joint. I continued to heat the parts until it wicked into the crack. This works fine, but generally you would want to heat the parts up just past the melting point of the rods, then touch the rods to the crack and it will wick pulling in rod material. Regardless of how you do it, the material needs to be hot enough to melt the rod. And always prep the material! Keep it clean! Also this process is brazing, commonly mistaken by some as welding.
Ive been doing repairs on aluminum AC coils for at least 10 years and developed a good process, first wire brush in some flux, next add aluminum to the area and wire brush the aluminum in, then build up the aluminum. Makes very strong repairs that can stand up to pressure and heat cycling. Good luck
I did ever thing it said to do I even got mat gas which is hotter but it still did not WORK !
"you need to heat the parts being mended and allow those parts to melt" - Sir, it is probably a mistake. You absolutely don't want to melt the parts, the rod melting temp is much lower. You scratch the oxide film and apply the melted solder.
Thoughts on American made rods vs. chiluminum rods?
Can you use these rods on sheet metal?
Used this stuff many years ago, was told by the demo salesman to scratch the rod along the seam while heating to break thru the oxide until it flowed , worked great.
What I have found that works well is to use a small stainless brush, Get it up to heat, add just a small amount of rod then brush it into the joint fairly hard to break through the oxide and spread the filler then add your filler rod
@@almeyer405 Agreed, just remember, STAINLESS brush, dont grab a brass brush and use it, the brass will come off and coat the aluminum and you will never get a solid joint.
Ditto - about 20 years ago. Not the same brand but I'm sure it was the same alloy. Scraping with the rod is very helpful; although it has some ability to break through the oxide coating that forms almost instantly on exposure to air, particularly when hot. I used them for brazing brackets together. The joints were plenty strong for my use.
A guy gave me an old johnboat because it had leaks. I flipped it over, scrubbed all the rivets and did this, the boat lasted for years and never had another leak.
Thanks for showing me the rods from harbor freight!
I am a retired jeweler and you're heating your metal wrong!!?!
What ever joining material you use - be it gold, silver soldering, brass or aluminum brazing - the principle is always the same! The main body of metal must be brought up to the same temperature as the "melting temperature" of the solder or brazing rod!
If your main piece is large or has anything that can be a heat sink attached to it, then you have to heat a larger area of the main piece! You do this by moving your torch in a steady, circular motion, to spread the heat. Only concentrate the flame on the solder area after everything is heated right! And while you're doing the concentrating you may have to temporarily go back to heating the main body for a moment, so it doesn't cool too much and then quickly back to concentrating! Also, you were holding your torch too close to the object! Back off! Use only just beyond the tip of the blue flame. That's where it's hottest. Pushing your flame closer, only manages to destroy the efficiency of the flame.
Please practice what I tell you! I've done thousands of jobs requiring theses skills and I'm good at what I do.
Good luck my friend!😁
You are absolutely correct! Very well said! That is why I kept stressing in the video that the metals needing mended had to be at the melting temperature of the rod, just like any other form of brazing! Very similar to soldering! Thanks for the tips!
Great advice
Quiet. He DID heat up the base metal in the vid. Did you watch it?!
instructions on the rods i have say opposite to normal brazing, put the rod in the flame
Actually the hottest part of a flame would be the part where the molecules are moving the fastest bumping into each other, which is what creates the color in this case blue. Therefore the hottest part of the flame would be the part with the most color, right there on the top of the flame. Beyond the molecules are beginning to spread out, less bumping, in turn less friction, in turn less heat.
Awesome. I do a lot of prototyping and was always skeptical of these things but now I can prototype something that you will see as a product in the near future.
Wow you actually found something at HF not made in China👍🇺🇸✊
Don't tell anybody, but there was more! th-cam.com/video/SBvUAGR5UkY/w-d-xo.html
Shh they will ban it for being rac!st.
Their MIG wire is actually made in Italy. It works very well!!
@Derek Young Derek.. Old info!! HFT has been upgrading their stuff a lot as of the last 2 or 3 years.. Obviously, NOT commercial grade ...BUT you are NOT paying exorbitant Milwaukee or AEG or... prices! Lets compare apples w/ apples.....I have HFT buffers, drills , sanders & numerous hand tools that are 5 - 10 or more years old. Let's not be Bosch snobs( I have many.. some more than 10 years..) Much of Milwaulee, Dewalt & Bosch etc is also made in China..
@Derek Young My $30 oscillating cutting tool from HF outlasted my $120 Bosch by 20 times in the first ten minutes. That cheap worthless Bosch broke in under 30 seconds. The HF has lasted 10years, so far.
