I have an aluminum casting which has broken. Does anyone have any
experiences or recommendations on the likelyhood of success, glueing
it back together with epoxy? I have West System on hand, and can
fairly easily get other products (e.g. Aluminax). Any tips,
techniques, or pitfalls I should be aware of?

thanks,

John

John McCoy wrote:
I have an aluminum casting which has broken. Does anyone have any
experiences or recommendations on the likelyhood of success, glueing
it back together with epoxy? I have West System on hand, and can
fairly easily get other products (e.g. Aluminax). Any tips,
techniques, or pitfalls I should be aware of?

thanks,

John
I can't speak to glueing but, I have very good luck with various
aluminum parts being welded. Several of the pieces have been in service
for 5 years with no problems and the cost was about $25.00(US) each.

Rick

On Fri, 11 Nov 2005 22:51:24 -0000, John McCoy
wrote:

I have an aluminum casting which has broken. Does anyone have any
experiences or recommendations on the likelyhood of success, glueing
it back together with epoxy? I have West System on hand, and can
fairly easily get other products (e.g. Aluminax). Any tips,
techniques, or pitfalls I should be aware of?

thanks,

John

If the casting is ornamental, there is no reason why an epoxy glueup
would not work for you.
But if the casting takes a knock, or sustains any load at all really,
you should be wary.

Think about the numbers:
epoxy 2 part glue - tensile 2500 to 5000 lb/sq in
Aluminum alloy casting 10 - 30 thousand psi

If the casting in question has fairly thick wallls - say 1/2 inch or
more - but not more than 1 inch thick at the break - and you don't
need to maintain an anodized colored surface, you should tote it to a
weld shop with aluminum MIG or TIG expertise.

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

Brian Whatcott wrote in
:

If the casting is ornamental, there is no reason why an epoxy glueup
would not work for you.
But if the casting takes a knock, or sustains any load at all really,
you should be wary.

It takes no significant load, so I'm not too worried about that.

If the casting in question has fairly thick wallls - say 1/2 inch or
more - but not more than 1 inch thick at the break - and you don't
need to maintain an anodized colored surface, you should tote it to a
weld shop with aluminum MIG or TIG expertise.

It would be tedious to remove the one part, which is why I'm
hoping to be able to re-attach the broken part w/ some sort
of adhesive. My experience with welding castings (as opposed
to sheet/plate stock) is that the chance of success is highly
dependant on the skill of the welder, and welders who've worked
with castings aren't overly common. So if I was to remove both
parts, I'd probably go ahead & replace with new (even tho that's
a considerable cost).

I beleive I will try glueing it w/ the West System that's on
hand, and see how it goes.

Thanks to all who offered advice & suggestions.

John

you're dead right in your views about welding cast parts... its
tricky, as noted by one other poster noted due to the manganese and
silicone content. I've done a fair bit of work repairing cast exhaust
manifolds, some with tig, but mostly with a torch. The tig can be made
to do it, but you usually need to have at least 3-5 layers of weld to
get a satisfactory result. exhausts are complicated a lot by the
deposits on the inside of then though, so other casts are not as
difficult. I've had good success with lawn mowers. If you are going
into a shop, call around and see who will do it with gas. its true
that using the flame is harder, but in general i think you'll find that
only a few shops will have anyone who can braze at all, and those you
find will be old school old timers who know their stuff. Just finding
someone like this is a worhtwhile experience. You'll want to keep
their number as they will build up old parts with wear bronze, can
usually operate a lathe and mill and often undercharge for their time.
craftsment are disapearing

There was a discussion in this newsgroup recently about gluing broken
aluminum with epoxy. It seems instantaneous oxidation of exposed aluminum
prevents a good bond with epoxy.

John McCoy ) writes:
I have an aluminum casting which has broken. Does anyone have any
experiences or recommendations on the likelyhood of success, glueing
it back together with epoxy? I have West System on hand, and can
fairly easily get other products (e.g. Aluminax). Any tips,
techniques, or pitfalls I should be aware of?

thanks,

John


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It's been suggested that one first coats the aluminum with the epoxy. Then,
while it's still liquid, scrub the aluminum with a wire brush to cut thru
the oxidation and permit a bond to the real aluminum.

