As an Engineer, I have to say that this is a good upload, and will be useful to many especially bikers. The word " braze" refers to the metal "brass" and all of it's various alloys, based around copper as the single main constituent part, and brazing refers to the process of fusing a filler rod which has a lower melting point than the parts being joined together. Therefore, the word brazing, or to braze, must refer to the fusing of metal containing an alloy which includes copper, called a brazing rod. All other fusion materials are referred to by the name of their constituent parts, such as ally welding for aluminium, which is the subject of this great upload. Thanks guys.

I have used similar products over the last 40 years and it does work well. For maximum strength it is important to get the filler metal to flow right through the joint. I have made two stroke pipes with it and repaired small engine crankcases with great success...

Great video, well done. I used rods like these over 20 years ago to repair a 3" crack in an aluminum fishing boat. I had to use MAP gas to get the temp up because of the large heat sink area, and then laid on a big pool, and ground it down smooth. I left about 1.5 - 2 mm of thickness over the cracked area and feathered the edges flush. The crack was right on the bottom below the water line. I still have that boat and that repair has never leaked, cracked again, or flaked off. The repaired boat has seen some hard use and pretty rough water, always powered by a 10 hp outboard. Amazing when you think about it.

Great vid. Loved how you didn't start with an agenda, and when it impressed you, you said so. Nice to see honest reviews.

Love your understanding of the difference between 'what goes on up here and what comes out of your hands' (or words to that effect). Priceless, and something that comes with age and experience!!!

Working in a Caravan Manufacturing plant in Australia, we discovered a great technique for soldering directly to Aluminium sheeting. It involved putting some machine oil on the surface and then fine sandpaper soaked in oil to remove oxide coating. Rinse debris away with clean oil and leave covered in oil. If the cleaned area remains under oil, it never has the chance to re-oxidise (which is almost instant). We then used a large hot soldering iron and soldered directly through the oil and the solder wicked and bonded just like fresh copper. Once coated in solder, it was easy to tin and solder an earth wire onto the solder patch on the Aluminium sheet. If you could obtain a high temp oil and employ the same technique to pre-tin your surfaces with the brazing rod, you would get a proper bond. As HawkerCNC pointed out, hitting that hot joint with the wire brush while covered in melted brazing rod might also work but doesn't get rid of the oxide debris, which will contaminate your joint. The trick is a) remove oxide under oil. b) heat as fast as possible to get brazing to stick before oil boils/burns c) join tinned parts together rather than trying to do it all at once. Look forward to a follow-up. P.S. "Anthony Williams"...Should we be calling it Aluzing?

Thanks for the thorough test. I have similar rods I bought years ago and also did a similar test and was impressed also. They are good for non-cosmetic, non-structural repairs.

What you did with the alloy welding test was spot on. I have looked at getting some of those rods but to see someone actually use and test the rods out. I'm well impressed with the outcome. Thanks for the test. Keep up the good work 👍😁

As a general tinker and messer, I can only say THANK YOU. You have opened new options for me.

Thanks for the evaluation. I too bought some a few months back and haven't tried them out yet. As per your video it is a WHOLE LOT EASIER than traditional brazing and I agree that it will NEVER SURPASS real welding.😎

Thank you for a review. I was really curious how good these ally rods are. And your test proved they are worth to have for certain applications. Good work🤝

Very well done! As a do-it-yourselfer, I am new to brazing aluminum. I recently got all the materials I need to give it a try, so your excellent video is a must-see to understand the limits of this type of work. I'll be back for more education!

Well done video Sir! Clean aluminum with the oxide removed with stainless steel brush is really critical, as you were careful to point out! I personally like to pre heat the pieces with an electric heat gun, immediately following with a propane torch to make sure the metal is hot enough. The rod should melt just by touching the aluminum, the metal should be melting the rod, or it's not hot enough yet. It can be tricky with bigger pieces, because aluminum cools so quickly and immediately forms an oxidized "scale" surface layer again. That's why I like the heat gun to get it close to temp...the heat it puts out doesn't seem to oxidize the aluminum as quickly as the combustion gas flame of the torch does. Just like soldering copper, if you aren't heating the base metal hot enough to melt the solder by itself, you will get a "cold joint". Really appreciate the great video, thank you!

not a comment on the content, as interesting as it is, but rather on the overall watchability of the video. I stayed to the end largely cause of your presentation. well done.