YMMV, but for many tools I don't plan to use often, HF is by far the better value.
And yes, you are a huge jerk.
These work VERY WELL!!! I’ve used on several projects and had total success.
I’ve always wondered if those worked. I can think of a lot of things those would be handy for!
Nice, thanks. I knew a guy back in 1967 who "silver soldered" ball bearings to the ends of custom lifter rods in rail dragster motors.
I bought this at a state fair. Just havent used it yet. Perfect video, thanks
Great video. Nice demonstration of the proper technique. Mahalo for sharing! : )
Awesome review!
The secret to a good bond is to get the metal hot enough so the rod melts when it touches the metal. Do NOT put the flame on the rod!!
Yup! You need the base metal at least 730 degrees. It's ok to touch it with the flame, but the base metal needs to be hot enough to melt the rods.
Makes a smoother fillet on a t joint like this as well
@@1D10CRACY that's what he just said
Thanks for this video! I always thought that the infomercials that I had seen waterfalls but this stuff really does work
I ripped the bottom weld on my Jon boat and had a 12 inch separation. I bought some of this stuff from a guy showing it at the State Fair of Texas. I found that a simple propane torch won't heat a boat enough to melt the rod. I wasn't going to go buy a oxygen brazing rig, so I got a guy at a welding shop to fix it with his TIG welder. He actually charged me less than what I paid for the rods at the fair. Live and learn.
Get a good tip that makes a rosebud flame, and I prefer to use map gas (yellow can). It's basically propane, just a smidgen hotter.
Cool, Thanks for the video.
Project Farm did a pretty good comparison of different aluminum rods. The HF ones used here weren't the worst, but far from best.
They were among the best. I just watched that video today. Top 3/4 depending on project. I'd say that's pretty good.
Great info video. I’m needed aluminum welding done in the past. Now I know I can do it myself.
That’s pretty interesting, thanks!
Thank you for this. I've had these in my hands more than once but never bought them. Next time I will!
Good demo ! Thanks !
Nice! I’ve been wanting to do this but hadn’t learned the technique. Thank you.
I've done arc welding for many years and always wanted to weld aluminum. Thank you for teaching me a new skill. I will have to get a propane tank and some aluminum weld rods and braze some aluminum pieces.
Aluminum is easy unless you gotta stick it . If you got an ac/DC buzz box , you can rig it up to run a tig torch . I recommend for that kind of set up to get the one from the freight to be cheap , but it's a solid torch and has the gas valve on the torch itself to make up for not having a solenoid to flow . Kick your box to ac and let it rip .
Amazing! I'm headed to HF right now regardless for other things, and will be picking these up too. Thanks!
Thanks for showing us an unusual item and clearly demonstrating how to use it. I was entertained and learned something. Thanks!!
It was good to see this demonstration... Very helpful... Thanks for sharing...
Thank you for giving me the confidence that I could try this for myself.😃
Cheers mate, I was wondering about those rods for a few little projects I have planned. I'm a joiner by trade so metal work isn't really my thing so little instructional videos like this really help.👍🇬🇧
Thanks for sharing.
Awesome video. I have not done this in a century or 2. I might have to get some rods next trip to HF.
been about 4 or 5 centuries for me as weld lol
Great job! Thank you very much!
This stuff is great. Used it to make a solar water heater/tank out of an old pool cover reel(had to plug up the screw holes and cap the tube). Hot water while boondocking in a truck is wonderful 👍🏽 Great vid🤗
Can i ask what kind of pressure you have and how it's worked out. I recently bought a travel trailer and the water heater is busted thinking of doing this myself
@@joshuahensler1698off topic, but for
I’ve been using these for about 5 years to great effect!
Great video, many thanks
I have a project and this is the exact fix I need. I have seen this on the info-mercials and your video showed me just what I wanted to see ( and hear )!
When I was a teenager my Buddy had a old Mustang with a leaky radiator and his creative Dad Brazed a Antique Copper Penny over the hole it sealed it for years ! But as a gear head we have always been on the lookout for that radiator. At Car shows and other events BTW it was done “Heads Up” for good luck too
They probably replaced the radiator by now, but that would be cool to see
I did my first aluminum WELDING, not brazing, when I was 15 years old in shop class. Repaired my older brothers boat motor transom mount. Learned immediately that you better have your aluminum ever so clean or it just doesn't work. After a good acid cleaning I completed the weld. The motor was installed on his boat, ( with a good safety chain! Lol ) it never broke and all was good. Harbor freight brazing rods do not get the penetration that is needed to be considered a structural weld. So if ya use them don't use it on something that you would trust your life on!
