alumaloy welding?

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Has anyone tried using Alumaloy welding rods?

 

I have been thinking of trying these, but I'd like to hear from some members who have some experience with using a propane torch and these rods to do some small aluminum fabrication. I wont be building a bike frame or anything like that!

 

I'd like to build a small rack for the hitch on my bike, and I'm wondering if just using standard fasteners might be the better option. I'm curious, its new to me, so if anyone has any input...I'm all ears!

 

 

[Stoutman]

My experience is that rivets are much tougher in Aluminum. Huck or Chery blind rivets are good, and standard rivets are fine if you can get to both sides of the joint. I have no experience with the alumalloy rods, but it seems like a lot of effort for a small project. I think it depends more on your personal skill set.

[Pappa Bear]

They sure make using alumalloy look easy, would like to see a real project done with them, but I have never used them

[Guest KitCarson]

Tex........I use Mapp Gas versus the propane.......the alumaloy rod has a melt point of like 720 degrees or so.........the aluminum alloy you might be trying to work on or braze together has a melt point of 900 to 1200 degrees depending on the alloy.......it is not easy..not like you see on TV. Takes a whole lot of doing and practice to get it down.....it is all about moving the heat around the work just right.......you heat the piece not the rod and move the heat around.....

I use it a lot to repair the aluminum irrigation pipes some of the farmers have on the large field pumps and wheel irrigation systems on the large farms. It is a lot like soldering copper , about the same principal as far as moving the heat just right......if you have soldered copper before and understand it.....you can do it with some practice......if you have not done that.......might take more practice.....not hot enough and it will not stick or take.....too hot and your work falls with a big hole in it........first time I tried it I wasted a whole pack of rods.......and worried about that repair for a week.....takes a bit of practice. It is quite strong when you get the hang of it........would be quite sufficient for a luggage rack or the like of that. Kit

[Guest tx2sturgis]

..it is not easy..not like you see on TV.

 

 

Maybe I should watch a TV sometime. Last time I did, they were selling the Popeil Pocket Fisherman. I guess times have changed.

 

Anyway, I read about this in a magazine I subscribe to..they were recommending it for some light duty antenna work. I built the aluminum frame on my trailers nose piece using mostly rivets. I'm just thinking that alumaloy welding might look better, since this will be exposed to the world, not covered with marine grade vinyl like the nosepiece on my trailer.

 

Thanks guys...

 

 

 

 

[mother]

they are good, hard to do when you first go at it, practice, practice and it gets easier. make sure the aluminum is clean, scrub the area that you are welding, i have little wire brushes that i brush well before using the rods. i use a torch that has a hose on it so that i have a more controlled flame. the portable torches when you tip them the flame goes up and down and are useless when trying to use this product.

[Gary N.]

I have used this for filling small holes but I wouldn't trust it for anything structural. It's more like soldering or brazing then welding. JMHO

[Squidley]

Brian,

 

I have never personally used the product, but it sounds an awful lot like Brazing to me, only with aluminum. If your actually going to try and Fuse the metal together, what Mother said is spot on. Aluminum is a tricky metal to weld, it has to be absolutely clean and of a high quality. Dirty Aluminum will explode as soon as you hit it with a higher temp.

 

I have made an aluminum basket for the rear of the RSV, it was on our bike when we crashed in Baton Rouge. I had Tig welded it together and still ran into a few hiccups with less thasn desireable metal. I would go with the idea of riveting it, aluminum isn't cheap and if the process your talking about goes south, then you have a lot of useless metal...just a few pennies more.

[V7Goose]

I don't do a lot of welding, but manage with both arc and gas. A couple of years ago I was intrigued watching the dude at a bike show patch holes in coke cans and engine side covers with these rods and a propane torch, so I bought some.

 

Side note - they are expensive at these shows - now available quite reasonably at Harbor Freight!

 

Anyway, I didn't try them for over a year, but had a need a while back so I got them out and started playing around with a big hole punched in the bottom of a coke can. Turned out it was quite easy - just like he showed (it absolutely helps to actually see it done before you try it). They work extremely well on many types of aluminum, but some types of casting are very difficult - sorry I do not know enough to accurately specify the differences. The instructions tell you that the best way to weld the casting type of metal is to make a sand form and heat it in there to effectively re-cast it, using the rod like a binding agent.

 

In my opinion, using these rods is something of a cross between welding and brazing, but closer to welding. It is interesting to heat the metal to the point the rod melts as you wipe it over the top, then watch the rod metal effectively disappear as it is "sucked" into the metal while you continue to gently heat it. Because the two metals seem to actually combine, that makes it very different than brazing. I think a propane torch is ideal for this work, as the rod, and aluminum in general, has a very low melting point; you do need to be careful to work in the right temperature range if you don't want to see the base metal suddenly disappear on you! When welding with this stuff, you don't actually melt the base metal, just get it over the melting point of the rod and let it "suck in" some of the rod. In this way it LOOKS more like brazing.

 

In the little I have done with it, welded joints seem to be quite hard, but not brittle. When I patch a hole punched in the bottom of a coke can, I cannot punch a new hole through the patch - it is much stronger than the original can. On the other hand, I had a piece of aluminum bar stock that got bent, which weakens the metal and makes it bend much easier, quickly breaking. I welded the weak point after straightening it, and it continued to bend easier than the original stock, but it did not break like the un-welded bar stock would. I did not experiment with any type of annealing or heat/cooling treatment to attempt to make it stronger again, but that might be an interesting experiment.

 

If you do any welding or brazing at all, this stuff is worth trying out before you give up on an aluminum part.

Goose

[Guest KitCarson]

Brian,

 

I have never personally used the product, but it sounds an awful lot like Brazing to me, only with aluminum. If your actually going to try and Fuse the metal together, what Mother said is spot on. Aluminum is a tricky metal to weld, it has to be absolutely clean and of a high quality. Dirty Aluminum will explode as soon as you hit it with a higher temp.

 

I have made an aluminum basket for the rear of the RSV, it was on our bike when we crashed in Baton Rouge. I had Tig welded it together and still ran into a few hiccups with less thasn desireable metal. I would go with the idea of riveting it, aluminum isn't cheap and if the process your talking about goes south, then you have a lot of useless metal...just a few pennies more.

 

Squidley.....you got that right.....dirty aluminum will explode....burn a hole right through cotton backed gloves and make you wonder why you were so stupid!! All of you who try this product...please wear eye protection even though the flame is not that bright......protect your eyes.....Kit

[Condor]

I picked up a pack of that stuff at either a boat show or the state fair. Maybe it was Ebay??? Anyway, I planned on doing some OB prop repair. So far I haven't found the right prop. So it sits.....

[cowpuc]

As long as we are on the subject,, are we talking about the unsheilded (no flux on the rod) rods - I believe that we are?? I only ask because I was in Menards the other day and noticed that they are selling what appears to be aluminum welding rod in 1/8th inch stick with flux on the exterior.. I didnt look closely at it but it appeared to be an attempt at welding rod for a general use buzz box.. Anyone ever had any experience with that one???