How can I weld this?

[.RC.]

I have a cracked handpiece of a sprayer....The replacement part is $50..

Is not broken right through just cracked...

How can I firstly identify whether is is zinc based or aluminium based and can it be welded/brazed...

I tried silver solder on a separate non vital area of the handpiece and it was a spectacular failure...It wouldn't stick...

[rolland]

I would try an epoxy such as JB weld, (if you can get that down there.) Or something simular to that compound. I have had good luck on those what I call (nonweldable) metals.

[DENedbalek]

That looks like the kind of repairs I've made using TIG with aluminum filler.

Dwayne

[wierdscience]

Looks a lot like aluminum to me.

[Carld]

If you had not V'ed it out you could have TIGed it without adding any metal. Just flowed it together like brazing a part.

Damn I love TIG. Everytime I TIG something it just amazes me. I just wish I was real good at it.

[R W]

(if you can get that down there.)

It Is Available Down There.

[MuellerNick]

whether is is zinc based or aluminium based

By guessing or calculating the specific weight. They are quite different. If it feels too heavy for aluminium, it is zinc.


Nick

[luthor]

If you can weigh it accurately you can use the formula I posted here to determine the material. If it does turn out to be aluminium I would tig it with 5% silicon aluminium filler wire. http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/sho...t=39631&page=2

[JoeLee]

I doubt it's aluminum being a cast part. My past experience with stuff like that tells me it's either die cast zinc or magnesium. I would tig it but you might end up with poor results due to contamination in the crack and any anodizing on the outside.
It would have to be veed out and properly cleaned before any attempts are made. Forget the JB weld crap... thats just glue, won't hold a thing. What you might try is that zinc rod that you use with a propane torch. Miracal rod or Alladin I think are some of the trade names. LIke an aluminum solder. Being a tig welder I despise the stuff. I used it once in repairing the housing of an old Trav A Dial that I new I couldn't tig.

JL..................

[Scishopguy]

A guy who is really good with a tig machine can even weld pot metal back together. One of the weldors at a plant I once worked at repaired a cast aluminum trunk hinge from an old late 40's car. It was a strap hinge that one leg had cracked off. He made a mandrel from a piece of sheet metal, bent to match the radius of the trunk lid, laid the parts on it and very gently heated them, adding rod a little at a time. Once it cooled and was sanded smoothe, the only way you could tell it was repaired was the color of the patch that was a little brighter than the old material.