Aluminium cast repair

[SailingDog]

Hi,
Does anyone know of any aluminium repair companies in the Southampton to Chichester area.

I understand the usual approach is TiG welding.

Thank you

 

[mattnj]

Hi, what do you need repairing (pictures) I maybe able to help...
Cast aluminium is extra tricky, especially if corroded....

Yes, its TIG, but needs an AC TIG machine which is a bit more specialist...and needs heating in oven first.

 

[superheat6k]

Aluminium repair rods have a far lower melting point and might work.

I have successfully repaired a porous Vetus steering pump casing with them.

Something like ...

Aluminium Welding Rods Low Temp Flux-Cored Repair Alloy Fix Easy Brazing Wire AU | eBay

 

[yotter]

What about the epoxy route, products like Belzona, (there other metal repair products available) are very good.

 

[SailingDog]

What about the epoxy route, products like Belzona, (there other metal repair products available) are very good.

Interesting, thank you, I'll have to look into temperature limits.

 

[vyv_cox]

What about the epoxy route, products like Belzona, (there other metal repair products available) are very good.

Belzona is expensive but excellent. When I was a lot younger I was earning very little and had a young family. I bought a used washing machine which although it had a stainless steel drum had a sheet carbon steel back plate with cement behind it. This had corroded through and was damaging clothes. I repaired it with Belzona - it lasted five years of frequent use in a very testing environment.

 

[Refueler]

Hi,
Does anyone know of any aluminium repair companies in the Southampton to Chichester area.

I understand the usual approach is TiG welding.

Thank you

The item that needs repair can influence the solution.

My Mast foot shattered due to being frozen to deck mount when I pivoted mast to lower for storage. I gave it to a local Metal Workshop I'm friendly with ..... guys welded it .... basically they ground back - then built up new metal and then drilled.
Mast foot is cast alloy.

 

[Restoration man]

I had similar issue with my old Perkins oil cooler , flange wasn’t as bad as yours but the one side of the casing was badly corroded from being bolted to steel cradle and having salt water dripping on it from the Heat exchanger it wasn’t holed through but I did really want to take chance , prob could used jb weld ? , anyway had it welded £40 and had it machined up but as you can see it was large area of weld it really pulled the casing so needed the entire length of the casing re matched up so the core would go back in , the end caps were also out true so we need to be squared up and need to trim the core down a little bit to compensate, but all good and he only charged £40 to do that , just need to dress the welds up a bit and pressure test

 

[SailingDog]

Looks like a good job.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[rotrax]

Speedway JAP crankcases were Sand Cast Magnesium Alloy.

A real bastard to weld.

One of my fellow competitors took a busted set -a mounting lug was broken off- to an aircraft certified welder. He looked at it, threw a fit and said due to the amount of oil in the sand casting it was impossible to repair.

The late 'John the Welder' well known in speedway circles, did it while he waited.

He used a three cylinder Lister powered generator from a naval ship to power his welder and made his own arc rods from 1/4 inch magnesium alloy plate cut on a power guillotine.

When you wanted John the Welder to do a job you had to hand crank the genset for him........................................

I had Roger Almond - look him up - weld a set of Harley Davidson unit construction crankcases that had broken big time at the gearbox end. Several "Experts" said it was an impossible repair.

Well, the bike, a highly tuned 1957 OHV 1200cc XLCH model, is still going, used regularly in Vintage events.

Roger also made, from the solid, a deflector piston for a 1925 Levis two stroke.

Thats still going too.

Restoration man, I like your style!