Welding Question

[109 Pretender]

alum. types

Another thought on welding alum. You have to know what alloy the base metal is - there are a zillion types of alum. out there. Here's a couple common ones:

1100 series - pure alum. not used for cars except maybe some trim stuff
3003 series - most common for auto body manufacturer (especially hand beaten panels (not used on Rovers)
6000 series (6061) this is what we call 'the good stuff' and what most people buy - wrongly I might add. However, it's a good match for the Rover "Birmabrite" aircraft alloy used on our vehicles.

Each of the above are avail in dead soft, naturally aged , and artifical aged. 3003-H14 is a half hard naturally aged body grade alum. that works well and accepts compound curves w/o cracking. 6061-T6 is full hard, chemically aged aircraft alum. that shouldn't be bent around too much because it cracks very easily. But hey, our Rovers have mostly flat panels - the Brits know their metals inside and out and they used the best grades of materials in the proper application - they can lay a mean bead too!

cheers

[SafeAirOne]

the Brits....used the best grades of materials in the proper application

Hmmm.....

[109 Pretender]

He,He... well, Safe caught me on that one... Forgot to mention that LR many times fell short on execution! So, good materials still require thoughtful execution - i.e. like using good alum. body panels, galv. steel cappings but disregarding electrolysis that is unavoidable in a salty/wet environment that Rovers like to play in. Well, beancounters really are the bane of all good design efforts.

On a side note: Do you realize that if MG had spent as much on the MG midget as Porsche has on the 911 family tree - the MG would be able to travel at superluminal speeds and we'd already have populated most of the Milky Way galaxy by now?

[Eric W S]

Another thought on welding alum. You have to know what alloy the base metal is - there are a zillion types of alum. out there. Here's a couple common ones:

1100 series - pure alum. not used for cars except maybe some trim stuff
3003 series - most common for auto body manufacturer (especially hand beaten panels (not used on Rovers)
6000 series (6061) this is what we call 'the good stuff' and what most people buy - wrongly I might add. However, it's a good match for the Rover "Birmabrite" aircraft alloy used on our vehicles.

Each of the above are avail in dead soft, naturally aged , and artifical aged. 3003-H14 is a half hard naturally aged body grade alum. that works well and accepts compound curves w/o cracking. 6061-T6 is full hard, chemically aged aircraft alum. that shouldn't be bent around too much because it cracks very easily. But hey, our Rovers have mostly flat panels - the Brits know their metals inside and out and they used the best grades of materials in the proper application - they can lay a mean bead too!

cheers

You can still get Birmabright alloy from supply houses. Just google it and you will eventually come across the modern AL designation for it.

[greenmeanie]

Ok,
Just bear in mind this is not structural and not seam welding. These are the two little triangular end caps on the ends on the rear kick panel of the station wagon. If you look at where the bottom of the rear dorr brakes upwards at an angle you'll see them. I need to do about 10 plug welds on each.

The information is good but I am unwilling to buy a TIG or a spool gun for 20 odd plugs plus however many practice shots I give it on scrap pieces.

From what I see I really need the Argon, bigger dia wire and tip, plus it sounds like keeping the feed line as straight as possible might allow me to get away with it. If not I suppose I can just rivet them on.

Thanks for all the info.

[Rineheitzgabot]

Ok,
Just bear in mind this is not structural and not seam welding. These are the two little triangular end caps on the ends on the rear kick panel of the station wagon. If you look at where the bottom of the rear dorr brakes upwards at an angle you'll see them. I need to do about 10 plug welds on each.

The information is good but I am unwilling to buy a TIG or a spool gun for 20 odd plugs plus however many practice shots I give it on scrap pieces.

From what I see I really need the Argon, bigger dia wire and tip, plus it sounds like keeping the feed line as straight as possible might allow me to get away with it. If not I suppose I can just rivet them on.

Thanks for all the info.

Sounds good. One other thing, you may want to see if you can get a better liner for your lead. The plastic ones work well. There is the possiblility that you won't need it, though, so you can try it without first, lead as straight as possible, so the wire feeds easily.

Good luck, and I agree with your assessment of the situation from an economic standpoint.

[Paul 84]

I'm going to throw a monkey wrench into this long string just to get you thinking. Why not use waterproof pop rivets? Very strong, easy to use, looks good.

Rover used a lot of them.

Just a thought?

Paul