Dear Mark, with pleasure!
The original description says to prepare the surfaces absolute clean, and, when heating use the clean stainless steel brush.
The other "key-tool" is the so-called abrader, that is nothing else than a stainless rod, approx. 2÷2,5 mm (1/12 ÷ 1/10") diameter, 8-10" long, lance shaped. When all the parts are hot enough by butane flame, heat the abrader, too, push the Technoweld rod to the target spot, and scrape the melted Technoweld alloy into the aluminum surface. When the starting is successful, this Techhnoweld solves very-very easily (aggressively) the usual aluminum alloys. Even cast aluminum (high silicon content) even machined aluminum (high copper and magnesium content). It solves aluminum, just like the mercury does to silver or gold...
This original description uses only one and big/strong butane flame, and it is very easy to melt thin parts, e.g. muffler tube or cap, which are often thinner than .03" . It can be more than frustrating, no doubt. (For information, the melting point of pure aluminum is 650°C, the aluminum alloys: 500÷550°C, the Technoweld: 390°C (sorry for using Centigrades).
So I did a step towards: I changed the abrader to a "soldering iron", it was very simple: I took a cheap butane pen-torch, and fixed a 2" long piece of abrader onto its head, so the flame heat the abrader-lance to red hot. The big flame of butane keeps the parts warm, but the pen-torch gives the LOCAL heat to melt the Technoweld rod, and succesful scraping.
I prefer to coat both parts separately with Technoweld, and at next step join them by heating again. Using two flames plus the Technoweld rod needs 3 hands, so one helper needed.
Topic: Techno-weld? Any exerpiences? (Read 904 times)