Easy way to mount a homemade aluminum tank, Without brazing or welding

[Wyatt. A.]

What year & model of bike frame is that? Its interesting! I like it. Tell me a bit about it, if you dont mind.

Pretty cool. Specially when he buries the case in sand and drills holes in the case...

 

[DieselTech]

Pretty cool. Specially when he buries the case in sand and drills holes in the case...

Thanks for that vid, I appreciate it. I never seen that lost foam casting process. Thanks again. I learned something today. That old man is good at what he does.

 

[Nickt919]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NP2RBPS/ref=sspa_dk_detail_5?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07NP2RBPS&pd_rd_w=iXpAx&content-id=amzn1.sym.9f074495-da4d-4e1c-b407-69e85fa47fdb&pf_rd_p=9f074495-da4d-4e1c-b407-69e85fa47fdb&pf_rd_r=38K4NH6TQPHHP2JJQEG8&pd_rd_wg=LRckB&pd_rd_r=a6af00ae-8e3b-4335-83da-f29e1c54e74d&s=hi&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWM&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyMkJaT1A3WkJDVzZUJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMjY5MTE1M1A5MkpJSE9MQTRKWCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDU5NTI1M00xUEIzN04yMU5JOSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbF90aGVtYXRpYyZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Watched some of those YT vids about using those super alloy brazing rods. It's amazing stuff. Type of torch is important, very interesting.

I realize the thread title states ...mount tank WITHOUT brazing... but.... the aluminum rods appear super easy to use with a hand held bottle torch. It can be an easy way to bond aluminum with satisfasctory results.

I was in Harbor Freight yesterday picking up other stuff and saw the aluminum rods...$18.99. I picked up a pack to try out and see if it was junk or really capable of brazing aluminum. I had never used any sort of brazing rod before trying these rods out. It seems to be fairly easy to use. You just have to get the aluminum clean & hot, so the rod flows well. After it cooled, I put the piece in a vice several different ways and whacked it with a small hammer. The welds definitely held tight.
My first attempt held but it looks like I should have put a little more heat on the aluminum before starting. The puddle didn't flow to a feather edge on the bottom piece. I'd think this is because it was not hot enough. It will not take much practice to get the aluminum flowing like it should.
All in all, the rods are very easy to use and looks like it makes a strong enough bond for most things we'd use on the bicycles. It definitely would be suitable for tank mounts.

I'm testing these rods out because I may switch to a felt bike frame with the built in tank. Those frames are aluminum. So I'm hoping these rods will be a suitable option instead of buying a TIG welder for welding small things on the aluminum bike frame when the situation arises.

 

[zean]

I remember decades ago while we were showing a new employee the different refining processes around the plant, he kept on saying, “That’s incredible”.

 

[darwin]

Nick, your assessment is spot on. The 2 pieces standing are thicker than the base, heat should have been concentrated there occasionally heating the base. Let the heat transfer from the thicker to the thinner, my 2 cents. When the flux flows in a clear state it's time to apply the rod.

 

[Nickt919]

I think once I get the hand of it, the process will work well and be much easier than I expected.

The instructions say fluxless. The rods must have flux on them. One side of all the rods is shiny aluminum and the other side is spotted with something dull. That dull finish has to be flux.

 

[Wyatt. A.]

Thanks for that vid, I appreciate it. I never seen that lost foam casting process. Thanks again. I learned something today. That old man is good at what he does.

Yup. check out his other forging vids...he does some cool damascus...

 

[Wyatt. A.]

I realize the thread title states ...mount tank WITHOUT brazing... but.... the aluminum rods appear super easy to use with a hand held bottle torch. It can be an easy way to bond aluminum with satisfasctory results.

I was in Harbor Freight yesterday picking up other stuff and saw the aluminum rods...$18.99. I picked up a pack to try out and see if it was junk or really capable of brazing aluminum. I had never used any sort of brazing rod before trying these rods out. It seems to be fairly easy to use. You just have to get the aluminum clean & hot, so the rod flows well. After it cooled, I put the piece in a vice several different ways and whacked it with a small hammer. The welds definitely held tight.
My first attempt held but it looks like I should have put a little more heat on the aluminum before starting. The puddle didn't flow to a feather edge on the bottom piece. I'd think this is because it was not hot enough. It will not take much practice to get the aluminum flowing like it should.
All in all, the rods are very easy to use and looks like it makes a strong enough bond for most things we'd use on the bicycles. It definitely would be suitable for tank mounts.

I'm testing these rods out because I may switch to a felt bike frame with the built in tank. Those frames are aluminum. So I'm hoping these rods will be a suitable option instead of buying a TIG welder for welding small things on the aluminum bike frame when the situation arises.

Cool. Good to know.

 

[Wyatt. A.]

Update on the tank:
I superglued the neck and valve into place to see how it will look.
I just put them on flanges and was going to JB weld and screw them into place...
Ignore the butterflies in the background.

 

[Wrench]

That's turning out so good Pay a shop $50 and have that tank professionally welded

Most shops have a minimum charge of $50 and that's a small job