miracle aluminum brazing/soldering rods

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i'm sure almost everyone has been at a flea market or car show and seen that guy closing holes in soda cans or repairing aluminum heads with just a propane torch and this "miracle" rod. my brother in law paid way too much for a small aluminum boat with a tear in the upper hull. he was more or less told to get lost when he took it to a local welding shop. last nite he mentioned this stuff and i couldn't tell him much about it. anyone here tried it or know what it's made from?i.u.o.e. # 15queens, ny and sunny fla
Reply:Joe, drag that boat up to CT, and we will weld it up on the Syncrowave, no charge. but you have got to do the welding. I don't want to be responsible for ruining it.  Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:Harbor Freight sells it also. I got some and tried it, couldn't get it to stick very well. Tried different ways of surface prep. Maybe I missed something but it didn't work too good for me.
Reply:I've used it quite a few times, been using Aladdin 3 in 1. The key is following the directions and cleaning the metal thoroughly, the material needs to be scratched into the surface to get it to stick initially then it flows out pretty nicely.
Reply:Joe, check this out. Jody has a write up on these. they are mostly zinc it seems.  http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/...zing-rods.htmlMiller Multimatic 255
Reply:Originally Posted by Louie1961Joe, drag that boat up to CT, and we will weld it up on the Syncrowave, no charge. but you have got to do the welding. I don't want to be responsible for ruining it.
Reply:they work great for the purpose they were designed for, in simple terms its like soldering aluminum, no flux, but metal needs to be cleaned, if you tin both sides of what you want to fix, use a stainless brush to move the melted puddle around on the surface to get a good bond then fill in the crack with adding more rod to it, hole or piece that broke off..Of all the things I lost I miss my mind the most...I know just enough about everything to be dangerous......You cant cure stupid..only kill it...
Reply:Joe you are always welcome to drop by for a weld-o-rama or a beerMiller Multimatic 255
Reply:It works. I repaired a french fry scoop the other day with it. It was just simpler than getting out the spool gun. Sent from my SCH-I545 using TapatalkCRIME SCENES, COURT DATES, FUNERALS, RIDING THROUGH THE CITY WITH A BITCH THAT IS JUST BEAUTIFUL IT'S JUST BUSINESS AS USUAL.
Reply:Originally Posted by Louie1961Joe, check this out. Jody has a write up on these. they are mostly zinc it seems.  http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/...zing-rods.html
Reply:Originally Posted by Louie1961Joe you are always welcome to drop by for a weld-o-rama or a beer
Reply:Have you tried AlumAloy? I've had some luck with that and keep a few rods around.
Reply:Yeah it's like 95% zinc rod I believe.   LWS usually stock it.  Melts at about 700°f  Actually soldering reallyTiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:Originally Posted by brandonsmashHave you tried AlumAloy? I've had some luck with that and keep a few rods around.
Reply:If the boat is riveted don't even think about trying to TIG weld it. It will just crack again. I don't know who makes it but there is an aluminum rod that has flux on one side only for brazing aluminum.
Reply:A horse of a different color: http://muggyweld.com/super-alloy-530ksi strength, zinc-free, true-Aluminum brazing rod that melts at 600deg F.  $$.   Any users of MuggyWeld products?"Discovery is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought" - Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
Reply:you can get them off ebay for around $10 a pound, though you have to sort through hundreds of scam listings that are $30 to $60 a pound.I've used it a lot, it basically sucks compared to tig welding, but has a few limited uses. the thing I dislike about it the most is that it is brittle and cracks under stress, unless you build it up a lot and it's hard to build up since it flows like honey when hot.And if you use the stuff and then try to tig afterwards, it's a freaking mess of black soot becuase something in the rod contaminates any tig weld!And forget about doing any thick aluminum repairs with it, your little map torch will take 10 minutes or longer to heat up a long stick of 1/8" wall aluminum tube, unless you insulated it with rockwool insulation.lastly forget about joining 3 pieces of metal together within about 6 inches of each other. Sure the first two pieces will join up, but when you go to heat the third piece it will melt the first "brazing" "weld" due to the heat remelting the intitial weld joint. it also can easily pit thin wall aluminum becuase there is some kind of flux? in the rod I believe, looks like **** and requires grinding.watch your toes, it can drip right off the metal and splat on your toes!so what is it good for? filling in holesadding a bit of strength to bolt together aluminum tubingfilling in all the kerf cuts on aluminum extrusion that has been bent to a radius, when tig welding would take a lot longer. what does it suck on , pretty much everything thicker than 1/16th that is under stress.
Reply:there are other aluminum brazing rods that require you dip the aluminum rod into a powder or liquid flux, who makes that, and is the results any better?
Reply:The whole key to using the pop-can-hole-filling rod is you have to literally brush the material with that area covered in flame so it can't just immediately re-oxidize. The oxide layer is what makes it not bond.Welding/Fab Pics: www.UtahWeld.com
Reply:the other trick to build it up for more stregth is to place a sheet of steel behind the "weld" so the liquid brazing rod doesn't just drip through.
Reply:That stuff does have some pretty insane surface tension going though.Welding/Fab Pics: www.UtahWeld.com
Reply:They take a little practice but they work well. I've repaired aluminum irrigation pipe and carb bowls with it. The heat on thin material is tricky, but it works on stuff that would be very hard to weld.Mr. HE