Henry Kolesnik wrote:
Try this...
Get some good motor oil and put a drop on the aluminum...
Then scrape the aluminum oxide off under the oil...
Next get a good iron with enough wattage to tin the area under the oil with
solder..
Then tin another piece and you can solder the 2 together...
A beter way perhaps would be if someone has a name that I can't recall but
there's a compnay that makes a good Al solder that doesn't need a special
flux..
I've seen guys demonstrating it at hamfests and fairs..
They generally show soldering aluminum beverage cans, Al pistons, lawn chair
parts, etc.
I bought some and their special stainless brush and used it successfully..
But that was a few years ago and I have no idea where I put the stuff..
I'll bet someone here has the url.

FYI..
If you were in cosmic space and cleaned the oxide off 2 pieces of aluminum
they would stick without heat, solder or flux!

73
hank wd5jfr
"uk-hamman" wrote in message
...

HI THERE
Just a thought , I have often made my own alum boxes , for projects
that I have built myself , and have always wanted to solder
the edges shut , for a more pleasing look ,
or sometimes solder two pieces together.

,Never mind the old resin trick etc ..
I wanted to proper solder them , with an iron ..yer

I have used different irons , and temperatures
various fluxes , and methods
and nothing has ever been successful

I know all about oxidiodsation , so I thought
could I solder it in a vacuum ??? or oxygen free
environment ??


say I get myself a large plastic box , air-tight joints
and Perspex top , with an air-tight fitting door
and a pair of fitted gloves , and a one way air valve
connected to the hoover , to withdraw some of the air
out of the box ???? , maybe even light a candle in the box
to burn up the last bit of the oxygen ??

the box would be large-enough for me to have all the tools
I need , small scrapers , iron , solder , flux , and the box iam soldering

,

etc

any thoughts ????

I would be prepared to go to this much trouble
if the idea would work . iam sure I can get air tight joints
by using rubber gaskets and expandable foam and glue
between the joints etc ...


I don't really want to hear about the construction method

down-falls in your replies , more about the theory of
soldering aluminium in a vacuum situation or lack of oxygen environment


sorry to be blunt , but as so often happens in news articles
the main question or topic is often lost by the 3 or 4th reply
then it goes of a tangent to the main question .


anyway hope some one may be able to help ,
or has had experience of actually doing what iam trying to do

cheers for now
de Paul






I just did a Google search with aluminum welding and the first one looks
very promising...$35.00 for a kit..
Eskay,,,VE3JUA..