How to fix aluminum boat holes with Alumaloy Brazing Rods. No welder needed. Cheap Aluminum Welding
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- čas přidán 12. 05. 2020
- Heres how you can easily fix your aluminum boat holes and leaking rivets. Aluminum brazing is a step below aluminum welding, and anyone can do it. No fancy tools, or welders needed. There's several brands out there. I used Alumaloy brazing rods in this fix.
Link to the rods and map gas I used I used:
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Map Gas: amzn.to/3s7CVMT
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To make this a whole lot easier here are the steps for a future rivet repair.
1. Use an angle grinder with a stainless wirewheel that is brand new
2. Then clean with acetone
3. Then use a flux to break up the oxides
4. Then heat up the area and apply the brazing rod
You will be amazed at how much quicker the rod “flows” when you do these steps
Thank you for the idea. I was thinking exactly that, FLUX. Thanks again.!
There’s flux already in these rods. At least the ones I buy
@@trumpking4874 Not all rods have flux. But additional flux never hurts.
Very nice, thanks for taking the time teach us this way of doing it.
Thanks from Puerto Rico
A very informative video here buddy, but great to know out there with people having an issue as far as expenses goes for doing this by welding etc, because I would expect it would be fairly expensive, great to be back watching more of your content again, its been a little while. Thank you for sharing, thumbs up #11 by me
I know someone who needed 5 rivets welded, and was quoted $150 from a welder. This costs less than $25. Thanks for checking it out
@@precisionanglingYT no problem buddy
THANK YOU FOR YOUR VIDEO, NOW I KNOW HOW TO KEEP THE RIVITS STILL IN, AND WELD THEM, HAVE SEVEN RIVITS, TO GET DONE. AWSOME VIDEO👍😎
Great video. I was looking for exactly this because ive never used the brazing rods before.
Thanks
Awesome repair....I've seen Kayak welding ( Plastic) but the first Aluminum repair...seen alot of make shift repairs but this is the ticket...
Much better than paying someone a couple hundred dollars to fix a few holes
@@precisionanglingYT yes sir.
I'd drill the rivets and put new solid ones in, maybe add a little epoxy of something to the shake of the rivet before installing.
That’s the right way. Only braze cracks
What kind of epoxy u use on rivets?
@@joshanderson924 3M 5200.
@@thesleep6408 thanks!
@@joshanderson924 yes sir. Good luck.
Very good. I have my own machine shop, I use silver solder and flux but you just taught me something.
It’s handy for us non machine shop / welding folks!!
Great job,and it looks really solid 👊👍💪
Haven’t had one fail yet
Some great information my friend thanks buddy 👍👍
Thanks John
Great how to on how to aluminum braze. But as far as repairing rivets, it’s best to drill the out and replace with another solid rivet. Bucking bars, air hammers and solid rivets are all cheap on amazon
Good Job. I have a neat aluminum canoe. The inside was lined with a rubber type paint like flex seal, that works good also.
That works!
Turned out nice. Good info to know. 👍🍻
It will save you some money if you need a repair.
Good video. I am about to tackle the same on a 1950's Grumman 8' aluminum sailing dinghy.
Nice!! good luck
hello, thanks for this suggestion! I may give it a go. I'm wondering if you can follow this up with a video of an OLD fix using this same method? Thanks!
Great video thank you
Great to know, awesome video! That’s so cool that you’ve kept that boat and that second hit did look great. 👍
I’ll always have that boat. It’s a part of me now!!
@Morgan Yael wtf
that vid helped me alot. thanks
Excellent!
Thanks
Nice DIY! Never used this method myself but have fixed several boat holes by inserting a machine screw in the hole with a washer on each side, rubber cement to provide a seal.
That’ll work!! Thanks for checking this one out
Concise! TY.
Awesome 👍👍
Good Job thanks
Thanks for checking it out
Good to see this done. Just a thought. Wouldn't it be better just to replace the rivets. Drill them out then just pop them off and replace with a larger one if needed. But i guess if you gotta buy the rivet gun and the right rivets it probably cost about the same to do it the way you did. The brazing was certainly faster though
I tried basic rivets and they lasted about 2 seasons with minimal use before breaking. I’m sure if you had access to industrial rivers, them would work better. I haven’t had one of these let go yet. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment
@@precisionanglingYT you can make a dimpled die and have a friend hold a sledgehammer against the other side of the rivet and strike the dimple die with a hammer to tighten rivets back up. How good does the alumiweld hold up?
I bought brazing rods years ago. The directions said nothing about flux and the ad never showed flux. I cleaned the area and applied the heat. It just wouldn't melt. This is why I'm so skeptical of the brazing rods.
But as I'm watching more and more people using them I'm picking up on a couple of things.
