no more cops sneaking up on me...

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bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
6,537
264
63
living the dream in southern california
aluminum rod, aluminum sheet, some tin snips, alumiweld, and stick-on blind spot mirrors ($.50)

tapped a hole in the bottom, used an intake stud, and it threaded right into my dia compe clutch lever.
 

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diceman2004

New Member
Aug 26, 2009
564
2
0
Kitchener , Ontario
weres the fun in that , tie a donut to the back with a 30 foot piece of string , and if they pull ya over and ask what your doing , you can say ( trolling , your my first catch of the day ) .
 

GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
5,104
11
38
San Diego, Kaliforgnia
Better make it a Krispy Kreem if you want it to work! :D

bairdco, you have inspired me to find out where I can get alumiweld rod locally and figure out how it works. It seems to be like soldering...... but different.
 

bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
6,537
264
63
living the dream in southern california
harbor freight. you get like 10 sticks for 20 bucks. get a stainless steel wire brush and a bernzo mapp torch, and practice, practice practice.

somethings weld up nice, other's fall apart and end up mysteriously flying across the garage, followed by obscenities...
 

NEAT TIMES

New Member
May 28, 2008
1,964
1
0
PENSACOLA, FL
Bairdco, Nice Job, Your Set Up Is Neater Than What I Came Up With. But Being So Large, I Had To Get My Mirror Out Farther To See Past My Own Self!! Lol. Used A Hand Grip Or What Ever They Are Called And A Mirror That Goes In End Of Handle Bar. Was Worried About Vibration (blurred Vision`s) But With The Titan Engine And The Shifter It Works Great. Feels A Lot Safer With The Mirror. Ron .cvlt1
 

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bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
6,537
264
63
living the dream in southern california
when i made the mirrors, i wasn't thinking about them being functional at all. Ca. Law says i need a left mirror, so i made one that was small enough and cool enough, just to avoid a ticket.

but they actually work!

my bikes don't really vibrate at all, so i can see out of them fine. as long as it's not too far in the distance, because they're pretty tiny.

the bad thing is, i know i'm gonna whack it on something and break it off. i've already banged it on stuff in the garage. i mean, they're really sturdy, but y'know how it is...
 

Allen_Wrench

Resident Mad Scientist
Feb 6, 2010
2,784
26
36
Indianapolis
harbor freight. you get like 10 sticks for 20 bucks. get a stainless steel wire brush and a bernzo mapp torch, and practice, practice practice.

somethings weld up nice, other's fall apart and end up mysteriously flying across the garage, followed by obscenities...
Soooo...that Alumiweld stuff can be welded with MAPP gas? Sounds almost like brazing actually? What kind of stuff is it? (I mean, oviously there's aluminum in there, but I've never got around to trying it so I don't really know it.) How do you use it and what metals can you use it on? Can you use it to make gas tanks?
 

bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
6,537
264
63
living the dream in southern california
it's for aluminum only, and it works with mapp gas better than propane. i just use a regular yellow mapp bernzomatic torch.

i've been wanting to make an aluminum gas tank with it for awhile, but one of the problems is, after you weld up one side, the heat transfer will melt it when you try the other side. i'm sure there's a way to sheild it, but i haven't worked it out yet.

it's more like brazing then soldering. it doesn't "flow" like solder into joints as well, either, and if you're using 2 different thicknesses of aluminum, it can be a real pain.

it's a real trial and error method. for me, more errors than successes.

i have no idea what it's made out of.
 

Scotchmo

New Member
Jun 23, 2009
217
0
0
Los Osos, California
it's for aluminum only, and it works with mapp gas better than propane. i just use a regular yellow mapp bernzomatic torch.

i've been wanting to make an aluminum gas tank with it for awhile, but one of the problems is, after you weld up one side, the heat transfer will melt it when you try the other side. i'm sure there's a way to sheild it, but i haven't worked it out yet.

...
Try resting the tank on a wet towel. Or drape a wet towel over the areas that are already brazed. I have not tried that but it might work.
 

silverbear

The Boy Who Never Grew Up
Jul 9, 2009
8,325
670
113
northeastern Minnesota
Try resting the tank on a wet towel. Or drape a wet towel over the areas that are already brazed. I have not tried that but it might work.
I was thinking along the same lines and am considering using frozen wet paper towels or a rag to place directly against the part already soldered/welded. Paramount is cleaning the area to be joined with a stainless steel brush and not regular steel wool or a steel brush which contaminates the aluminum somehow. Within a day or two I'll be making up a rear drop stand for my Elgin out of aluminum channel. Or at least trying to... The little experience I have with these rods (used about half of one so far), it seems like the propane torch I have works fine (Bernzomatic with a pencil tip).
SB
 

the new ausped

New Member
Feb 10, 2010
142
0
0
australia
bardico. thjis may sound a bit dorky but if you get a spring offa an old trampolineand weld your mirror to that you can nock it on stuff and ittil sprung back in place

im going to sleep now before i confuse myself anymore.bf.
 

Allen_Wrench

Resident Mad Scientist
Feb 6, 2010
2,784
26
36
Indianapolis
bardico. thjis may sound a bit dorky but if you get a spring offa an old trampolineand weld your mirror to that you can nock it on stuff and ittil sprung back in place

im going to sleep now before i confuse myself anymore.bf.
A trampoline spring might work. The coils are so compressed against each other that there'd be little vibration from the road. Any looser a spring, and the reflection of the car behind you will be jumping around like a Chinese acrobat.
 

halfevil333

New Member
May 18, 2010
307
0
0
florida, USA
Try resting the tank on a wet towel. Or drape a wet towel over the areas that are already brazed. I have not tried that but it might work.
harbor freight has something called "hylo-cool" that i picked up for welding in new floorboards on my caddi' that i think would do the job for yah!
its a blue gel which dissipates when too hot so you know when you need more, I'd recommend covering the already brazed side, then running a strip about an inch to either side of area about to be brazed. this way it should absorb/shield most of the heat transfer!
 

halfevil333

New Member
May 18, 2010
307
0
0
florida, USA
...oh, and as far as the thickness issue, pre-heat the thicker pieces so that they reach proper temp aprox' same time as the thinner and keep your torch moving in an oval-ish pattern to keep preheating the thicker piece ahead of your bead! ;)
 

Bikeguy Joe

Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
Jan 8, 2008
11,837
252
63
up north now
I have 64 trampoline springs, 5.00 each post paid to your door. (99% of that cost is shipping, not trying to make money on them)
 

Maxvision

New Member
Jun 13, 2009
551
1
0
San Diego, CA
it's for aluminum only, and it works with mapp gas better than propane. i just use a regular yellow mapp bernzomatic torch.

i have no idea what it's made out of.
I've used those rods many times in the past and it's GREAT stuff. Can be found in most hardware stores. If I were to guess what they're made of I'd guess zinc.

Years ago I was told the only way to weld aluminum was with a tig welder. I thought those alumiweld rods were my only option.

I've since found out otherwise.
 
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