Awesome history! My dad was a fabricator by trade, so us kids learned to weld early on as well. And your right, harbor freight brazing rods are just that, brazing rods. When brazing there is no penetration. It can still be used for structural bonds, but you have to "define" structural bonds and use with some common sense. If your putting together a small table, it maybe a good bond for that, but I wouldn't test it with any serious weight. :D Good tips, thanks for commenting!
@@1D10CRACY
No offence but you really need to stop calling it Welding. Multiple times in this video you have misrepresented the process. It’s not Welding at best it’s brazing, more accurately it’s a metal hot glue gun and about as strong. You keep talking about 40,000 PSI tensile strength. That means nothing. I weld all day every day with 7018 electrodes. The 70 in that code means 70,000 PSI tensile strength MAXIMUM. That’s if you do everything right, no slag inclusion, no hydrogen embrittlement, correct preparation of the base material, correct temperature of the base material (Including inter-pass temperatures neither too high or too low). Those “brazing “rods have a very high silicon content, great for lowering the melting temperature of aluminium. Not so good for structural integrity. They MAY have some use for fixing pots and pans or aluminium radiators. Apart from that they are friggin useless.
Magic one, i agree this basically a glue gun, nothing i would trust,
Cut up an alluminim ladder then try this aproach, and trust the ladder, just for pluging pop cans,
I work in steel fab, kind find a real use fir this at all.
Peace all
well its going to work fine for my project. 😁
@@davidcat1455 😢 who F’n cares dude.
Interesting video, I was a little enlighten by it. Overall it was a good presentation. Thank you.😎😃😆🤗
I patched a high pressure a/c line on one of my cars once, it rubbed against the radiator until it sawed a hole into it. The line was one piece from the condenser through the firewall and looked too difficult to replace, so I just patched up the hole. It worked!
Wow, that’s good to know, some of those AC lines have a lot of pressure in them. Nice to know those rods work that well!
I used fiberglass and JB weld, 450psi on a dime sized hole. It still holds
@Max Timberwolf That low pressure side sees plenty of pressure once the ac begins to equalize low and high side after the ac has shut down.
I repair a/c lines all the time with jb weld! I usually back it up with a piece of aluminum and cover it with jb weld.
I used this or a similar rod to fix a bracket on an alternator pivot flange that broke after a wreck. Probably about 1/2 inch thick. Cleaned it really well and then cooked it in oven to remove all oil residue. (Put some tin pans underneath. Used a file to bevel the edges to increase surface area and steel pick to scratch under molten puddle. Worked great. Technician who showed me how to do it tested the joint by smacking it with a hammer and it held up.
Care to explain the steel pick to scratch what under the molten puddle?
@@rogierius The technician who showed me said that there was an oxidation barrier between the surface of the casting that was being repaired and the molten rod. Breaking up the barrier allowed the aluminum and rod material to blend and form a stronger joint. (Since, I’ve read that aluminum immediately forms an oxidation layer when exposed and that’s why inert gas welding is preferred on aluminum). To work well it depends on the quality of the aluminum you’re trying to repair. I’ve tried it on a thin piece that was made of pot metal and it just fell apart.
Very useful information ;)
Been around for more than 40 years. Recently promoted for the home use
Thanks for making this video! I need to make some intake piping for my turbo car and repair some dirt bike engine cases. My welder can only MIG and TIG steel, so I'm going to give these a try before shelling out for another aluminum-capable welder.
How did it go?
I have used these before and they work great.
Good video I fixed some holes in the keel of my aluminum canoe with this product
Thankyou, I would have liked to see just one side welded, then bend the pieces apart to witness the weld strength.
Thanks for the video. Going to try those rods out but using map gas instead of propane.
I used these to fill a few large holes in the bottom of my aluminum jon boat, worked perfect and no leaks even years later.
You were almost the 1st TH-camr I was gonna to subscribe to,all you had to do was beat that metal a couple times with the hammer to show that the weld were strong and I would have subscribed
No worries! I am not a big fan of subscribers. I just do the videos because they are fun and I like to share what I'm doing with my friends. Take care!
The guys at the trade shows make welding aluminum look easy. I've done it when the guy was showing me what angle and how to get the area hot in order for it to work and I was actually doing it with their supervision, definitely practice makes perfect. But it's not as easy as they make it look!
Nice work❤
Great explanation..
Would have been good to have shown an attempt to lever/ break the weld....
@Darren Thompson I've been using these for years & tried to do that, but have not been successful. The base metal has always broken before the weld/braze.
The channel Project Farm tested different brands of these, good information.
