steve_b_wales Posted June 1, 2022 Report Share Posted June 1, 2022 Has anyone tried this product and does it actually work? https://bit.ly/3N9CP34 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted June 1, 2022 Report Share Posted June 1, 2022 Hello, I was only linked to Facebook, what type of welding wire are you looking at Steve ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miki Posted June 1, 2022 Report Share Posted June 1, 2022 I've tried that, its a very soft alluminium bar/rod that melts so it's more brazing than welding. It works well on most things and very well on allunium sheet, copper pipe etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted June 1, 2022 Report Share Posted June 1, 2022 splash out on a CMT machine .........think Fronius make one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted June 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2022 2 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said: Hello, I was only linked to Facebook, what type of welding wire are you looking at Steve ? I'm not looking for some, I just seen this advertised on Facebook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted June 1, 2022 Report Share Posted June 1, 2022 7 minutes ago, steve_b_wales said: I'm not looking for some, I just seen this advertised on Facebook. It looks great Steve, but it looks too good to be true. I can't see how it's anything other than glue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted June 1, 2022 Report Share Posted June 1, 2022 They are high zinc content aluminium alloy rods, sold under a variety of trade names, Lumiweld being one of the best known, but also Technoweld and Duraweld. I have used them for many years for fabricating items for my bikes, from sections and sheets and also successfully repaired aluminium castings. Although the suppliers say that you can use butane and propane torches to heat the weld, I have found that a MAPP gas torch works best. The process is similar to soldering in that it works at a relatively low temperature, but, if correctly used, the rod and the aluminium actually combine to form a stronger joint that the parent metal. 30 years ago I repaired a brake back plate with it, very successfully. The alloy is harder than aluminium, so cleaning up the job requires sharp files and it polishes to a different lustre to aluminium, so you will see the join. The major benefit is that the rods, torch and gas are much cheaper than a welder, but there is an element of skill required to make sound joints. A useful addition to the toolkit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted June 1, 2022 Report Share Posted June 1, 2022 (edited) I repaired this aluminium gardening trowel handle for my wife by Lumiwelding a length of aluminium tube to it. That was 10 years ago, so it's a bit mucky now. Edited June 1, 2022 by amateur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walshie Posted June 1, 2022 Report Share Posted June 1, 2022 Looks more like soldering or brazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted June 1, 2022 Report Share Posted June 1, 2022 Just now, walshie said: Looks more like soldering or brazing. Unlike soldering or brazing, the parent aluminium actually combines with the rod under the pool of molten metal. You have to scratch away under the molten surface with a sharpened stainless rod to ensure that the aluminium oxide is penetrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted June 1, 2022 Report Share Posted June 1, 2022 1 hour ago, amateur said: I repaired this aluminium gardening trowel handle for my wife by Lumiwelding a length of aluminium tube to it. That was 10 years ago, so it's a bit mucky now. That looks like a pretty decent job 👍. I've just been looking at reviews of this wire , and it's grim reading . It's a shame because I have a project that this would be perfect for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted June 1, 2022 Report Share Posted June 1, 2022 also sold under the brand laser rods.......everything has to be super clean...great for working on castings (ali)....belive it was developed by Boeing to repair cracks in undercarriges of jets on aircraft carriers..........MAPP gas is the best heat source......clean the surfaces with stainless steel wire brush with practice you can weld up holes in a coke can .......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted June 1, 2022 Report Share Posted June 1, 2022 1 hour ago, ditchman said: also sold under the brand laser rods.......everything has to be super clean...great for working on castings (ali)....belive it was developed by Boeing to repair cracks in undercarriges of jets on aircraft carriers..........MAPP gas is the best heat source......clean the surfaces with stainless steel wire brush with practice you can weld up holes in a coke can .......... I think that the process is older than that. I used to work on the finance side of a small engineering company, where we employed a TIG welder to do our light steel and aluminium welding. When he walked out to earn a quid or two more elsewhere, and we were stuck with either (expensively) subcontracting out the ali welding or missing a contracted delivery date, I showed our top lady solderer how to weld with Lumiweld, so that we hit the delivery. I was told by a retired director that they had used the process pre-WW2, but nowadays TIG was faster and cheaper. For small scale production or home use it is cost-effective and makes good welds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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