Yellow Tanks & Special Rods Re: [sdiy] Aluminum Solder

[media.nai at rcn.com]

>Once here at the LA County Fair I bought an"Aluminum
>Welding Kit" that was a yellow butane type handheld torch tank
>with the high-heat burning gas mixture and what looked like a
>handfull of aluminum alloyish brazing bars.

Radio Shack used to sell a micro torch that used a combination of butane
and  some sort of "oxygen" using two little tanks that looked like CO2
cartridges used in pellet guns and bar bottles.  I don't know if it is
still available, or whether or not it can braze aluminum.

>>This may seem a bizarre thing to contemplate but is it
>>possible to get an alloy & flux that would allow one to solder aluminium?

Yes, but I doubt you could use an electric soldering iron.

>>I've never heard of such a thing but since jewelers have all kinds of
>>ways of joining various metals I'm wondering if it were possible.

Afaik, most jewelers torches use oxyacetylene.  You can braze aluminum with
an oxyacetylene torch using a carburizing flame.  I know this because I've
been reading about welding in case I have to build my own rack to make the
world's flattest MOTM system, or use it on this brick I'm fixing if
fiberglass doesn't work.

Anyway, the least expensive gas welding system is "benzomatic" which is a
torch that can use either a combination of MAPP and O2, or propane or O2.
MAPP produces a hotter flame than propane.  Since professional welders do
not use such a system, I've had trouble getting good technical information.
So I do not know if it can weld aluminum.  It's most commonly used to braze
copper water pipes using lead wire with an acid flux.