On filling holes, try countersinking the holes to create a wider cone shaped contact area. It may be possible to countersink from both sides to create a bi-directional repair. Cool vid. handy stuff . thanks for posting. (you could attach vortex generator micro-fins onto an Aluminum-Cafe fairing, etc..)

This has been one of thé best reviews of a product I have seen in a very, very long time! Good job, Delboy!

What a beautiful workshop you got there Sir! Thank you for sharing.

Looks amazing for most decorative and many light/medium duty mechanical and static structural applications. I wouldn't try making a bicycle frame right away but sure would consider it. I'm going to get into this at a hobbiest lever anyhow. Another metal joining material that takes traditional brazing to a new level of ease and applicability is silicon bronze. One can simply use a tig welder as the heat source and melt the bronze directly to steel in a fairly rapid pace. No pre-heating or flux is needed. Just clean and hit the switch. Thanks for the post!

Thanks mate it cheers me up every time i see the coat fall pmsl

I am so glad I found this, when you were filling the holes it gave me an idea. I bought a humvee and it had lots of things attached when it was in service but now that it’s not, I have tons of random holes and I’m about to paint. This would be amazing for that purpose.

Taught me a lot about joining aluminium. The example tests were *really* good. Made the usefulness of the technique crystal clear. Thank you 👍

First time here. I'm impressed, not particularly by the aluminium brazing itself (which I have used before) but, by the way you addressed the tests and the results!

I liked how Del cleaned every piece before brazing them even though it was just an experiment. Cleanliness of base-metals before brazing is important.

What a great demonstration. By far the best one on this subject. And thank you for having hubris and just automatically discounting this method just because it's not a traditional was of mending two pieces of Aluminum. Also you have a very nice and orderly shop.👍

I really appreciate you taking your time evaluating this amazing product. Thank you!

The hole plug operation would probably yield better results if we were to countersink the hole prior to applying the brazing. The combination of angle and increased surface area should make a very significant difference.

I'm actually quite impressed! As a retired quality engineer I had my doubts about this. Perhaps if Billy Mays had been selling them, then maybe! Seriously though, I am building a flat tracker XS650 Yamaha and am considering fabricating the electrical box out of aluminum. This would be an amazing assist in that part of the project. My early years before QE work I was a certified welder. I think I'm up for this. Thanks for the excellent video!!!

This review was well worth my time, thank you for yours in testing this product.

Excellent job. Thank you for performing these test.

I keep seeing this stuff advertised and thinking it’s a load of tosh. This surprised me! Top job on the video

Now that's exactly what I wanted to see, a thorough test on something that I initially thought could be very handy, although automatically assumed that as it was advertised on Facebook it must be a scam. Thank you for taking the time to post this comprehensive video. I will definitely be buying some of these rods, especially as I now know the do's and don'ts of their capabilities.

Love the instruction! Most helpful in building my experimental aircraft. Also, the license plates on the wall are awesome!

Very informative and entertaining...I used to have to seal punctures in refrigerator evaporators from people defrosting them with ice picks...The older stuff, mostly, but some freezers still get the ice pick treatment...These are good for those type repairs, but you can easily blow a bigger hole if not careful....The strength of other joints, like demonstrated here, I wondered about, but now I know....My thanks to the gent that made this video....I enjoyed it and learned while watching it too.

You did exactly the same thing that I did when I tried the rods. You brought the parent metal almost up to temp and then put on the rod BUT you kept applying heat to the area. I found (Though I'm no expert) that if you bring the metal up to temp and remove the heat the rod will melt nicely. Every time you add heat during soldering you make any penetration a little less then it should be and when you add the heat the parent metal is not quite ready to melt the rod on it's own. I hope this makes sense to anyone Harold from Canada

Brilliant vid , had my doubts for tasks needed but im completely sold now.

I was very skeptical, but after your demonstration I feel a lot better about this. Thanks for the demonstration. I'm going to use it for a prototype that requires a lot of connections for strength, similar to the connections used in a truss. This is a solution and a bit of a miracle, and I'm very excited about this. I see that surface preparation is the most important factor, and certainly worth taking the extra time to get it all scratched up and clean, because the areas where it peeled away were not fully prepared. I really like the additional helpful tips at the end of the video, where you mention overlapping, drilling holes, and flowing in between. For the in-between, I can make some deep scores and fill them in. This gives me ideas for all kinds of things to try and I think my connections will be very strong. Thank you!

