Welding or Brazing recommendations

[erikmannie]

@PK1

If you have an oxyacetylene setup & you want to gas weld it, I will send you some of the the proper powdered flux for free! You can mix the flux with water & make a paste.

 

[PK1]

Since you mentioned screwing it together.......At a place I worked at we did a lot of dip brazing of AL. All parts were screwed together with either 4-40- or 2-56 aluminum screws that were just to hold it together for brazing so that things could not move when all of the joints were fluid at the same time. The screw heads were ground or machined off after. The screws were nearly invisible after.

That’s a really interesting thought. The pieces here are a little to thin to drill and tap - although not impossible- but I will certainly keep this in mind for future projects.

 

[PK1]

@PK1

If you have an oxyacetylene setup & you want to gas weld it, I will send you some of the the proper powdered flux for free! You can mix the flux with water & make a paste.

Thank you for the very kind offer!

Unfortunately I do not have an oxyacetylene set up, and this would be the yet another method of welding that I haven’t attempted so I’d probably/likely make a mess of things on the first attempt.

I reached out to a local welding service last night via email and I’ll see what they say. I think the advice to have someone do it for me is a good one - depending on the price they’d charge for this little job.

 

[7milesup]

@PK1 I was at the same point a few years ago that you are at. I tried that Muggy weld stuff and some other "brazing" products for Aluminum with virtually no success. I ended up buying a Lincoln TIG200, which is fine, but frankly, welders like the Primeweld are probably better due to more adjustment options and such. If I was going to buy a new welder, the Primeweld would be at the top of my list. To help with my welding skills, I took a night welding course at the local tech college, which was very helpful.
I purchased a YesWelder MIG250, which seems to work fine although I have only used it twice.

 

[PK1]

To help with my welding skills, I took a night welding course at the local tech college, which was very helpful.

I have been thinking about doing the very same thing but haven’t looked into it too much. Was this a full semester of courses or was it a handful of evenings?

I’ll do some searching on this. I’m interested to learn how to weld properly.

 

[Charles scozzari]

I would appreciate some advice from those of you who have experience welding or brazing aluminum: I have made a side mount license plate for my motorcycle, and I am looking to assemble the pieces together. I would either need to weld the pieces together or braze them. I have made the small brackets for reinforcement otherwise vibration and wind forces can fatigue and brake the main bracket from the license plate holder. I have both a brand new mig welder with a spool gun, and a torch with aluminum brazing rods. Problem is, I have never welded anything nor brazed aliminum!

Brazing the main bracket to the license plate holder would be easy. I have machined a ~1mm groove in the plate so that bracket will stand on its own for either welding or brazing. I am trying to figure out how to fixture the two small reinforcement brackets to weld or braze. I suppose I could tack weld them in place and then weld, but brazing may be more complicated since heating the assembly up may melt the braze in other places while I work to braze the pieces in stages.

The main plate (largest piece) is 1/8" think (~3mm) and the brackets are 3/16" (~5mm). Any recommendations on the best approach considering I am a complete novice to both methods?

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Hi, you've already slotted the base plate, go right through it weld the pieces from behind. If you were to go this route don't go flush on the bottom with the vertical piece. Leave a it a little high to have a gully ( on the back ) to fill with weld and the same for the braces. The plate is thin so I wouldn't run a bead, do the ends and just the center to control the twisting. Let the plate cool down some after each weld. If needed you can dress the back of the piece after the welding.

 

[erikmannie]

Thank you for the very kind offer!

Unfortunately I do not have an oxyacetylene set up, and this would be the yet another method of welding that I haven’t attempted so I’d probably/likely make a mess of things on the first attempt.

I reached out to a local welding service last night via email and I’ll see what they say. I think the advice to have someone do it for me is a good one - depending on the price they’d charge for this little job.

FYI I would charge you about $75-80, ***you would be disappointed with the appearance*** (but the weld would be sound), & it would take me 2 stressful hours.

 

[PK1]

FYI I would charge you about $75-80, ***you would be disappointed with the appearance*** (but the weld would be sound), & it would take me 2 stressful hours.

LOL.

It's too small a job for a large welding shop so I'd be surprised if they'd be interested in doing it for much less, if at all, especially if they're busy. I reached out to a couple of local people that seemed to be either a one-person show or a smallish shop. We'll see.

If too expensive I'll just buy a tig welder and get enough practice to be comfortable with it and do it myself. There is always a grinder available and this will be painted!

 

[MyLilMule]

If you're on the Fakebook, check for a local community page for your neighborhood/town/city and post a message asking if there is anyone that can help. I find that there are usually a few folks that are willing to help. I've done that several times, and I never charge anyone that just needs something small done. Maybe you'll find someone near you that can do the same.

 

[Charles scozzari]

If you're on the Fakebook, check for a local community page for your neighborhood/town/city and post a message asking if there is anyone that can help. I find that there are usually a few folks that are willing to help. I've done that several times, and I never charge anyone that just needs something small done. Maybe you'll find someone near you that can do the same.

Try motorcycle repair or chassis shops. Even small airfields locally.