One: I may have had a low quality product
Two: I used Propane which some are saying takes so long to heat an area
Three: I should have used flux.
So, I'll pick up some new brazing rods and practice on some aluminum at home.
My auto body shop fixed the tear for me. It cost a little bit. The guys got to practice on aluminum with the welders. I was happy. The shop was happy. Everyone was happy.
Bee Bob agree to 1 and 2. As for 3, some rods require flux, some don’t. Mine didn’t. And practice certainly helps
You're awesome!
Great video that's ausome will be doing this to my boat for sure thanks, can you get the welding rods at a hardware store and are there rods that can repair steel using Mapp gas to. I've used epoxy and fiberglass like you said eventually flakes off . Thanks Dale
You can get similar rods at hardware stores. Mine were off Amazon
Awesome video!!! I feel like this is one of those things that looks easier than it actually is. Do you have any recommendations for a practice run before going into it as a noob like me? As far as strength testing, and brazing different thicknesses of aluminum such as supports/ angle brackets/ crossmembers, etc..?
Does take a little practice. But anyone can do it. As far as practicing, you could always practice on any scrap aluminum you have kicking around. If you don’t have scraps, you could always practice on an above waterline part of the boat. Biggest trick is getting the material hot enough.
Propane is less expensive than MAPP Pro gas, and will work just as well, as long as you use the Bernzomatic, stainless steel torch valve attachment that has the swirling flame tip.
czcams.com/video/VjRWRsLobpM/video.html
@@precisionanglingYT
Good to know! Thanks!
Would it be advantageous to sand both sides and drill out rusted metal prior to welding or is sanding one side good enough? Thank you.
Methyl Acetylene Propadiene ! Nice
It works the best!!
Have you tried any closed end rivets or solid rivets?
Fantastic
Thanks
Another thing you can use solid aluminum rivets with rivet impact gun. If you little bit scared to do brazing. And apply some epoxy or marine grade adhesive. And if the leak is from loose old rivet.
Do you ever do the insides too or just seal the outside? Looks fantastic, was always iffy about rivet aluminum boat for my first boat, this helps.
I’ve never brazed the inside. Always figured the outside was the best route
Thanks a lot
Your welcome!!
Thank you!!! Great teaching tool
Thanks for checking it out
There are some closed pop rivets that are large enough to fit in the old hole I would drill them a little then use the new rivet to pull hull back tight to the brace that the rivet is strengthening the hull
Great idea & good job. I wonder if it would be possible to smooth the puddle out w/ a grinding wheel, wire wheel or sand paper in order to paint and have a smooth finish ?
Thanks for your generous opinion,
God bless,
Sincerely ...............
You definitely couldn’t grind it down!
Great video. I'm going to try this on my boat. My puncture is on a "groove" on the bottom though, so it's not flush/flat. wish i could add a picture to show you. Hoping it works!
Did it work? I’ve got the same problem
@@jamesfagan5694 it did! No issues since
The way your doing this works just as good. But you can buy those rivets to replace the old ones. You install them not with a gun but by bucking them in watertight
I plan on doing that next!
Thank you sharing this video. Is there a reason why you "weld" the outside of the boat vs. the inside?
Seemed to get a better bond versus brazing around the seams
Question.!!! Can I use a tin Soldering pen paste? to clean/sterilize the surface? (the one used for transistors with tin.)
Honestly, I’m not sure.
Mis respetos señor excelente soldadura saludos desde Tampico Tamaulipas México
👍👍👍
I have a crack in my aluminum Jon, I am unable to flip the boat over will this work on the bottom with the boat upright?
I used GOOP to seal some rivets on my old flat bottom boat and it lasted over 10 years and after I sold it, it may still be in use, I'm not sure.
So how have they held up?
What I’m doing with mine is re bumping the rivets with a dowel and a round over but for the air hammer and I’m just tightening them up and slapping 5200 over it then doing gator glide epoxy little more work but definite 100% zero leaks
Curious, could this method be used to patch holes where the rivets used to be? Or could I use a piece of say aluminum flashing to cover the holes and braze it into place? Or would I be best just getting some blind rivets, and then brazing over them to seal them up?
I would recommend having a rivet in place, as most of them area also tied into some structural support.
Not to be that guy, but rivet repair maybe should be done by rivets. They don't just keep water out but actually hold the structure together. I too have a boat from my childhood. 45 years or more, a few years back, I had ice pop 5 rivets. I replaced them with buck and bang style rivets. I watched your video because I acquired a hole from a rock on a beach landing and the jb weld fix is starting to look aged. You did a great job showing the aluminum brazing technique but you may think about loose structure. You probably can get several videos on the subject. Thanks, God bless.
