Repairing diecast, aluminium, pot metal and cast iron

Advice and guidance on repair and restoration techniques.
tazmantic
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Re: Pot Metal / Die Cast welding repair rods

Post by tazmantic »

Yeah, I have seen this stuff but not sure if it's available in the UK !PUZZLED! but you can get Durafix. I think it might be similar.
pennymachines
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Re: Pot Metal / Die Cast welding repair rods

Post by pennymachines »

It's very similar to the zinc alloy HTS-2000 I've been experimenting with (topic merged above).

It claims a slightly lower working temperature of 350º versus HTS-2000's 380°C - 408°C, which could be helpful.
Unlike my rods, it comes with a pot of flux. This offers several advantages. The flux "turns from powder to liquid at the exact moment when the rod should be applied" helping you to judge temperature - particularly important on aluminium which doesn't glow red before melting. It prevents re-oxidation of the aluminium during the braze (obviating the fiddly wire brushing of the molten join), and it helps the molten rod flow.

Price-wise however, it doesn't compare favourably in the UK.
5 x 24cm HTS-2000 rods for £12 (from ebay or http://www.aluminiumrods.co.uk/)
5 x 18" Muggy Weld rods plus flux for £66.10 (from Caswell).
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gameswat
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Re: Pot Metal / Die Cast welding repair rods

Post by gameswat »

These rods work great because it's so important to keep the pot metal as cool as possible to stop it cracking or exploding. As for price, no other product has worked for me, so not an issue. Previously I would either glue, and/or bolt together the breaks. I was so happy with these rods I eventually tried all the other products made by Muggy Weld and have had great success with them all. Have used a hell of a lot of their Silver Solder to restore small cast iron breaks and stainless steel repairs. But PM, I do also use a different brand of rod for alloy welding.
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Re: Pot Metal / Die Cast welding repair rods

Post by pennymachines »

Agreed - if it does the job, it's well worth it.
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gameswat
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Re: Pot Metal / Die Cast welding repair rods

Post by gameswat »

I just looked into the other alloy rods I've been using for the last 3 years and they're actually HTS 2000. They seem to work very well.
tazmantic wrote:Yeah have seen this stuff but not sure if its available in the uk but you can get durafix think it might be similar
No agent in Aust either, I just buy online from the states.
tazmantic
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Re: Pot Metal / Die Cast welding repair rods

Post by tazmantic »

Bought some HTS2000 rods off evil bay, well think they are as listing has now been changed lol and have been having a try to see what happens, managed to weld 2 bits of ally no problem and the weld was really strong gave it the hammer test and the ally just bent and weld stayed intact :)
So thought I'd have a go on some scraps of pot metal well ain't that a different story as said the pot metal and rods melt at about the same temp so before you know it these a big blob lol. It says in the instructions with pot metal to actually melt the rod with the flame then heat it all and try to like mix it together with a piece of steel !OMFG! I sort of had some success but its tricky as think my blow torch flame is too big really need a fine flame.
I did successfully fix a lever off an air rifle, the boss was quite hefty so didn't melt quickly but lever did :( so I made a new lever out of ally and welded it on to the pot metal boss worked a treat !!THUMBSX2!!
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treefrog
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Re: Repairing diecast, aluminium, pot metal and cast iron

Post by treefrog »

Digging up old topic, I was interested whether anyone had attempted to have a go on a precious part other than Gameswat great resto of that figure. Especially what the original poster mentioned and a common issue in our world, cracked rather than broken castings.

The Muggy Weld product sounded excellent with the use of flux and lower temperature, but I could find no supplier in the U.K., they use to sell on Amazon Uk, but saw this on their website
Contains cadmium. Super Alloy 1 cannot be imported to countries in the EU due to import regulations
, maybe that will change in 3 days time, but I doubt.

They have great advice sheet though on how to use and mention that a crack needs to be thoroughly prepared and rubbed down inside, which means making the crack larger to get a file in. Also the products are not suitable for cast aluminium, except
For castings thicker than 1/8″ we recommend beveling the base metal with a grinder prior to soldering
https://www.muggyweld.com/wp-content/up ... ctions.pdf

Before I destroy a poinsettia casting, thought I would check any results |/XX\|
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gameswat
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Re: Repairing diecast, aluminium, pot metal and cast iron

Post by gameswat »

Tree, the Super Alloy 1 isn't what you want for this job I think. Fine if you are painting or plating the repair, but the colour of the product will not match cast aluminium when polished or burnished, it darkens the way pot metal does. You'd need to either use the Muggy Weld 5 alloy rods. But those need much higher temperature, a little lower than the cast aluminium melting point. I've done it but you need an oxy torch to get enough heat to something the size of a slot casting. And with that much heat you 'll often cause some kind of warping with such old castings. Alloy Tig welding would likely be a much safer option, but I'm not sure how that colour matches to old cast alloy?
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gameswat
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Re: Repairing diecast, aluminium, pot metal and cast iron

Post by gameswat »

Tree, the HTS2000 rods are good for repairing aluminium damage and making things, but again a terrible match colour wise for cast alloy. I would never try and use these on the exterior of any castings that are to be left raw. I recently had to fill some drill holes in an almost 100 year old cast alloy panel and chose to make my own plugs from old castings to fill the voids. I slightly chamfered the holes both sides and then gently rivetted the plugs into place, then ground back the detail with a die grinder. Effect is pretty much invisible. And no heat placed in the middle of delicate castings which would definitely have caused warping and possibly cracking.
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treefrog
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Re: Repairing diecast, aluminium, pot metal and cast iron

Post by treefrog »

Thanks GM, it has answered the question as around delicate castings as this would probably have been my main concern given how thin some are and of course colour matching.

