Easy Alloy welding -anyone tried this method?

[Rovernaut]

check this video out .
http://www.durafix.co.uk/videos/Durafix_Basic_Application_Instructions.wmv

http://www.durafix.co.uk/

[streaky]

I use that stuff all the time...tonnes of very usefull applications although it doesn't have the same penetration as TIG etc.
My main use is to make mock-ups or tack aluminium jobs togther before taking them for proper TIG welding.
It's also superb for filling in stripped threads on ali- castings.You fill the stripped hole with weld...keeping it liquid. Then quickly insert the correct bolt and the weld will set around the thread.Because the weld will not adhere to steel it acts as a 'mold' for the right thread and hey presto you have a perfect threaded hole in the casting.

A few annoying features though.
Because the pool of liquid weld flows too easily you can't use it on vertical fixings/applications....they have to be laid down or the pool of liquid metal will simply drop down.
Because you need to get the surrounding work peice upto temperature it's all too easy to blow a hole through the ali with your heat gun. After a bit of practise I soon learn't the best procedure though.

There is a link to an Australian supplier on the website. Great stuff and definatly worth keeping some around.

The stuff I bought is called AL75...got it at Billing. 45 UK quid a meter. 1 Meters does about 40 feet of bead.

Regards.

S.

[p38arover]

It's demonstrated at every 4WD show! I bought the rods years ago but have never tried them.

Ron

[JohnE]

Thats interesting ron, I don't know of anyone who has ever used theirs.
My welding teacher reckoned they were the biggest con he had ever seen, but having said that, we couldn't get hold of any to take into class, to fully test the welds out.
other than that, he reckoned they sealed alu cans really well,as that was all they ever demonstrated, no one ever saw them doing the harder repairs. in the demo's.


john

[Zute]

I got some years ago, but couldnt quite get it to work. Know I've watched the vid' I might give it another go. Thanks for the link.

[p38arover]

Thats interesting ron, I don't know of anyone who has ever used theirs.
My welding teacher reckoned they were the biggest con he had ever seen, but having said that, we couldn't get hold of any to take into class, to fully test the welds out.
other than that, he reckoned they sealed alu cans really well,as that was all they ever demonstrated, no one ever saw them doing the harder repairs. in the demo's.

Quite possibly right. I've never had the need to test them. However, I do have an old aluminium radiator that has a leak.....

Ron

[Bigbjorn]

There is a guy who peddles this around the swap meets. He does the beer can trick all the time. He also avoids being tested with anything harder. I asked a Welding teacher at Yeronga TAFE college about it and he says it is not welding but a form of hard solder, possibly useful for emergency repairs on non-critical items, but not to be trusted. A friend, a boilermaker/fabricator, who is possibly the best stainless steel welder and second best aluminium welder I have seen in a long association with the metal trades, agrees. Ron, you may have trouble repairing the radiator as it is almost impossible to get the crap out of the insides if it has been neglected.

[chazza]

Have a close look at the back of the so-called "welds". Little or no evidence of penetration and even when the puddle has sagged to the back it hasn't fused with the base metal.

As Brian says it is hard soldering, not welding. No doubt a useful product to have, but definitely dodgy on structural parts.

Let's see this guy butt weld some "aloominum" sheet together and then bend it through 180 degrees;)

[tombraider]

From the Australian Link:

Do not confuse Durafix Repair Rods with other flux-type welding rods or Mig/Tig Welding Systems. Durafix is an unrivalled Fluxless Aluminium Brazing System - it is UNIQUE.


So there appears to be some truth to the Oz site

[Rovernaut]

, but definitely dodgy on structure

Interesting you should say that, I am sceptical about strength.
But on the site there is a repair of a Drop saw repair.I hate to think what would happen if a running saw snapped whilst you were operating it.
But it could be a handy item in the tool kit along with a blowtorch attachment to your gas cylinder for emergency off road repairs.??

[JohnE]

There is a guy who peddles this around the swap meets. He does the beer can trick all the time. He also avoids being tested with anything harder. I asked a Welding teacher at Yeronga TAFE college about it and he says it is not welding but a form of hard solder, possibly useful for emergency repairs on non-critical items, but not to be trusted. A friend, a boilermaker/fabricator, who is possibly the best stainless steel welder and second best aluminium welder I have seen in a long association with the metal trades, agrees. Ron, you may have trouble repairing the radiator as it is almost impossible to get the crap out of the insides if it has been neglected.


Yes. brian, i have noticed the same with all the demo people, an auminium can is the best they can manage, the samples they have, seem to indicate you can do more with them.
the teacher I had, basically said the same, while i thought they would be a good thing to have, they may not be that good.
years ago, I repaired a corrosion hole in a camira water pump housing using two part araldite epoxy, on the advice of a friend in the aeroplane fixing business, worked like a dream as a temp repair, and a lot easier than those rods.


john

[incisor]

it is a braze/solder not a filler rod...

you would use it in the same way as you would with steel and silver solder... much stronger if you have an overlap

[mcrover]

Wurth do a really good 2 part liquid metal epoxy that would do much the same thing in most aplications you could use that stuff.

