Aluminum OFW fluxes

By Chris04 Date 08-26-2003 17:48

Hello,

Has anybody ever actually seen aluminum flux for oxyfuel welding? I've been to 4 welding stores now, and none of the store-owners have had the foggiest clue as to what I was asking for. I've also searched online for stores that sell welding consumables, and haven't found any that sell the stuff. Supposedly Harris still makes a flux called "Welco 10 flux" for OFW Al, but I haven't been able to find any stores online who carry it.

Please - can anybody offer some assistance here? Thanks.

Chris Maier

By 357max

Date 08-26-2003 19:13

MG welding products has MG 410 flux and MG 460 liquid brazing flux for their MG 410 & 420 aluminum brazing alloys. The old Linde company had Oxweld aluminum flux. Another alternative is to use aluminum SMAW electrodes. Start out with a very soft flame with an excess acetylene feather (1 1/2X) the inner cone. This avoids all possibility of having an oxidizing flame. After welding use lots of hot water and scrub all traces of flux off the aluminum. For a real blast from the past, use oxygen and hydrogen using a cobalt blue filter lens (if you can find them) in your goggles. Burning Hydrogen shows no color in any other colored filter. It burns invisible. OF welding of Al is not easy and not cheap. Hope this helps.

By Chris04 Date 08-26-2003 20:15

Hi 357max,

You can say that again! OFW Aluminum is prolly the toughest welding challenge I've ever faced next to trying to weld 1/2" diameter EMT (conduit) using SMAW :) - but hey, that's what makes it so interesting.

I've read that Al SMAW electrodes will work well for OFW, but given that I've only seen them in 1/8" or larger sizes, I think it would be too hard to use them on thin stuff. Plus, they're pretty pricy for an electrode anyhow.

If I saw Cobalt Blue lenses in a welding shop, I'd buy up every last one in stock! I had a chance once to look through a pretty thick piece of a cobalt blue lense - the type chemists use to detect sodium with - while pointing a torch directly at a piece of aluminum fluxed with borax and it was incredible how well it filtered out all of the flare. But, I've been told that they were taken off the market for safety reasons. Oh well.

Thanks for the info. I'll have to see if I can find some of the brazing fluxes from MG.

Chris Maier

By flashburner1 (*)

Date 08-26-2003 23:40

Look here,
http://www.aladdin3in1.com/catalog7.htm or (and) here
http://www.tinmantech.com/html/aluminum_gas_welding__brazing_.html
Hope this helps,
Brian