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RACING >> GARAGE >> WELDING >> OAW / Aluminum
OAW Aluminum Welding Part of racing is crashing so, being able to repair some of the broken bits yourself is obviously a good thing. I'm not going to go into a long discussion about welding because there's way too much and I know way too little so, I'll summarize: Bike's tend to have alot of aluminum on them. To weld aluminum you either need a TIG welder, which is far and away the best method but is way out of my price range, or to learn the nearly forgotten art of welding aluminum with gas. A gas rig is cheap and versatile. It can cut, heat (for bending) and weld. Back during WWII they used Oxy-Hydrogen because Acetylene was not avialable and it burns a little cooler but, using the more common Oxy-Acetylene has it's advantages. Special eyewear from TM technologies is required to remove the sodium orange flare caused by the flux. The problem with aluminum is that it's a very good conductor of heat and doens't show color as it's heated. When you get the edge to melting temperature, the whole piece is nearly melting temperature. It is very common to think you are going to weld an aluminum item, and have the entire thing melt into a puddle instead. I've done it plenty of times. I've been told that one trick it to cover the weld area with soot from a carburizing flame prior to beginning to weld as the carbon will burn off as you're approaching the melting point. Remember to use a slighlty reducing flame on aluminum and to push the weld. Here's a summary pirated from various websites: WELDING RULES Note: The following procedure is for oxy acetylene, because of the more technical nature and varied availability of hydrogen. The rules are simple. Follow them or fail! Open the oxygen bottle fully to seat the upper packing, then just crack the acetylene. Set regulators to equal pressures, from 2 to 5 pounds each, with smaller tips needing lower pressures. Choose a torch tip one size larger than would be used on steel, i.e. If choosing a 00 (double ought) tip for .040 steel sheet, then move up to an 0 tip for .040 aluminum sheet. If oily, clean the material with solvent, lacquer thinner. or alcohol. Scrub with stainless brush on both sides just prior to welding. Flux either the rod (or wire), or the part -- or, in extreme cases, both. The flux will be a white powder which will be mixed 1/3 with either 2/3 water or alcohol. Safety precautions such as eye protection, adequate ventilation, and keeping one's head out of the fumes, are recommended. Choose the proper filler metal for the alloy to be welded. Common weldable aircraft alloy sheetmetals are shown in Metal Filler Selection Chart. Hollow, flux filled rod, was made available years ago, but aside from the questionable alloy, it had the persistent bad habit of neatly dividing itself, building up the edges of the joint without joining them together. Metal Filler Selection Chart Base Metals 1100 3003 5005 5052 5086 6061 6061 4043(A) 4047 4043(A) 5183 5356 5554(D) 5556 5654(C) 5356 5183 5554 5556 5654(C) 4043(A) 5356 5183 5556 4043(A) 4047 5183 5654(C) 5554(D) 5556 5356 5086 5356 4043(A) 5356 5183 5556 5356 5183 5556 5356 5183 5556   5052 5183 5356 5556 4043(A) (B) 4043(A) 5183 5356 5556 4047 5654(C) 5183 5356 5554(D) 5556 4043     5005 5183 5356 5556 4043(A) (B) 5183 5356 5556 4043(A) (B)       External Links: tinmantech.com - Videos, books and supplies / equipment for aluminum gas welding. bikewebsite.com - Instructions for welding aluminum with gas. metalshapers.org - Antoher tutorial         March 27, 2007