Well done review, thanks! It surprised me as well, and I may try it to repair some curb rash on my car's rims (cosmetic damage only).

I've been welding for 50 years and had some success with aluminium brazing using high silicon rods (not sure if that's what these are), especially on some cast alloys that are not readily weldable. I also studied metallurgy as an engineering student. Your test looks impressive, but I can say for sure that the success of this will depend very strongly on the grade of aluminium alloy you are going on to. There are so many different types of aluminium alloys, cast and wrought, heat-treatable and non-heat--treatable, all of which have different constituents and different behaviour in response to heat, and the strength of the joint will depend on the metallic solution that occurs at the interface of the braze and the component - this is much more complicated with aluminium alloys than with steels! Many also change with time, due to solution hardening over some days or weeks, so even if you get a strong job on day 1 it might not be so good on day 30. It would be helpful to know what alloys you used in these tests, if you had that information. So in general, I'd say use it with caution and not on anything that will cause you an injury if it breaks! Or if you are going to do a test piece to check its strength, check it again after a few weeks. If you have quite a bit of work to do, you could invest in a cheap TIG welder, even as a newbie you'll have more confidence in your work. Mind you even then, the brazing will solve some aluminium joining problems that you can't TIG weld! Especially broken castings. In the end it all really comes down to the alloys you are trying to join. Happy brazing!

I've been waiting for someone I trust to review these rods 👍🏻

Bravo!! Very insightful video that defines the working envelope where you can and cannot use this method.. thank you!

Thanks. I just ordered some of these rods, myself. Good to see that they work.

Great video. ! Back in world war 2 they aircraft manufacturers used oxye- acetylene torches with a slightly carborizing flame to join aluminium together. This included tubing frames or space frames also used in early race cars. This 2nd all before tig or heliarc welding was invented. The process you are using is actually a bonding process as no fusion takes place. If the joints are done with a small torch tip to control the heat more precisely, Excellant results can be done. I'm a metalergist and certified welding instructor and built race cars and bikes with about all welding processes. A fuel tank properly designed to eliminate fatigue and stress would be fine with these rods. Keep the videos coming. It was good watching the destructive testing.

Nice one Del! Finally got a cordless drill mate!!

This was a great demonstration...thank you!

Sir this was Practical Video 👌, of Aluminum Brazings/Weldings, Video is Super, You've explained clearly,👍

Great test! I'm sure there are ways you can make the welds stronger. Like making holes wider with a countersink (beveled edge).

This reminds me of when I was 10 years old and experimenting with a soldering iron, solder and copper wire. I'm surprised how well this seems to hold, it didn't look like it flowed particularly brilliantly into the joint during heating. Kudos to it tho

Nicely done. The video left me with a tactile sense of the strengths and limitations of this joining method.

Screw flex tape/seal this is the best stuff I've seen for cheap quick small aluminum boat repairs. Thanx for the info

First used rods of this sort about 40-odd years ago. The latest incarnations are better. I have repaired broken crankcases with this stuff and it does work... I have also made aluminium tuned expansion chamber exhausts for small racing two stroke engines with it too. Works a treat. Like all soldering, cleanliness is the story. It doesn't seem to flow by capillary action as well as soft solder, but that depends a bit on temperature..... It's good stuff eh? Nearly as good as a weld... The "stronger than the parent metal" would only apply to very soft (pure) aliminium, but it brazes up alloys too..... Yes the Chinese ones work fine...... The rod alloy has zinc in it.... Use it like solder stress-wise....

If THIS was their advertising, I would have been using this for years. The perfection they claim in their marketing has scared me off this while time.

Very useful experiment, nicely done 👍 nice shop 👍 Another important tip to mention is to keep those brazing rods very clean as well. Thanks for sharing !

Lots of great simple to understand information, your videos should be considered the gold standard of how to effectively share knowledge with others on youtube, thanks mate

Im impressed , its a good get me home when overlanding !