I've used these and tested the weld's with a bit of 5mm angle and 5mm flat bar and bent the metal and left the weld intact. With a little practice you can lay down a nice weld but I found it won't work unless you give it a hit with a stainless brush to deoxidize the aluminium right before applying the rod.
Most definitely agree 👍
@@windrider65 Love that channel! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Awesome! Thanks!
It all depends on your application, there is no doubt that tig welding is the best way to go. I bought a small Lincoln 155 mig welder years ago and purchased the aluminum kit for it. I welded up the transom on my 1963 aluminum boat that had busted from the top to bottom right in the middle, and I still use it to this day with no issues. I have used these rods on smaller projects and they work well but I wouldn't attempt to weld a transom with them. Thinner metal, small area propane is best, thicker metal needs mapp or oxy/acetylene.
Or use two propane torches . A rosebud comes in very handy with this sort of thing with heavy castings too. You just have to watch the heat with the big guy as there’s no color change indication with Al. You have to practice with using the bigger torch to get it heating then back off some to finish with the propane torch. It takes a bit of practice and finesse so it’s best to practice a bit on a similar sized scrap piece first.
These rods do work! I have used them to repair the cover plate on my 76 xlch that the kick starter lever goes thru! At first I was very 'thrifty' with the material... didn't want to use that much. But the plate kept breaking after a bit. Then I said screw it an put it on thick and wide and it has held now for at least 15 yrs! Also fixed a chewed up aluminum prop on my dads boat. Had to make a 'mold' (if I recall I clamped the blade to a cinder block and applied the material and let a puddle form that was slightly larger than where the prop blade was missing) and when done just shaped it on a bench grinder...
Lava soap is what I used to clean aluminum when I use to tig weld.
I had a guy come by my shop and sold me some rods like this he had the same demonstration I was impressed so I tryed the exact way he did I even went with thicker parts it just balled up I got shafted
Yeah, they take some time and practice to use for sure. I use them a lot, but not on heavier items. They really are nothing new, just brazing rods.
I’ve wondered how well those things worked, thanks for making this video! Maybe map gas instead of propane when working with the thicker pieces? Just a thought really, not intended to be a critical comment at all.
Yes they work , I used it to weld cast aluminum to a small piece of plate aluminum. I used it to repair an outside pole light.
Yes they work... I have been using HTS-2000 aluminum welding/brazing/soldering rods for many many years... They are extremely strong and easy to use. Cleanliness is the most important part of the success of your bond.
Hi just wondering does it work with other metals. Thanks
@@lionforcecubschildrensbibl8521 Propane torch won’t get hot enough to braze with brass rods which is what you need for steels and cast iron. You can braze thin steel pipe ect with a swirl head propane torch head. That’s as long as the part isn’t so big that it heat sinks too much away from your part too fast.
Great tutorial and spot on info sir. Thanks for your trouble. Beautiful job INDEED !
I was wondering about them rods I have a crack in my bullet rim for my mustang now I think I have a shot after watching this video thanks for sharing I did brazing back in high school over 20 years ago
Thanks I am ready to weld
Going to try and get some here in BZE
Quite good, thankyou. Please zoom right in much closer, if you make any more videos.
Thanks!
The good and bad about aluminum is the heat transfer. I was hoping you were going to tear it apart at the end.
Read my mind.
Made a motorcycle headlight bracket out of hardware store aluminum and these rods. Lasted many thousands of miles until I sold the bike. Always keep a set of these in my metal working kit.
Lucky guy!
It broke as soon as you sold the bike.........at least it lasted while you owned it.
Looks like it worked pretty well. When I was just learning to braze I would use regular baling wire to braze with.
Old clothes hangers work as well as long as you scratch with emory cloth a little.
That's welding
Subbed, nice video.
great video thanks. Can you comment on when you would need to use MAP gas vs Propane?
Mapp gas gets a bit hotter than propane, but my understanding is mapp gas is no longer sold. Apparently the yellow bottles being sold in the big box stores are some kind of substitute and do not get as holt as the old mapp gas did. This new substitute does burn hotter than propane.
Dude, I have the same old craftsman vise. My dad and his dad had two of them in the basement each on their own benches, side by side. Never seen another exactly the same! I’m sure they are common nonetheless. Cheers!
My dad had one, my brother has it now. Cool
Yes they work, and with a little practice they work great.
Thanks
A lot of questions/doubts put away, thanks!
Now we need a plate and jig kit for ar lowers. Could probably do simple uppers too.
I’ve used the same rods from ace hardware. Takes a while to get temps hot enough on the work but it’s just like soldering.
That’s pretty good
this is nice for anyone building a deck on their deep v hull row boats to make them bass boats. I don't want the wooden deck where all it does is absorb water and rot over time. Some rivets into the boat and well the aluminum tubes and it's there.
