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aluminum repair rods

2K views 13 replies 9 participants last post by  partofhunting 
#1 ·
I have been searching and i have found a couple of aluminum welding Rods that yoyr use a propane touch to heat up the material and then use these rods to"weld" the alumInum. There are a couple Different types but they all seem to be the same. There is a type called durafix (www.durafix.com) they have done videos and thesse rods Seem to be a great idea for some one wanting to do light wOrk Im wanting to build a light guard on my boat out off some aluminum tubeing and am thinking about using this. Because I don't have an aluminum welder. What do u guys think?
 
#2 ·
I've never used the product in question but used another type of rod like it. I tried to use the rods to attach thin walled aluminum tubing to other pieces of the same stuff and found that it is very easy to melt the aluminum as it is so thin, it responds very quickly to the torch and cools fast so achieving the right temp is tricky. Too much and the torch (I used benzomatic MAP) melts the thin aluminum an not hot enough, the rod doesn't melt. Try it with scrap first and get the hang of it.

Tod
 
#4 ·
I've used these...they are tricky to use for sure.

You have to heat both parent materials to 700 degrees and then place the aluminum rods on the material to be melted without the torch touching the rods.

If you melt just the rod, it doesn't adhere to the parent material. If you don't heat both parent materials to be welded, the aluminum doesn't adhere equally.
 
#6 ·
If you can properly apply the stuff, it's fairly strong but it can be a pain to apply and adhere properly.
 
#7 ·
I understand that this is a thin material welding thread. That being said, I occasionally use stainless steel rivets for some aluminum "welding " jobs. I build my motors out of aluminum with high end tig welding, but there is an occasion where a stainless rivet repair works best.

Mark F. Cheney
 
#9 ·
I used Durafix rods to repair some cracks in an old Jon boat. It does take practice to do it right but it will work. It's also very easy to make things worse. Wether the aluminum is new or old doesn't matter if you clean it properly with a new stainless steel brush.
 
#10 ·
so what I'm getting out of this thread is...basically...if you want to weld aluminum you need a TIG welder???

I ask because I'm in the process of fixing up an old boat. The place that had it let it fall off the blocks and fill with water. The motor pushed through the transom so I need to fix the the two holes that are there and also reinforce the transom... Or is there a simple way to do it with an Arc or MIG welder (I have easy access to both)?

Thanks fellas
 
#11 ·
Do you know how to weld aluminum? Aluminum is a bit different.

If it's just holes that need to be repaired, there many other options beside welding that will seal those holes.

Do you have pics?
 
#12 ·
yareelohim said:
Do you know how to weld aluminum? Aluminum is a bit different.

If it's just holes that need to be repaired, there many other options beside welding that will seal those holes.

Do you have pics?
I dont know how but I've got a buddy who is a master welder, he just doesnt have the TIG...The holes are more of what I'd call "cracks" after we reapproximated the metal by bending it back, but the total "weak spot" (where the holes were) is about 3"x3". There are two of these areas. Then where the transom and gunnel meet there is a crack about 4" long I'd like to get welded back together as well. I'm going to put back the board in to brace the inside of the transom but would like to put an piece of aluminum on the outside as well

Sorry no pics :sad:
 
#13 ·
You need a GOOD thin metal tig man. Check out Trailer mfg/ service people in your world. You need 2 things, some one with a service bay contiguous to his tig welder and a GOOD aluminum tig welder. Aluminum welders that are good are much rarer than steel welders. For one thing the equipment is much more expensive in addition to a more specialized skill level. Often you can find this in a service bay for RV people. Look at a work example before giving the go ahead on your rig. Good luck

Mark F. Cheney
 
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