In this video I explain and demonstrate how to solder sheet aluminum. The techniques I'll show here involve repairing a hole in the thin sheet aluminum of a soda can, but you can easily use them for soldering other aluminum objects, too. If you're wondering how to solder aluminum wire, how to solder aluminum tubing, how to solder aluminum jewelry, etc., this video can help. The first thing to understand when learn how to solder aluminum is that the melting point of this metal is considerably lower than that of other metals like copper and steel. That's why very careful use of heat is crucial when learning how to solder sheet aluminum.
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I had to laugh when he said “you probably aren’t in the habit of soldering aluminum cans for fun” That’s actually what brought me here. I was looking into soldering aluminum cans for a hobby project. Thanks for the demonstration. I think this will work very well for my application
Same with me lol
"Probably not in the habit of soldering aluminum pop cans for fun" I am. I decided i could use soda cans to practice chasing sheet metal without wasting more expensive stuff, needed to solder some rings to it. Here i am.
This was really great, thank you!
Thanks! Always good content from your videos!
Nice job Steve. Very handy product to have. Will pick some up to keep on the shielf.
Though I was searching for a process to solder SHEETS of cut aluminum cans together, that's a good idea for bulky aluminum fixes. There are aluminum threaded bolts and nuts that for example you can wrap in aluminum foil, connect 2 aluminum parts, then after tightening, you could build up the exterior bolt head and nut, then shape to just appear as smooth nubs (you wouldn't want to grind smooth to the planar surface obviously, but you simply assure it's never coming apart, and in the process thin foil liquified and bonded threads; definitely less is more, as you want full torque that could be lost if using too much foil, which should bond threads permanently). I've used just the exposed bolt/nut/foil/torch method but that torch step adding material externally that can be shaped into smooth mounds would be stronger and look better.
Good Sir, this is a tremendously valuable video.
Great vid sir thank you
Glad you enjoyed it!
Amazing. What type of electrode is it? Is that available in markets?
What type of rods to use?
Do you think its possíble to fill a wheell Holes with this method? Thanks a lot.
Hi, Would it be safe to use this to fix a antique coffe machine? is it food safe? thanks!
Can i just use solder? That's what I'm trying to find out. I hope I can find some tinning paist and get it hot enough with a torch then use solder. It's a really small piece. It's a broken rivet that I can't replace so I'm trying to fix it.
I'll have to try this on my cargo trailer that i accidently arc welded a hole in the alumininum siding! lol
I would recommend a butane torch for this rather than a propane torch and/or Map-pro gas (not MAPP gas, which is out of production).
I am building an aluminum battery box using thing aluminum sheet. I have some aluminum brazing rod on hand, but my first attempt on a different design had poor results. It was burn through that was the problem. It was that in my application I has a lot of surface area compared to thickness of the metal, because I had a thicker frame for rigidity and the sheet was just a skin. So when I tried heating the sheet hot enough to melt the rod, the temperature variations across the sheet caused so much expansion/contraction that it distorted the sheet enough to warp the frame. I'm sure I could mitigate that by preheating in an oven (or my gas grill that can go nearly to the brazing rod melt point) but that would require some dexterous and quick positioning of the parts, torch and rod that in my hands is unlikely to succeed. I think instead I'll rough up the sheet with 80 grit where I want to bond it, and then use epoxy, with a layer of glass cloth and epoxy inside and out - possibly predrilling a bunch of holes so that the epoxy can bond to itself through the holes.
You could have simply riveted it and a number of points, and then lower heat (butane) to solder it. With large/long runs, it seems like tacking a small weld across it first reduces excess heat. You just come along shortly after an solder from tack to tack. Key is just the minimum heat required to just melt the solder.
Thanks so much.
You're welcome! Drop by my website baileylineroad.com for a visit sometime. You'll find lots of stuff there, including tool giveaways, articles and lots of other stuff of interest to hands-on, how-to people. Bye for now and thanks for watching! Steve
Is this standard solder?
Just saved me so much money I was about to spend like 400 on a mig welder and it was just getting more expensive a good helmet was like 300 a machine was like 150 the gas was like 300 and I also needed a work bench
A mig welder vs soldering? I would not rely on soldering for anything health and safety wise.
What’s the solder mixture??
What’s the rod size and melting point
Great! But what was the product name?
What rod number?
1. This is brazing. Soldering is at lower temps. 2. Your temp is off, you almost melt the can, it is very challanging to braze a can because it is extremely thin and dissapates heat very well. 3. Metal has no pores where the brazing material grabs to, it diffuses into an interlayer, so it alloys itself in a thin layer with the Al. The brazing rod atoms diffuse into the base material. To repair the ladder you could have used Al sheet cut to size and attached with pop rivets instead. No heat, no mess, just a 15$ river gut a couple of pop rivets and some sheet metal. Just saying, brazing is fine really but for a problem like this I would have probably done it like on an airplane skin, just patch it up.
You're correct. This is a brazing technique. He's aiming the torch at the stick, and at a distance that needs some practice. Of which things like humidity and room temperature will change from time to time, thus distance away from base material, aiming torch at end of stick, will change. But phraseology aside: You get the idea how to do it. I would recommend attention to safety, clear of flammables, eye protection, and probably a leather shop apron and gloves. This type of 'crafting' doesn't need full welding protection, but around fire anything, pick places out of wind but well ventilated. No flammables like fluids nor paper products. Have a Windex type sprayer bottle, spray water in the area around you. It seems overkill but putting out fires in your shop is expensive and time consuming.
Metal does not have pores.
Porosity occurs in cast solidifying metals and alloys due to negative pressures generated during solidification contraction, and pressure developed by gases dissolved in the molten metal. Both the above processes may act either together or separately to produce such shrinkage or gas defects (collectively termed pores). They are generally unwanted and constitute a major industrial problem. However, it's useful for applications such as this demonstrated...
Aluminum does have pores, thus how anodizing is achieved, the dyes become lodged in the pores, unlike a surface finish.
Everything up to pure carbon (diamond with no fissures and no impurities) can be porous. Even glass. Some molecular structures are stable to thousands of years, others are not. The casting process - especially when it's impossible to eliminate all impurities - introduces reactions that causes oxidation and microscopic irregularities in the metal structure. Aluminum cans start out as some of the purest metal products we know of. Once paint and sealing material is added to the top, the forging process is required to remove those impurities. Otherwise aluminum cans would be easily home-forged pouring pure castings (the top slag is not easily removed fully using home forging, and results in low quality casting, for example). The video shows the can surface being scored with a steel wool material. If you do that to the surface, wipe clean with 99% rubbing alcohol, there will be enough rough and porous metal to receive the brazing material. (Soldering involves getting base material hot, which in thin can aluminum would melt it away. Brazing is an art form that I'm guessing the presenter had to practice distance of the torch a few times to not melt the can. He's aiming the torch at the stick, not the can. Brazing.).
@@Greg-io1ip I meant in the biological sense. Do the pores in metal react to temperature changes? I don't think they do but what's your opinion.
@@Greg-io1ip Porosity is not the same as having pores. Paper and other materials vary in porosity but certainly do not have pores. It's the same with metals. There are no individual pores in the metal that open up as the temperature rises. It's a silly concept. He also uses the word 'oxidization' when he's describing 'oxidation'. It's just a casual way of speaking. Nothing wrong with it unless you want to be exact about something.