I often stay away from Harbor Freight tools because of their cheapness and lack of functional life. But you're showing the product actually working.
I've used them. The joints were stronger than the aluminum itself. Just gotta get that heat in there.
the usual aluminium i work with is 1/8'. i use map gas, and i think i'll try prewarming on an electric hot plate.
i don't do a lot of this alum brazing, and i do find it helps to clean the rod, they do oxidize over time.
i have also hammered the rod thinner, when working with thin aluminum , so it melts before the aluminum.
Nice video, can I use for another kind of metal?
Destructive testing!!!!!!!! Isn’t it required on TH-cam product testing vids!? 🤣 seriously nice video - well executed. I’ll be grabbing some of those rods to play with.
Nice demo. Now that I have seen a real person use I I will give it a try. 😁😎
I have used these on boats myself. Never had a problem.
I was looking at a solder deal on TEMU so I figured I’d check the viability. Their rods most assuredly are chiluminum but the price is stupid right so I’m going to give it a roll! Even comes with a little butane torch!
Is MEP gas too hot or would it just heat it faster? I know in cooking, higher heat isn’t always a recipe for success! New subscriber…looking forward to some other videos! Thanks for a great tutorial!
yes worked for me
usable chips to join two flat surfaces could be made from lathe chips or file dust from rod.
I've used UK variants - what happens is that the rod forms a eutectic alloy with the aluminum. Eutectic is a fancy word for lower melting point. The alloy formed does penetrate into the actual aluminum - so it's not brazing or soldering as it penetrates the base material. Do a weld or two and cut them open - easy to see. Makes a really strong weld. Key is to form a puddle of rod material and then use a steel wire to scratch UNDER the puddle - this breaks the AL oxide crust and the rod just sucks into the aluminium. Weird to see this happen.
Help me please, what do you mean with scratching under the puddle? Where do you apply the puddle of rod material? How does the puddle relate to the the rod being sucked into the aluminum?
@@rogierius Same question here. I wondered how this rod works, considering aluminum oxidizes instantly. I think he's talking about scrubbing the joint with a wire brush while the solder is a liquid puddle on the joint. You would have to work quick, I think. I'm going to try that.
sold!!!
I know you used the Scotchbrite scrubber. The one thing is, if you clean your aluminum you only have an hour or so before it really gets the aluminum oxide coating back. Aluminum is kind of weird about this oxide. The melting temperature of the oxide is quite a bit higher than the base aluminum. If you have the oxide coating and get your aluminum too hot, you can get a big balloon of molten aluminum that will form, then the oxide balloon breaks, spilling molten aluminum everywhere, pretty much destroying your piece (ask me how I know). To get a good adherence the aluminum must be bright and shiny. I had some problems fixing a timing chain cover and was asked what kind of brush I used to clean the aluminum. Steel. I was told that will screw things up. This guy knew his stuff. He told me to use a stainless steel brush. My welds looked great. The Scotchbrite isn’t steel so will work. Something about steel. Oxidation maybe?
If you use this on a boat, does the brazed area corrode faster or cause corrosion of the aluminum due to it being dissimilar?
Good to know. I thought it was a gimmick. I'll get some for the workshop👍👍👍👍
Thank you so much after my 32 Pepsi cans I got it 👍👍👍👍
I’ve welded up several air cooled engines blocks and so far no leaks but it took time to clean and preheat it , need a helper to keep it hot enough
😊
Cleaning all surfaces with the SS brush and "Tinning" all surfaces is critical. The tinning happens right at the melting point of the metal so care must be taken. Once tinned, the braze can be build up at lower temps.
Good video. Would brace a engine head exhaust flange with that rod?
will this work on aluminum alloy bike frames? just to fix minor cracks..
i dont know how many times you said brazing during the vid but obviously a lot of viewers had the volume down..lol
then he goes on to mention the tensile strength of the rod, and says your weld is stronger than the material. nope...
Agree, except he included the word 'weld' in the title of the video!
@@toldt the brand name of the rods is hardly his doing..
@Wayneo's World correct, but I wasn't referring to the name of the rod. If you read the title of the video, "Alumiweld rods from Harbor Freight! Do they work? Can you easily weld aluminum with just propane?" you might realize that I was referring to the word weld (used by 1D10CRACY as a verb).
@@toldt oh im sorry i was incorrect..i didnt read that..im still holding firm my belief that most of the comments were not much more than nit picking and his comments throughout the video corrected any misdemeanours a brand or title may have caused..i stand corrected in your most relevant instance.