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Aluminum Brazing/Soldering

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Anyone done this before? I’m going to try it out today. How ironic that the warranty is up on my new travel trailer & 1 of the 3 screen door hinges broke. I believe they are aluminum. It broke last week in the bush, & I tried JB Weld for a quick fix, but didn’t hold as I had no sand paper to scratch it up with. 
 

im gonna pick up some braze rods & see if this will hold up..

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10 minutes ago, Wheeler said:

Anyone done this before? I’m going to try it out today. How ironic that the warranty is up on my new travel trailer & 1 of the 3 screen door hinges broke. I believe they are aluminum. It broke last week in the bush, & I tried JB Weld for a quick fix, but didn’t hold as I had no sand paper to scratch it up with. 
 

im gonna pick up some braze rods & see if this will hold up..

 

Oh man. 

I have walked the path on this one lol

 

The short answer is get it TIG welded if you know someone who can. Best solution by far.

 

You might see Alumiweld or some other brand of the same. Zinc alloy rods for "welding" (brazing) aluminum

 

If you are really set on doing it yourself and you don't have a TIG please consider this exact product...

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Aluminum-Brazing-Rod-42x18-sticks-and-Flux-4oz-jar-Vulcan-G-51/300879153744?hash=item460dcb8a50:g:xKwAAMXQCtlRSwvP

 

This company knows their stuff when it comes to brazing and is the ONLY thing I tried that actually works.

You will need a cutting torch with brazing attachment for this of course.

 

 

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All I have is my mig welder. I can get the door replaced but want to see if I can make it thru the rest of the year before doing so.. 

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Yeah you can't do this particular job with that product, nevermind.

 

TIG is the only way to weld fix it IMO.

 

If you used a brace across the gap (like a strong and flexible wire mesh) and prepped the area really well JB would hold

 

 

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Done deal. Worked great. It feels really strong. As u will see in the pics I ground the edge off so I could move the hinge over as the main door was putting too much pressure on it which caused it to break. All I had was bedliner for paint. Still have to paint the back side. 13A693B8-4142-4DA1-81C7-8508A169F8D8.jpegI’ll see how it holds up. 

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Was that Alumiweld rods?

 

In my experience it would be stronger to glue it with Elmer's but it looks great!

 

Nice job!

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9 hours ago, oh400ex said:

Was that Alumiweld rods?

 

In my experience it would be stronger to glue it with Elmer's but it looks great!

 

Nice job!

  Yes those were aluminum braze rods. We out camping now. Door holding up so far so good...

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Well she made it two full days of open & close. Starting to crack.. I know what the problem is, so I will “try” to fix it. The angle is wrong causing flex on the joint when closing... 

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28 minutes ago, Wheeler said:

Well she made it two full days of open & close. Starting to crack.. I know what the problem is, so I will “try” to fix it. The angle is wrong causing flex on the joint when closing... 

 

If those are alumiweld or another brand similar the prep work (with most things) is the most important bit.

 

Get the aluminium base metal hotter than last time and use ONLY a stainless steel brush to clean off the oxidation prior to "welding" and you will have better results.

Taking a grinder to the base aluminum first is also not a bad idea but before the stainless brush and only very lightly.

 

Those braising rods I linked you originally would work like a charm since you can take the hinge off the trailer. (At first I thought you were doing this in place)

The ones from Vulcan are a totally different beast from what you have there. The "weld" is stronger than the base metal with those.

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In the strength,  ease of use category where do you rate a  mig with an Al spool gun?

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My buddy is a good welder & tried the mig gun with brutal results. 
 

I used a brass wire wheel to clean it up, but it was used. I’ll get a new stainless steel one to try... I can’t remove the hinge & am doing this in place which makes it way more difficult. If I could remove & replace the hinge I would. Trailer shop told me they don’t sell hinges .. I can’t even figure out how to remove it as that’s what I wanted to do..

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6 minutes ago, Wheeler said:

My buddy is a good welder & tried the mig gun with brutal results. 
 

I used a brass wire wheel to clean it up, but it was used. I’ll get a new stainless steel one to try... I can’t remove the hinge & am doing this in place which makes it way more difficult. If I could remove & replace the hinge I would. Trailer shop told me they don’t sell hinges .. I can’t even figure out how to remove it as that’s what I wanted to do..

 

I think if you really got in there and roughed up the surface first then used JB (not quick) with a steel mesh screen it would hold better than any Alumiweld type rods.

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3 minutes ago, oh400ex said:

 

I think if you really got in there and roughed up the surface first then used JB (not quick) with a steel mesh screen it would hold better than any Alumiweld type rods.


maybe I can do the braze, & add JB weld!!! 

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Just now, Wheeler said:

maybe I can do the braze, & add JB weld!!! 

 

You can do anything this is Amer... wait a minute 😂


I would not. The JB is easy and will actually work well if you rough the area up with a grinder and rough sandpaper. Use a piece of screen that spans the gap but only need an inch wide piece and could be pulled from anything. (Old kitchen strainer?)

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Another great tip with JB is to do a hard-press skim coat. Meaning to press the first coat really hard into the surface to encourage bond.

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9 hours ago, Wheeler said:

My buddy is a good welder & tried the mig gun with brutal results. 
 

I used a brass wire wheel to clean it up, but it was used. I’ll get a new stainless steel one to try... I can’t remove the hinge & am doing this in place which makes it way more difficult. If I could remove & replace the hinge I would. Trailer shop told me they don’t sell hinges .. I can’t even figure out how to remove it as that’s what I wanted to do..

you can't replace the hinges, they rivet the hinges all in one piece to the door frame. as for how the door is attached to the side ?, remove the water sealer plastic insert along the outside of the door frame, under this is all your screws, then you can take the door off the side.

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