I have used it for threads in cases and to seal holes in an Ali boat as well as doing joints on ali frames for signage to give them rigidity as well as I mouded a section that was knocked out of a gear box case on one of my machines by a rock and about a year after I bought the stuff for that gear box job, I havnt had to do anything to any of the jobs I have done.

I thought it was bodgey doing a thread with it but it has held fine for about 6 months on a sod cutter that vibrates and shakes it's whole operating life so much that it actually breaks the pipe handle bar frame on a regular basis just from the vibration so that is a pretty good test.

I think that stuff you guys are on about would have it's place but I will stick with the epoxy for now as it doesnt need heat and doesnt claim to be a weld, it is what it is and that is an metal filled epoxy filler that works well.

I wouldnt mind seeing it for my self oneday in the flesh and maybe trying it myself, a lot to be said about doing it yourself rather than watching someone whom has done it thousands of times making it look easier than what it really is.

[Bigbjorn]

Wurth do a really good 2 part liquid metal epoxy that would do much the same thing in most aplications you could use that stuff.

I think that stuff you guys are on about would have it's place but I will stick with the epoxy for now as it doesnt need heat and doesnt claim to be a weld, it is what it is and that is an metal filled epoxy filler that works well.

.

Devcon make an amazing range of this type of stuff. Not cheap but damned good. Their stainless steel epoxy putty can be drilled, turned, milled, tapped, screw cut, etc. It is viscous enough when prepared to be used to bridge across quite large rust holes without having to use a mesh or other support.

[mcrover]

Devcon make an amazing range of this type of stuff. Not cheap but damned good. Their stainless steel epoxy putty can be drilled, turned, milled, tapped, screw cut, etc. It is viscous enough when prepared to be used to bridge across quite large rust holes without having to use a mesh or other support.

Thats the company I was trying to remember when I came across the wurth one, I saw Devcon at a trade show nearly 10 years ago and always thought I must get some of their stuff one day but when I needed it I couldnt remember their name and couldnt find much info on it.

Wurth have probably just badged their stuff anyway because the one I got, $120 per pack, 500grm (2x250grm tubes) so it wasnt cheap either.

Thanks Brian, when Im looking for it when this runs out I can tell my supplier.

[rovercare]

Can't see the vid:mad: But if they are the alloy welding rods, you use with an oxy, Thay are ****ING USELESS, I tried them on my alloy roof when I cut down my rangie, and what a ***** of a thing they are, give up in the end

It was both myself and my old man, He was an instro so has a fair idea on brazing soldering etc

[mcrover]

Can't see the vid:mad: But if they are the alloy welding rods, you use with an oxy, Thay are ****ING USELESS, I tried them on my alloy roof when I cut down my rangie, and what a ***** of a thing they are, give up in the end

It was both myself and my old man, He was an instro so has a fair idea on brazing soldering etc

As far as I know, you cant use an oxy on ali as it will just blow holes as it is too hot too quick.

If you use just a gas torch and your ali is completely clean then you have a chance but ali has a habbit of being contaminated with dirt, etch primer polimers or oxidisation which can make it nearly impossible to weld.

[incisor]

As far as I know, you cant use an oxy on ali as it will just blow holes as it is too hot too quick.
it is quite easy once you get the hang of it. getting your gas mix and flame just right is the secret and that takes a fair bit of practise, or did for me....

[Bigbjorn]

Aluminium is capable of being gas welded. It needs practice, practice, practice, and a light touch. You get it a whisker to hot and holes appear. i used to win bets many years ago from people who thought light alum. sheet could not be gas welded. Couldn't do it today, eyesight, older hands, lack of practice. Butt welding it is a trick as you need to leave a tapered gap of about 1" per foot between the sheets to allow for expansion as compared to about 1/4" per foot in 20 gauge steel sheet.

[Gigitt]

The rods work fine and are strong.

It took me about 3 hours or playing with a MAAP tourch and rods to get 6mm Aluminium Plate butt welded. I then bent one of the pltes back in the vice using hammer. I have a Pic some where but it is not hosted online.

The reason I used the rods were I was making a Oil/Air separator Catch Can and inside I wanted to braze Copper tubing to redirect the air. It was a bit messy to use inside the small top half of the catch can - but it worked and because the brazing is on the inside you do not see my messing blobs.

Anyway onto my tips:

Heat heat heat !!!
Heat is your friend but also your enemy. Too much and the Aluminium melts!

You Have the heat the Job materials not the Rods to get the right temp.
My BIG tip is keep heat on the job after you have brazed... If you take the heat away too fast or cool it quickly the braze will not hold!
This was the trick for the braze to set strongly and took me forever to work out! Slowly brush the flame less and less on the job and take a couple of 3-10min to slowly cool the job this way.

Never quench the job - only your thirst!

Marko