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Hello all,
Hey I just got a used 14 foot boat, and the top part of the bow has just a slight crack and seperation of about a 1/4 inch from the body...I dont know what to call this part....other than a bow cap or something like it.???? anyhow...how would one fix that without risking aluminum welding? is it possible to just cinch it back down and bolt a couple brackets on it with some epoxy selant schmeared in it? I need some ideas please, or advise.....its the part of top of the bow where the handle for carrying it is mounted...that is probaly why it has seperated.....
laters,
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maybe a sealent and rivets ?
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Just what I'm looking for an older Alum. boat for small lake and pond fishing. For your jproblem you can cross over the area after you cinch it back together is apply over it a gusset plate of flat aluminum stock drill it with multible hole and alum pop rivit it together. Or do a search on line for a product called alumaweld. This product can be used with just a propane torch and from what I'm told it is a very strong repair, you can even use it over rivets to seal them back up. have fun with it .Chief.
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IF YOU FIND SOMEONE WHO CAN WELD ALUMINUM I THIHK YOU WILL MUCH HAPPIER WITH THE REPAIR. I WORK IN A WELDING SHOP AND REPAIR ALUMINUM BOATS AND PONTOONS ALL SUMMER IT MAY COST ALITTLE MORE BUT MAYBE WORTH IT
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the stuff that chiefpanfish mentioned is an aluminum braizing rod. you should be able to pick it up at any welding shop.
you can braize and fiss the crack. be sure to use a grinder and clean out the crack so you have a solid contact. also clean the serface arond the crack so you can get a good crown of brazing.
as the chief said, it can be done with a propane torch.
tig welding is also a good method as well. any gaps can be filled easly.
one draw back is that if the peace is oxidized all the way through you will have to replace the entire peice. nothing will hold it. welds, braizes and any thing else you can bolt will just crumble under wave crashing on the lake.
you will know right away when you start grinding on it. if it crumbles it is compleatly gone. the part you are attempting to repair is manufactured from cast aluminum.
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hi chris if you do try the alumaweld route try harbor frieght tools on state street picked some up there a while back
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thanks all, I will try to get to harbor freight this weekend, I have tried HomeDepot with no luck, looking or asking...am I the only one that feels they are more adept at being a do-it-yourselfer then the "professionals" at home depot?? I swear in the last 2 years only like 2 of a hundred questions were answered by a person there satifactorily I get either "I dunno" or "Its on the other end of the store... not my area" arrgg. well off to a better place now....Harbor freight is the flea market of the tool and machine industry!!! woo hoo.. I hope I dont find more than I need......lol
Laters,
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finding more then you need will be no problem there the trick is not spending more then you have
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I knew for certain I should not have taken the wife with me even though she is pregnant. I was ready to go with a container of Alumiweld, 8.99 but oh no...here she comes waddlin right to me...lol....she says..." I want this light, its solar you can mount it on the brick side of the garage....and I found a picknic table for the kids, you can put it in the girls' fairy garden its only 40..." yadda yadda..and yeah I am experienced at building fairy gardens cause even the fairys need a playground and no one in the neigborhood had one for them so I had to build one so they would stay around the area and I had to put a house in it for when its nap time and they go take a fairy sleepover..according to my five year old daughter....well Ill show her...for momma I am gonna alumiweld that table together....and for the kid..she is going to learn how to run a blow torch and use alumiweld...ha ha...I feel more like a chic all the time....cause even with pets...I am the only male around the house...so its a 6 to 1 ratio in my living room..geeze I need to go fishin. LOL
thanks all for the tips on fixing this thing...I cant wait to get it "worthy" and then get it wet.
Laters,
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went to harbor freight over the weekend and got alumi-weld. Man that stuff is amazing, It took a little torch work to get it to the thickness so that I could schmeer it over the "wounds" after I had melted a bunch into the area..man that stuff set up and there is no more flexion in that area where as before you could feel the spongyness of it when you lifted the bow....I also repaired one area of the keel, where the cover on it, if that make sense, was cracked and had been banged on a rock filled that in...worked the metal to a smooth patch and man o man, Im telling ya I will never be without this stuff again as long as I own an aluminum boat!!! great stuff I cant wait to test it out...gotta get it licensed and get all the equipment now...oh yeah..and make my motor run.LOL
Laters,
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I havent herd of this brand. who makes it?