Once more, wisdom imparted to the masses. As an ASME code and X-ray quality pressure vessel welder for many years, before I made the transition to a white collar, I have a few observations. Any metal joining process is stronger if it can be done to both sides of a stressed joint, even butt joints. During fit-up, leave a tiny gap so the filler material can flow in to make a 100% joint, and don't go back over an area to add more filler material. Use the flame to preheat the joint, then heat the rod slightly, and when it starts to flow run it the length of the joint to create a slightly rounded outer face, on both sides. You mentioned Rickman Metisse. They created chrome-moly frames bronze welded (it was really brazed with special rod) that really were stronger than the parent material. Great job, really dig your channel, and keep up the good work!

This video was absolutly excellent. EXACTLY what one wanted to learn.....BRILLIANT.

Thank you for this vid. You provided a ton of useful information in a way that the average DIY'er can understand.

Mate, I’ve watched and LEARNT a lot from you and for that, I thank you. Having said that, the last time I watched was when you were in that pokey little garage and gee you’ve improved in your accomodation. Well done.

Try using a couple pieces of ceramic tile between the aluminum and the jaws of your vice or clamps to prevent heat transfer from the aluminum to the clamp or vice. It will also help with temp stability of the aluminum.

This is quite possibly the best review and testing of these aluminum rods that I've seen to date - hands-on, and addressing all of the questions and potential scenarios that one would expect with these - good job!

very nicely done sir...and great demo...thank you...all the best.

That stuff is pretty good actually ,way better than I expected

I ran a brazing machine for 39 years and have seen these rods for the past 20 years but have never tested them I satisfied with what you’ll do with them. But I wouldn’t put my life on the line with them as you’ve said.

Wonderful demonstration. Thx

Awesome video. Your energy is infectious. You looked like a kid on Christmas. Keep 'em coming

This is interesting and I'd like to experiment with it myself. I've always either used a TIG or Acetylene/Air to weld aluminum. The Acetylene/Air method is a lost art. I haven't met many who can weld aluminum with that method.

Just a thought, as far filling holes to polish over maybe if you countersink the hole you should be able to polish down to surface level without the weld/braze falling through

I had been wondering about this product, I have a project in mind that requires Al rather than ferrous metal. Stronger than I had initially thought. Thank you.

I've been looking for this test for a long time! Excellent and thx for your video. Very usefull and helpfully!

Very nice video. This technique definitely has its uses and the author clearly explains the limitations. A few observations: this technique is indeed a form of brazing. Brazing is a handy technique for attaching non structural elements. For example, a type of metallic fairing used for aerodynamics could be attached by brazing. One thing I would caution about heating aluminum with a torch is that you are annealing the base metal. Most aluminum alloys get their strength from some form of heat treatment, which you are undoing by the application of heat even if well below the melting point. To regain the initial mechanical strength, the structure would have to be precipitation hardened by heating in an autoclave and cooling at a controled rate. The metal can then be "aged" by heating it at a low temperature in a conventional oven for a few hours. I mention this because aluminum typically has a yield strength at about 50% of steel, so further compromising the mechanical strength (and stiffness) through annealing may render the bonded area unsuitable for its intended application.

That was interesting. I never did much work in aluminium other than just bend the stuff. Nice one.

Love this segment, I got this aluminium rod to repair a pontoon tank, works great, also know what you mean by it takes time, i once had a miller 250 with spoolgun, 12 gas bottles so i could do almost anything, a plasma cutter, and gas welding , brazing. all in all i had 17 gas bottles, i could weld anything and everything i wasnted to or ever needed to. lost it all in a divorce....starting over now and still have a very long way to go yet.... i;m now 64 yrs old, and trust me, it will all come, i will never give up working with my hands. I love making things with metal.... better than wood lol.... keep the faith my friend and love the channel.

I remember seeing a similar product come out in the early 80’s. As a young man who enjoyed putting things together i saved my pennies and mail ordered some. I wasn’t very knowledgeable then and a bit impatient and never did have much luck with it. But this is the second video tonight ive seen on similar products. Both with good successes so im going to have to try it again. Great video by the way

That looks pretty promising. I going to try it myself

That is impressive! There are a lot of applications where that is more then adequate. Great video

Thanks, have been looking at that rod for a bit, and read the specs, your demo sold me.