Roger (I haven't tried this, myself.)

http://home.earthlink.net/~derbyrm
"William R. Watt" wrote in message
...

There was a discussion in this newsgroup recently about gluing broken
aluminum with epoxy. It seems instantaneous oxidation of exposed aluminum
prevents a good bond with epoxy.

John McCoy ) writes:
I have an aluminum casting which has broken. Does anyone have any
experiences or recommendations on the likelyhood of success, glueing
it back together with epoxy? I have West System on hand, and can
fairly easily get other products (e.g. Aluminax). Any tips,
techniques, or pitfalls I should be aware of?

thanks,

John


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William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community
network
homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm
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I have tried this myself - using a grinder to "wet-sand" aluminum plate,
using resin as a wetting agent. Then mixed the epoxy directly on the plate,
working in well.

Held up for a few years, but eventually bond broke. Of course, it may have
had something to do with the aluminum being used as a "skid plate" under the
bow of a plywood boat, for hard ledge landings. The 1/8 plate was worn more
than halfway through before it de-laminated.

Good luck, and let us know how i works!

Sal's Dad


"Roger Derby" wrote in message
nk.net...
It's been suggested that one first coats the aluminum with the epoxy.
Then, while it's still liquid, scrub the aluminum with a wire brush to cut
thru the oxidation and permit a bond to the real aluminum.

Roger (I haven't tried this, myself.)

http://home.earthlink.net/~derbyrm
"William R. Watt" wrote in message
...

There was a discussion in this newsgroup recently about gluing broken
aluminum with epoxy. It seems instantaneous oxidation of exposed aluminum
prevents a good bond with epoxy.

John McCoy ) writes:
I have an aluminum casting which has broken. Does anyone have any
experiences or recommendations on the likelyhood of success, glueing
it back together with epoxy? I have West System on hand, and can
fairly easily get other products (e.g. Aluminax). Any tips,
techniques, or pitfalls I should be aware of?

thanks,

John


--
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William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community
network
homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm
warning: non-FreeNet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's
returned

I have noticed that when using epoxy on die cast aluminum the results are
not always good.
The same thing goes when trying to weld die cast aluminum or any castings
produced with re - cycled aluminum. Extrusion stock or investment castings
done with virgin aluminum blended with alloys can be welded and bonded with
epoxy resin much better. In order to make money die casting companies have
to use re - cycled aluminum. This is because it does not stick to the
ejection mold and production speed can be increased to maximum. On average
the composition of re - cycled aluminum contains large percentage of
manganese, iron and silicon. When involve in Military contract and similar
projects a chemical analyses certificate of the aluminum is requested and
has to be validated.

"Sal's Dad" wrote in message
...
I have tried this myself - using a grinder to "wet-sand" aluminum plate,
using resin as a wetting agent. Then mixed the epoxy directly on the
plate,
working in well.

Held up for a few years, but eventually bond broke. Of course, it may
have
had something to do with the aluminum being used as a "skid plate" under
the
bow of a plywood boat, for hard ledge landings. The 1/8 plate was worn
more
than halfway through before it de-laminated.

Good luck, and let us know how i works!

Sal's Dad


"Roger Derby" wrote in message
nk.net...
It's been suggested that one first coats the aluminum with the epoxy.
Then, while it's still liquid, scrub the aluminum with a wire brush to
cut
thru the oxidation and permit a bond to the real aluminum.

Roger (I haven't tried this, myself.)

http://home.earthlink.net/~derbyrm
"William R. Watt" wrote in message
...

There was a discussion in this newsgroup recently about gluing broken
aluminum with epoxy. It seems instantaneous oxidation of exposed
aluminum
prevents a good bond with epoxy.

John McCoy ) writes:
I have an aluminum casting which has broken. Does anyone have any
experiences or recommendations on the likelyhood of success, glueing
it back together with epoxy? I have West System on hand, and can
fairly easily get other products (e.g. Aluminax). Any tips,
techniques, or pitfalls I should be aware of?

thanks,

John


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William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community
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homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm
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returned

System Three makes a product called Met Weld. I have no experience with
it but it might be worth investigating.