Wonder if anyone here has experience of TIG brazing high tensile steel tubes? If so whats the best filler to use? Have done quite a bit of repair work using No 8, but it doesnt seem to that suitable for brazing tubes.
Just remembered. Hotrodder replied to a post regarding Brazing with a TIG after I said #8 didn't wet out as much as Gas Rod. A forum search will find it
SIF recommend albronze #32 for this sort of application... http://www.weldability-sif.com/media/sif_tips/sif_tips_02_tig_brazing.pdf. It was years ago (when i first heard about TIG brazing) but my local suppliers gave me a couple of samples to try reckoning i'd find it better than sifbronze #2 with oxyfuel. Was probably me as it took me a while to 'get' TIG brazing but i couldn't get it to work as well as oxyfuel for fillet brazing/bronze welding.
There's a thread or two around on albronze, Drains is/was using it for a job- application is different but IIRC he got better results using 'mixed AC' (can't remember what Lorch call it but like Kemppis MIX TIG?) as the recommended AC didn't offer enough arc focus
I can TIG braze reasonably well, and just wondered if anyone had experience of using the process on tubes. Not going to be as fast as oxy-acetylene with a gas fluxer, but gas fluxers seem pretty costly, and I already have a Fronious Magicwave TIG set..............
I was talking about tube work. As i said it might have been me but i couldn't it to work as well as oxyfuel. Knocked up a buch of coupons and after cutting them up decided i'd stick with oxyfuel for this sort of work- the TIG wires don't wet out as well and the more focused heat source doesn't help. Thin sheet metal work on the other hand and it's great
I'd try and cadge a length or two of Albronze #32 off your local supplier to test. It's mechanical properties are much closer to SIFbronze #2 and it's more free flowing than #8
I have some 32 and will give it a try when I have a moment.........but would agree its probably not going to be as good as oxy-acetylene. I met up with an ex Rickman frame builder a couple of months ago, and he can gas flux braze a frame together very nicely, in not much more time than you would take with MIG!
I am in the early stages of designing a frame, and no real point in trying out production methods until I have got a lot further with it. Might even end up making it out of ERW and using MIG, as there are an awful lot of frames made in this way, which seem to work just fine, with low production costs.