Really well done vid, real world test, no BS. See this stuff in Demo at the swap meets all the time, but never a strength test like you have done. Need to run out and try it now for myself. Thanks!!

I’ve used these rods for fixing a radiator hole and a broken engine casing,where you will struggle in any thing large will not get hot enough and you will need lots of blow lamps heating the whole thing.i thought they where fantastic

You should have read the instruction . Your aluminum was not hot enough. You made the number 1 mistake BY INTRODUCING THE ROD INTO THE FLAME try it again. 1st you the brush to remove the oxidation 2nd heat booth pieces up to 730 degrees then and only then run the rod through the area to be brazed. you will find a much different result. cheers

Thank you, you answered all my questions, and probably saved my life if I'm being perfectly honest, lol!

This is great. I have the same kit - bought it quite some time ago, but then changed direction on a project and didn't use it. Now I have been inspired by your video I'll have to dig it out and get going with it.

Thank you I wanted to see if they work .. light Duty work and depending on heat ,duration, and cleaning the pice proper....maybe the weld floats on top of the flux giving you a cold joint ,,,? But over all it could be useful for different jobs and tempered hardness,!.

I had on old Honda Dream that had a float bowl with a pin hole in it, this would be perfect to fix that type of leak.

Great test. Just what I needed to know for my project. THANKS!

Nice video :) I really enjoyed It, I am a Retired Female Operating Industrial Engineer with 45 years of Experience, I Have Arc welded Aluminum, Gas welded Aluminum, Mig welded and Tig Welded aluminum , Nice to see a Type of Braze for Aluminum :) it does have its Place for some repairs Like aluminum Radiators where there is not a lot of Stress on the metal , Keep up the Great Videos, Chellie

I just built a hang glider after watching the beginning of this video. I'll watch the rest after I get back from my hang glider test run.

I’ve used this many times on stripped out threads on lawnmowers and chainsaws. Clean out hole with CRC Brakleen heat it up, fill it in drill and retap.

Watching the Educational video for the second time and learning. Thanks, buddy. Your demo is quite impressive.

Thanks for this video. I've been driving myself crazy looking at these (or similar) online and you've made me spend money :)

Impressive stuff!

Hey! Seriously impressed by your test-welding today. I agree with you that it wouldn’t be feasible for stress-related welds but ideal for panel work/bodywork jobs. I’m going to try it myself. Cheers for the video

Ste Walley I'm impressed, it's something that 'could' be useful to most. Thanks for the in put

Amazing vid, and answers some questions I had about my ideas of making a stronger joint, such as flowing the solder between the pieces. Plus, I love the idea of drilling pockets to strengthen in even more.

I was dubious but that'll do what I need,.cheers🙂

DO NOT GET RIPPED OFF! - #1. The metal has to be VERY clean. #2. This is just plain old zinc rod worth about $1.85 per pound. Flux = zinc chloride 10% + lithium chloride 90% - use this flex very sparingly, 1 ounce of this flux will probably yield 100 feet of linear weld area. Dip zinc rod into flux when rod is pre-heated hot enough so that the flex sticks. EASY and CHEAP, works get. Just remember the most important step, use a wire brush and make sure the metal is clean clean clean, very CLEAN! Must be a stainless steel wire wheel or brush. Don't get ripped off, zinc is dirt cheap. Hint: A US zinc penny works fine for small jobs if fluxed and cleaned.

Best video about this product so far ! Great job !

Wow !!thank you for the education! I have some aluminum cages to repair and I will certainly use these weld sticks

Thats convinced me, good video Im off to buy some of those rods

Thanks for doing this. I always wondered how good this stuff was. Exceeds my expectations and would have its uses for non-structural work. I think I'll go ahead and get some, but I'll get a tig welder (and learn how to use it properly) first. BTW, I read somewhere that you have to use a stainless steel brush because an ordinary steel or brass brush will transfer and corrupt the joint. Massively impressed with your setup BTW. I dream of a proper lathe etc. :)

Thank's for sharing this, I've actually watched a demo previously and bought similar rods but not progressed further to trying it but you presented it in such a way I'm now confident to use it for some more cosmetic joining which would be much better to the pop rivet alternative. Very impressed, likes and subscribed.