Committing forgery: A Faux Rudge Autocycle build.

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

I did find this on You Tube though, - it seems you can use peanut butter as brazing flux.......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGwKuYP-RNo


....... well not really tee hee

 

[curtisfox]

Aperently the propane is hot enough to do small stuff. That is a nice torch he was using with a hose atachment,would be real handy insted of holding onto the small cyclinder all the time. I my have to look into that. There might be some silver solder that you could also use with propane,there is so much new stuff out there one don't see. I would go to a welding supply place and see what is new and ask them what is good and maybe they have a good setup. There is a lot of stuff out there that you don't find in a hardware store.
It was brought up on another post i think lathe and mill by dan about brazeing aluminum on utube. see if i can find it. I have some of that rod and am going to try it. .........Curt

 

[curtisfox]

Found it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCrixbXz4rc I also seen this demoed at a car show were i bought the rod. What was Koool is you can take a broken striped out hole drill it out bigger stick in a steel bolt,weld around it,let it cool,take the bolt out and new threads. That are supose to be stronger then the oridgional...............Curt

 

[silverbear]

I've seen some of that before, but wow. I see what Allen Wrench was saying about keeping the rod moving.
SB

 

[curtisfox]

Yep awesome new stuff on the market today. Like i say got to visit a welding supply now and the just to keep updated.
I was thinking they sell hose adapters for grill that fit propane tanks (small and big ) for cook top grill and lamps. one could get one of them,insted of hanging onto the small tank all the time..............Curt

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

I went and had a chat to the hardware store guys down in the township and they showed me some very nice propane gear. They have butane-propane mix gas which apparently burns hotter than just propane and they also have MAP gas. They normally have a propane torch in stock that can be used for brazing, but they won't have any more until next week or so when their stock order arrives.
Living in a country town like I do that's surrounded by farms our mainstreet hardware store is really good and the guys really know their stuff. Unlike big box hardware stores in the city where they look at you and go, 'Huh?'

So good news about being able to buy suitable lightweight brazing gear that will do what I want
I should persist with learning to use my cheapie MIG set that's been decorating my workshop for ages, but on the other hand brazing is just sooooo nice for vintage bicycle type work.

 

[silverbear]

Anne,
If you would, please share your experience with whatever setup you purchase. I'm interested in learning to braze, feeling like I am more accustomed to soldering and working with a torch (iron, too) than with mig welding and might pick up brazing more naturally than welding. I know little about this and I'm sure other forum members are also in the dark. So, if you would, pass along what you're doing so we get a sense of what is involved and whether or not it is something we want to give a try.
SB

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

That J.A.P. petrol tank I was after was won by a chap with a pointy head and his eyes too close together who didn't deserve it at all
However I am willing to be magnanimous in defeat and shall possibly agree that a Villiers girl should not be straying after glittery things made by a competing firm even if they are British.

Someone has two Villiers Model 10 four stroke engines on auction at present, - one in working order, one for spares, - so I might have a look at those. Model 10s are 98cc which sounds a useful size for a motor bicycle.

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

Anne,
If you would, please share your experience with whatever setup you purchase. I'm interested in learning to braze, feeling like I am more accustomed to soldering and working with a torch (iron, too) than with mig welding and might pick up brazing more naturally than welding. I know little about this and I'm sure other forum members are also in the dark. So, if you would, pass along what you're doing so we get a sense of what is involved and whether or not it is something we want to give a try.
SB

Indeed I will Silverbear

 

[fasteddy]

If he was a gentleman he would have stepped aside and you purchase it.

Steve.

 

[curtisfox]

look at you and go, 'Huh?'

Even here were i live they are doing that. Stay out of the store on weekends and nights as the green help go 'Huh"
Yep the hotter the gas the easier to braze, did not braze for a long time (torch was broke ) and replasment was to big. I have a small smith and when my son was in welding at the colage got a used on for me now have a hole bunch of tips and spares.

