Anyone ever heard of "alumaloy" or "steelaloy"?

[AdamF]

http://www.alumaloy.net/


It says you can "solder" aluminum or steel by using this stuff and heating it up with a propane torch. Says its strong too.

Anyone every used this? It would be cool to use since you coudl probably get some clean looking joints and it looks easier to do than brazing.

Would be cool to see some aluminum tube frames!

 

[AdamF]

Someone on ebay also is selling something simmilar, with specs



MELTING RANGE: 7150 - 7300 F
DENSITY: 25
ELONGATION ( IN 2"): 3%
TENSILE STRENGTH: 47,000 psi
COMPRESSION STRENGTH: 60,000 - 75,000 psi
COEFFICIENT OF LINEAR EXPANSION: 15.4 x 10% F
SHEAR STRENGTH: 34,000 psi
IMPACT STRENGTH (Charpy): 4 ft. lb. 1/4 bar break
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY: 0.24 cal/cu.cm
HARDNESS (Brinell): 100
CORROSION PENETRATION: 300 x 10 in 11-R
DUCTILITY: GOOD
TOXICITY: None (under 15000 F)
SPECIFIC GRAVITY: 6.7
FLUX: None

 

[WRMorrison]

Adam, I'm about done with my aluminum tuber (tig welded). It looks pretty good but I can honestly say this.....never again! :lol: There's a reason you don't see too many aluminum tube frames...it's a pain in the @$$! If this stuff you've seen actually works (I personally doubt that it's very good) then you may see more of them in the future. As for myself, the next tuber will definitely be brazed.

 

[WRMorrison]

Just did the search on eBay and found it. I thought that this sounded familiar. I saw this stuff a few years ago on an infomercial. The guy used it in the demo to repair an old boat and some al. heads and it worked. I don't remember them showing how strong it was though... :? . But then again, I'm pessimistic about most things. If it truly works, the strength should be just fine (at least for rc uses).

Try it and tell me if it works!

 

[AdamF]

What exactly makes it a pain in the ass? I would think aluminum is softer and easier to bend. Maybe thats the problem.

 

[badtodabone]

the prob with aluminum is welding it

 

[AdamF]

Exactly. That's the whole reason why I posted this thread.

 

[WRMorrison]

Aluminum is softer and easier to bend. That's also a problem. It also has to be completely clean before you weld it, or surface contaminates will ruin your weld. Also, when bending it, you can easily break it...(especially plate or bar stock). The main prob. I was talking about is the tig welding involved. I'm used to structural steel and large aluminum fabrication...not 3/16 rod... :lol: . Like I said, try it and find out. If it works for you, then I'll be one of the first in line to order some.

 

[BultacoJim]

MELTING RANGE: 7150 - 7300 F

Was that just typed wrong? (Maybe you meant 715 to 730 F)

4043 Aluminum melts at 1135 F

Aero Solder for aluminum melts at 775 F, (requires a flux,) and therefore, by industry standards meets the definition of Soldering by melting below 850 F.

ALCOA, in their book, Brazing ALCOA Aluminum, lists the melting temperatures for all of their aluminum brazing alloys from 960F to 1185 F, and so they meet the industry definition of Brazing by exceeding the
850 F melting temperature.

Welding, by industry standards, means that the parent metal is melted and that the filler mixes in with it.

Problem with soldering a Tuber, is trying to keep your heat from melting the joints that have already been soldered while you’re doing the next joint. Maybe lots of Heat Block Paste http://www.alvinproducts.com/Products/Products.asp?id=7 could make it work. :lol:

 

[Ace]

I've used alumaweld.

Works surprisingly well...

I've drilled and tapped holes in the wrong place, filled it with alumaweld and then re-tapped. Couldn't tell I screwed up.

I've also butt "welded" with it on some 3/8" aluminum plates. Couldn't break the weld.

At my best it looked like it was tig'd... At the worst it looked like I tig'd it :lol:

Getting it to flow really well (pretty) on a R/C tuber would be tough, but not impossible.

 

[sambmx]

I dont think its a real substitute for doing it with the tig, i dont think any solder can compare to the strength of a tig weld and plus we all love that roll of coins tig look.For me its worth it doing it the old way and knowing ive got a quality joint. But hey if it does work good use it, im usually not one to believe or trust this kind of stuff.

 

[AdamF]

Sure, it would be best to use a TIG machine. But for all of us who dont have one, this would be the best way. I wasnt asking if this is better than TIG'ing, just as a cheap alternative.

 

[sambmx]

yea i know , it would be so nice it gave similar results. A much better way to do small aluminum stuff if you cant throw down 2000 for a tig thats for shure.

 

[cartinker]

alumaloy - castaloy - steelaloy

Not sure if bringing this thread back to life will help anyone but I've used those aluminum repair rods and the cast iron repair rods before. However, I bought them from alumaloy.org instead of the other sources you were talking about. For both of these products you have to make sure you get them very clean. I mean super clean, I had to redo my repair because I did not original metal clean enough. However, once repaired I would say the hold was better than anything else. In fact, I used the castaloy product on a cast iron radiator on have. It had 3 rips, long cuts, and I thought I was going to have to toss it out. The product worked I also used it to repair an engine block on an older car I am working on.

The main reason for my post is I'm thinking of ordering the steel repair rods from the same company and I'm wondering if anyone has used it.

 

[SwampDawg]

haha!
you want a cage that does this...buy new era! :lmao: