TIG welding Cast Aluminum motorcycle case?

[JBnID]

Cheaters under the hood works for some, but not for me. I have to have the magnification in the helmet and THEN will augment that with cheaters some times, but the reflections bug me.
I've used a bright work light or window for years to give me perspective. With nothing but the puddle to stare at I can't look forward to the end! It's much easier on the eyes, too. You can dial the hood tint up and still see what you're doing.

FWIW-- My very first indication of a cataract was trouble seeing the puddle while TIG welding.

[jakeru]

Here is a thread on a motorcycle crankcase cover that I repaired a while back:
http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=45036

[Rodsmachineshop]

http://youtu.be/JBkgJNEStxo repairing Brodex heads

[Jules The Great]

Yes the baking was to get the oil out first, then we cleaned with acetone, before both those steps was sandblasting. Sandblasting and cleaning with acetone alone can not get the oil that is soaked in deep out but I bet the instant you strike an arc on it the oil will blow itself and molten aluminium all over your electrode. That is why you want to back it first.

We were powder coating so I did both bakes at I think 300 or 400 degrees for every engine piece and there was no distortion that I could see when I reassembled everything.

Good luck

[Rodsmachineshop]

like it when people glass bead there stuff for me to weld .lol something glass beaded in a blasting cabinet is a pain to clean

[Rodsmachineshop]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/27-L-7-1Gall...item5d3000e385 I have a heated ultrasonic tank at the shop its great for cleaning smaller aluminum stuff for welding . I got it to clean carburetors when i rebuild them

[GUNNER]

NEVER ! EVER ! NEVER! Sandblast motorcycle cases or cylinder heads!! This may seem like a really good way to clean them up and while it does clean the surface the ill effects are long lasting and destructive beyond your wildest dreams.. What happens is the sand / Glass ( from glass beading ) embed into the pores of the aluminum and no matter how many times you clean them before assembly when they get hot and have oil inside all vibrating at frequencies perfect for dislodging this embedded time bomb and it does so much damage to bearings, cylinder bores, cams, cam bearings.. It will happen forever until you finally ditch the offending parts... How do I know this to be true? Well on this one I didn't find out first hand like most things I learn.. However a friend of mine showed up at the track many years back with a very clean looking motor in his race bike that he was so proud of and it did look nice I'll have to say... The motor expired within 1 weekend and upon inspection it was eaten alive from the inside out by GRIT! So he cleaned it all up and out and reassembled new parts into the same cases and guess what? RIGHT!!! After the 3rd build he finally gave up on ever getting this junk out of the aluminum and started with fresh cases.. Problem solved...... Did I mention he was a long time mechanic at dealership ? Goes to prove those guys don't know anymore than the rest of us and in some instances less.

When I worked in the engine shop of a professional race team as the shop fabricator and machinist we used a cleaning cabinet that used scalding hot cleaning solvent (water based ) as the blocks rotated and were jet sprayed at high pressure from every angles for something like 2 hours.. The result was aluminum blocks, heads that were completely clean from any oil deposits perfect for welding and machine work. So clean the bores would rust within 2 to 3 minutes of the time you opened the door of the cabinet if you failed to get some light oil back on them.. As nice as all this is sometimes I hate knowing these things exist because it makes working with anything less no fun at all and something I really don't even want to do. I think the word for that is spoiled! LOL

[Rodsmachineshop]

i use steel shot in my cabinets thats what most machine shops use and after blasting with shot it go to the hot jet washing cabinets for a hour or more for cleaning , even cleaning with those small brown disk pads when doing head gasket cleaning or removing gasket material is like throwing sand in the engine , i have a friend that blast cleans aluminum but he uses walnut shells for blasting media works good since leaves no crap in the aluminum and washes rite off after blasting

[Rodsmachineshop]

hey Gunner i be rite over with these case's i glass beaded for you lol

[Jules The Great]

No offense gunner but I don't see what you described as being a problem, I know you will not agree with me based on your/friends experience. If I need to clean aluminium engine parts for a motorcycle or other I would not hesitate to use sand and clean appropriately afterwards.

Once again no offense but if what you described was true you would never be able to get anything clean enough to use anywhere. Just my opinion. Obviously other blast media are available, Another thing that may have happened I only sand blasted the outside surfaces so any sand that would have touched the inside faces would not have been under pressure? Either way I would not hesitate to do it this way every time.

[Rodsmachineshop]

you will never clean better than a ultrasonic machine . i wish i would have bought one years ago i can put a 1.3 suzuki head all together with valves still in it , in my tank 1 hour later every bit of dirt and carbon is gone inside the port look like they was polished , such a cool machine , a set of carbon loaded crusty pistons and rod look like new in about an hour I use a cleaner from Tempco for aluminum works great

[CGCINC]

Now that's clean!!! Check this out------> not sure how it would work http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EH6atYydBc

I've got some ads on Craigslist for junk engine cases. This is something I really want to learn to do!

[Rodsmachineshop]

yes but he never pulled the head out to see if it was clean lol . there is some guys that have made there own with speakers and a oscillator set at 25 to 44 thousand hertz , i picked mine up for about 700 dollars on sale they have to be heated to work good since the heat opens the pores of the metal to let dirt out

[inthefrey]

$139 on ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DSA50SE-SK2-...item43a9664d4d

not very big but it'll probably do carbs...

[Rodsmachineshop]

way to small and with low watts would take forever to heat up . perfect size is 5 gallons to 8 gallons

[Rodsmachineshop]

this is the one i have works great and gets really hot fast http://www.ebay.com/itm/HUGE-25L-Lit...item231c5181f6 i made a filter system with a pump to filter the water also so get rid of dirt in tank so i dont have to drain and fill all the time

[CGCINC]

I found a local guy today that has some junk engine cases he said he would sell to me for $20 each. Not bad so I'm going to buy them Monday and get some practice on Cast!

[zoama]

I found a local guy today that has some junk engine cases he said he would sell to me for $20 each. Not bad so I'm going to buy them Monday and get some practice on Cast!

Car or small engine ?

[Rodsmachineshop]

at 20 bucks apiece your not loosing since when done can always take to a recycle place and make your money back

[Rodsmachineshop]

just be carefull if the cases have magnesium in them i weld vw case , when i weld them i have a chain hooked to them if they ignite i can drag them out side a watch burn I use AZ61A rod on vw cases and wheels with magnesium in them