I guess the alloy 1 would be good for pot metal parts, not that we can get here
youngerap
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Re: Repairing diecast, aluminium, pot metal and cast iron

Post by youngerap »

This has just popped up on my Facebook:

https://www.antasie.co.uk/products/solu ... 0943784020

Claims it can be used to repair pot metal...
stoxman22
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Re: Repairing diecast, aluminium, pot metal and cast iron

Post by stoxman22 »

I have some of this stuff on the way. I will give it a try on some old Beromat bits....
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treefrog
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Re: Repairing diecast, aluminium, pot metal and cast iron

Post by treefrog »

I am sure these low temperature welding rods have been discussed before on here....I have tried similar products mixed success
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badpenny
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Re: Repairing diecast, aluminium, pot metal and cast iron

Post by badpenny »

Without going into great detail, I doubt it.
Normally this stuff works by heating up the piece and then drawing the stick across it to melt it onto/into the work piece.
Applying heat direct to the rod merely melts it into globules which then sit on top of the work. Then due to the difference in heat it contracts and falls off.
Applying heat direct to Mazak is fraught with excitement and I fully expect it to have a similar if not lower melting point than these brazing rods.
Anything is possible of course within the laws of physics, and I'm sure reconstituting Monkey Metal is one of them.
However I suspect the resources of NASA and access to the contacts book of an Emeritus Professor in Metallurgy is the ticket to successfully and repeatedly achieving it.
I of course would sell any of your Grandmothers to find the secret.
So here's hoping.

BP
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gameswat
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Re: Repairing diecast, aluminium, pot metal and cast iron

Post by gameswat »

Not sure why I bother posting BP when nobody reads..... :!?!: Example of pot metal welding repairs
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badpenny
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Re: Repairing diecast, aluminium, pot metal and cast iron

Post by badpenny »

What ho! Young man, how are you keeping?

In the twelvety years I've been on this forum, I've probably only written a dozen different posts and just repeated the same old dross (most would confirm that) every few months.
I think the true value in this forum is that newcomers to the hobby stumbling across the same train of problems are able to find advice and solutions from those who have stumbled this way before.
You alone have contributed over 700 into questions & answers. So thanks for that.
My frustration is that the search facility here is as satisfying as one of those allwins with a pin nailed over every cup and either side of the flag above the lose hole. It seems you do a lot of work preparing the search only to watch it bounce around and show you nothing. I suppose it explains why so many start a new thread rather than dig out an existing one.
But good stuff is worth repeating!

I do recall asking you a question a few years ago, which I guess you're still thinking about. I commented that I have a cousin living in Perth Australia (name of Bill Smith) I enquired if you knew him? I've always imagined you were waiting until you've met everybody before answering.

!THUMBS!
pennymachines
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Re: Repairing diecast, aluminium, pot metal and cast iron

Post by pennymachines »

badpenny wrote: Mon Dec 07, 2020 2:13 pm My frustration is that the search facility here is as satisfying as one of those allwins with a pin nailed over every cup and either side of the flag above the lose hole. It seems you do a lot of work preparing the search only to watch it bounce around and show you nothing. I suppose it explains why so many start a new thread rather than dig out an existing one.
Oops! Now you've offended the PennyMachine Robot. !!SHIT!!
She says no search was required, as it was in the topic.
Usually I think it's the ever diminishing 'search facility' between our ears that lets us down, plus a tendency to post first and search later, or not at all. The Forum Site Search provides fine-grained filtering of results and seems fairly efficient to me. Give an example of a search which doesn't return the results it should and I'll see if it can be improved.

I added a link today to moonriver's reply to arrgee about the giant Gemini bandit. A Google search for 'Gemini one arm bandit' was unsuccessful, but 'Gemini' was enough to find it with the site search. Of course, once you realize you should look for 'Gemini's big ben', Google comes up trumps.
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treefrog
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Re: Repairing diecast, aluminium, pot metal and cast iron

Post by treefrog »

I know a lot of effort goes into trying to move useful info into similar threads or categories, but often the biggest issue when searching is knowing what has been written before for the search criteria as many times something you want to know could be written in different way, spelling or terms used.
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gameswat
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Re: Repairing diecast, aluminium, pot metal and cast iron

Post by gameswat »

Here I was thinking I had greatest posts, the best posts, very very beautiful posts, in fact even the post office officials thought my posts were the biggliest and mostliest they'd ever seen....... !OMFG!
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