I'd met a fella in Australia last year and he is a master fabricator in
Aluminum... Rod Tingate showed me all these pictures of custom motorcycle
fairing's and tanks he'd build as a fabricator for Formula 1 motorcycle teams
in Europe... Naturally I was drooling all over the pic's...
He came to Bonneville this year and has come down to Southern Alabama to hang
out as part of his month long tour of the US... LUCKY me... Yesterday we sat
down at my welding bench and I got a few lessons in aluminum fabrication...
all I can say is that I'm totally humbled... He sorted out my gear... used
some aluminum brazing flux we mixed with water and then did some incredible
welding right here in my shop... No rods... just 3/16 strips of the original
aluminum sheet cut on a shear... then we mixed up the Harris powder into a
paste... painted it on and proceeded to do some of the most incredible welding
I've ever seen... Perfect penetration... along with leaving the aluminum
totally malleable.. or dead soft when we were thru... he said that it
automatically re-hardens itself in just a few weeks... but in the mean time to
can form the stuff without breaking or dealing with the brittleness of Tig'd
aluminum...
If your into welding... snatch that gas set up out of the corner... snag some
powered aluminum brazing flux from your local welding supply... turn the flame
until the tip is to soft...( carburizing )... or 3/16ths off of a sharp tip...
listen for the right hiss... and have at it... you'll be amazed... stuff was
very easy to see thru my autodarkening helmet...( I'd like to have those fancy
glasses .. but it worked ) Rod actually simply used a dark set of glasses I
have here...
Fun stuff... what a lesson
Keith
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