[TheForge] Aluminum Gas Welding flux

Sat Feb 16 21:23:00 2002

At 06:29 AM 2/16/02, you wrote:

Cameron;
Before TIG, torch welding aluminum was an everyday thing.  It is really 
fast on thin stock and requires a toxic flux.
A copper backing plate helps a lot.
The old guy said that blue carpenter's chalk turns white just before melt.
Excellent de greasing and oxide removal are a must.
Clean, flux, preheat and use a quiet, low-velocity flame, neutral to 
reducing mixture.
Keep the torch tip pretty vertical and keep the puddle in the flame wash as 
long as molten to keep oxy out.
Use the rod to stir the puddle to break up the oxide layer.
Anti-borax co. used to make the flux.
Because this is an obsolete technique..it is almost "true path" now...(G).
......Pete F

>On Wed, Feb 06, 2002 at 05:40:39PM -0500, Dan Tull wrote:
> > What flux do you use for aluminum forge welding in a gas forge?
>
>This may or may not be related, but I have been hunting around for
>aluminium Oxy-Fuel welding flux. This is the closest I have come (and a
>pretty good source of information, too):
>
>http://tinmantech.com
>
>at the very bottom of this page there is info on welding flux:
>http://tinmantech.com/html/aluminum_gas_welding__brazing_.html
>
>I read alot of this site and was feeling inspired. I tried welding up
>some 6061 with 5356 rod using some leftover anhydrous borax. I think it
>would work great - I forgot that I had put wd-40 in my spraycan instead
>of the alcohol I normaly keep it full of.  So my de-greasing of the
>surfaces was really a greasing. Didn't get very good penetration.
>
>But I have to say that I really like the idea of gas welding the 6061.
>TIG is what I have been using on it, but it takes a long time to heat
>up some bigger chunks, and the penetration is really hard to get just
>right.
>
>I had never tried gas welding Al ever since I tried to cut it once with
>the cutting torch and just made a big puddle. I thought its transition
>zone was too narrow to be reasonable to work with.
>
>Anybody on the list have experiences gas welding Al?
>
>Anybody know how long it takes 6061 to age harden at room temp from an
>anneal/solutionizing heat?
>
>
>--
>         Cameron Stoker
>          "May you run like a vicuna!"
>         [email protected]
>         www.stoker.net/cameron/pgp <- public key
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