I have used marien text which works well on aluminum, but that was 20 some odd years ago,
where did you find it?
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Dave,
[url "http://www.alumiweld.com"]www.alumiweld.com[/url]
It is the metal sticks for aluminum braizing..??? i dont know what that is...but I know that stuff worked like a champ..600 times stronger than aluminum and it is great looking...mmm shiney..ha ha.
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Ok I remember now, I picked some of that stuff up at a fishing show a few years back.
thanks for the link. I had a bud who was wonderin where to get it....
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I just saw an informercial on that stuff today,
they called it "Alumaloy"
they did repairs on all kinds of things using only a hand propane torch.
they clame bonds with aluminum, pot metal, and galvanized steel.
they rebuilt a broken ear off a transmission bell housing. I bet cleaning that was a night mare getting all the grease and oil off so it was clean enough to braze. the did another repair on somthing that they drilled and tapped.
I dont know how much you paid for yours but here is what they were offering.
they were selling it for $45.oo per pound for the rods. "no flux needed" If ordering by credit card the were giving you an extra half pound of rods.
sounds like a lot of money for the rods, but one must remember how light it is.
[font "Times New Roman"][#bf0000][size 3]Alumaloy[/size][/#bf0000][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3][#bf0000]800-917-weld[/#bf0000][/size][/font] [font "Times New Roman"][#bf0000][size 3]Call to buy[/size][/#bf0000][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3][black] [/black][/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3][black][/black][/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"] [/font] [font "Times New Roman"][#0000bf][size 3]Mail to buy check or money order[/size][/#0000bf][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3][#0000bf]Alumaloy [/#0000bf][/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3][#0000bf]Po Box 138[/#0000bf][/size][/font]
[#0000bf][size 3]Stevenson ct 06[/size][/#0000bf]
[size 3]sorry I did not get the rest of the zip code, that part went by to fast. any post office can give it to you go in. there is a zip code search page but I cant remember where it is.[/size]
[size 3][/size]
[size 3]any way, how has your repair held up? [/size]
[size 3]Have you had any problems with your repair?[/size]
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Well I'm new to this forum and was reading this thread and also just purchased a new (old) boat that needed some repair. Well inspired by this thread I asked my wife(rrrsmom) to stop by Harbor Frieght and buy the Alumaweld. Well to make a long story short I'm having no success at all. Maybe it's not clean enough or not hot enough? Please advise as I'm trying to have her ready for the wiper turney. Any help, tip etc.. would be much appreciated. Thanks, Randy
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what I am asuming you have are pencil lead thinck peices of aluminum rod to be braised on with a hand heald propain torch.
I think you may be right on both accounts.
using a stainless steel wire brush to clean the area will improve you cleaning methods. regular steel or copper leaves residue.
stainless steel brushes can be picked up at the place where you picked up the rod. (about twice the size of a tooth brush)
the second is the heat tempriture, you need to heat both sides of what you are attempting to bond to the same tempreture.
if the peices are of different thicknes you will need to preheat the thicker peice untill the aluminum rod melts then heat the thinner material untill the rod dose the same on that side while at the same time keeping the thicker side heated. This is done by drifting your flame back and forth across both peices.
If you can supply a picture of what you are attempting to fix we could give you better instructions.
if what you are attempting to fix is the loop on the front of the triangle portion of the boat you can pick up those parts along with ore locks and the rear handles which are cast aluminum from a marena
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when you are trying to repair aluminum, the key to it is getting the aluminum clean. if it's not clean, it won't adhere worth a damm.
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I have a link that advertises HTS 2000.
Supposed to be the latest in aluminum welding ..
If you cant get into the site by typing HTS 2000 let me know and I ll look it up.
See my post about dents in aluminum. I really messed up my pontoon by putting it on the trailer yesterday....
Sreve Weston
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If you ever find yourself fishing lake mead let me know. I will weld it for free...
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New to BFT because of this thread. Accidentally drilled a small hole in my Starcraft's hull. Couldn't get it hot enough for the alumi-weld rods to stick for fear of fire, so we removed the floor. Father-in-law's the body-man and wanted to weld it himself. Unfortunately, now I have a larger hole...[blush] Pulled the boat off the trailer and turned it on its side (for him to fix). Tried welding again, but the weld keeps cracking, making this a real pain. Anyone out there have any info that can help?
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