SB Brazeing is just like soldering only requires more heat. and has flux,a rod, and is the same procedure. So you will be right at home doing it and be a old pro in no time. Also there is a new flux that is water wash off insted of the old chip off. The old flux is like a glass coat that takes time to chip. That is the first welder i had and brazed everything then learned to use it for steel welding with a torch with steel rod.
But now have the mig and don't do to much torch welding except brazing now and then,but bike work as Anne says is so more Kool.
You should find all the scrap metal you can find and practice the mig it is so much better and less heat then torch for most part. For thin work you can put a piece of aluminum,copper,or brass behind thin stock and weld and it won't stick to them and keep it cooler.......................Curt

 

[silverbear]

I think for one thing that I will need to invest in a better welding helmet. The one I have which Steve was using a few years ago we bought at Harbor Freight and it is hard to see what you're doing. For an experienced welder it is probably less of a problem since he or she would have a better "feel" for what is going on. I don't have that "feel" yet so the visual feedback is needed for a beginner like me. Or so I'm guessing. Steve brought a better one with him to Motor Bicycle Summer Camp (for boys who never grew up) and said it was a great improvement. So I'm thinking that an upgrade is in order if I am going to improve much. I also understand that gas instead of flux core makes the welds a whole lot cleaner. Wish I had a shop to work in through the winter. Outdoor bike work leaves a lot to be desired in our climate and when fair weather finally comes there is so much competition for time that welding bits of scrap seems to take a back burner. But if I want to learn I will need to practice, just like anything else new. Practice, practice, practice. I'm not so concerned with pretty welds, but strong ones are the whole point of welding.

Anyway, it would be good to know how to braze for bike work and to know when which (mig or brazing) is the best approach to the thing you're doing. Seems like brazing frame fish-mouth unions is the thing to do, at least judging by the old bikes I see. Seems like there is less chance of blowing through.
SB

 

[curtisfox]

Yes a good helmet is a must and don't get one from Harbor fright as they are not the best, Best get one from welding supply and one with variable shade and auto darking. Like mine has a yellow color to see what you are doing and then tures dark as soon as strike a weld. Yep gas is better but flux is also good. I have done both with good resalts but prefer gas prolley because i have it. LOL. But can get good at anything with practice.
Some one on the fourm said they also use one of the lights that fit on you head,put on you helmet so you can see better when welding. I bought one but haven't tried it yet. Anoter thing is to try and weld going away from you instead of towards you,supose to help see were you are going instead of what the weld is doing. I have a tenditsy to off seam, but going in for caterack on left eye hope it helps. Fish mouth get expensive but are good and also look good. The main thing is not to cool the weld with water it crisalizese the weld and metal and makes it brittle..............Curt

 

[cannonball2]

I have welded all my life using most methods and have to say that welding gets more difficult with age, if only from a vision stand point. My best welding is done outside on a sunny day. Have been meaning to get a small halogen work light to hang over my welding table just haven't done it. I too tend to weld off line. I don't know if its just my glasses or what, but if the helmets lens and my glasses aren't in perfect alignment I get a visual "dazzle" that makes accurate welding hard. I gave my oxy-accet torches to my son when I moved as the tanks were locally leased. I really miss them. A mig is a great welder but it wont do it all.
On a more positive note I recently got a metal welding table from HF on sale. For years I welded on a table with a fire brick top. The metal is cool as welding magnets can be readily positioned and also the ground can be attached to the table top. Cost about $60 shipped. Highly recommend for mig work.

 

[curtisfox]

Yep comes with age,i go in for caterack surgery the 24th hopefully will help. Left eye is scard over and like looking through a foggy window.Kind of cold to weld out here now and about 6" of snow. But i do all i can outside LOL............Curt

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

When my Mum had cataract surgery it really transformed her life. Mum went from not being able to recognise her friends and needing to hold onto my arm when we were out to being almost completely independent again.

 

[curtisfox]

I know i have had both eyes done for Glacoma and should have done it earlier,then thought it was my right eye as it has some scaring.As i have a perminate scare in the left eye ( from a piece of steel ) and always been fuzzy some. Missed my spring checkup was on trip to CA and stayed with my brother to long. It would have been done by now. Glacome is the most inportant thing as you can lose you site if not taken care of.........Curt

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

Just got these from a shed clearout for $NZ7.00. A pair pf Villiers Mk 10s in slightly down on their luck condition.

I don't what I'm going to do with them yet, but no doubt I'll think of something.

 

[Ludwig II]

200cc twin

 

[curtisfox]

Almost as good as chololate? Maybe better.............Curt