Thanks for the feedback. And I agree that the best would be to replace the rivets. I tried the hand pop rivets, which lasted about a season and a half. I will be replacing a few more with the solid rivet + hammer method! These ones I brazed were still structurally strong, just slopped enough to leak!
@@precisionanglingYT thanks for the input, I was just reminding you of the structure points.
What about the aluminum warping on the boar
Welding, brazing or soldering thin aluminum can create problems down the road. When you apply heat to metal you change its temper and it can be harder in some areas and softer in others. This can create a transition point that weakens over time and eventually fails. If you have leaky rivets maybe the right thing to do would be to replace them.
Nice video how many rods did you use for 7 rivets?
1 and a half or so
I see you're using the propane bernzomatic torch head. Does that work fine on the map pro (as opposed to the one specifically meant for the map pro)?
Good question. Has worked fine the times I’ve used. Can’t say confidently that it is designed for long term use. Didn’t know they made one specifically for map gas!!
There are some torches that work for map and propane. There are others that work only for propane or map. Flame temp will definitely be higher with a map torch.
A hammer and a small piece of steel and a friend, you could have just pound the the rivet again to tighten it up.
can you weld these rivets laying on you back for a bigger boat . I have an18ft legend with 3 loose rivets. thank you
I’m not sure. Thinking it may be difficult. Certainly a no if there is anything combustible around the loose rivets. Something to consider would be trying to expand the rivets if you can access both sides. Have someone hold something metal on the bottom side (like an ax or sturdy hammer) then tap the other side of the river a time or two with a hammer and punch.
I have a crack at one of my bolt holes where a bolt goes through the transom . would this method fix the crack
It should. I’ve fixed several cracks coming off my rivets
You should use brass brush
Leaking brads or rivets!?!? 100% FIX! Have a pal hold a piece of steel (beater hammer head) against the interior side of the brad/rivet. You go to the exterior and lightly tap the other side of the rivet with a small trim hammer several times or until you notice a difference in the sound of stretched rivets. When you finish, put a few inches of water in the boat and check for missed rivets. The MOST important thing is when you have the rivets sealed again, BUILD A WOODEN FLOOR IN THE BOAT AND STOP STRETCHING YOUR RIVETS BY WALKING ON THE AMUMINUM FLOOR!! Brazing, welding, JB Weld, chewing gum, epoxy is only a temporary fix at best! I've been fishing from boats since I helped Noah build the ARK!!
I would agree that’s the best fix!!
I have a larger 16' aluminum riveted boat from the 70s. Found some missing rivets and other areas causing slow leaks on the boat. Much heavier and with a 70hp Johnson on the back. Would it be reasonable to try to braze upside down underneath the trailer? Or will I have to remove outboard and turn upside down?
If the areas of concern are smaller, you could probably get away with brazing the bottom with the boat on the trailer. If they are bigger, I’d imagine the rod would just melt and fall off. Can you get to the rivets from the inside of the the boat? If so, I’d look into doing It from the inside
@@precisionanglingYT there's a hard floor that I think would be difficult to remove. I made a reddit thread to describe and get advice
www.reddit.com/r/boating/comments/i9tmia/aluminum_rivet_repair_on_16_70s_crestliner/
@@precisionanglingYT I'd have pull up the floor to do that. I'm not sure what's involved but it looks non trivial to do that. See below. I should also take pictures of the floor. Think it's coated marine plywood but not sure.
Colin Williams sounds like it may be too difficult to remove the floor. I was able to braze 2, 1/4” holes on the transom of that same boat. It brazed fine when brazing vertical. I know other people have used the marine JB weld, and had good results. I’ve never used it, so I can’t personally speak on the performance
@@precisionanglingYT I'm leaning towards a blind rivet and either 2 part epoxy or 5200. Then I won't need to remove the floor or turn the boat over or need to apply brazing upside down. Some notes and techniques mentioned on the reddit thread.
just a tip for anyone doing this, put your boat on saw horses and fill it up with water to find every place that leaks
Good tip
Does the brazing rods hold up well to the vibration, dings ,and bangs?
So far so good! No problems yet!!
@@precisionanglingYT what about now? Still good?
Nice job! Looks pro fesh on al!!! I was surprised. How do these do on a small puncture or lets say a 3/8" hole?
They do fine on that size hole!
@@precisionanglingYT thanks.....I will be testing out tomorrow. I got my rods, then bought some map gas today.
@@dgmenace73 how did it go? Looking to patch some screw holes
@@mvboutdoors not good at all....I need to find out what brand, size, etc. I am seeing them every. Extremely cheap now....lol. I even tried on a thick piece of aluminum with map gas, I ended up buying a 3/16 aluminum brazing rod and it filled them in. I have been told one brand from two people but didn't write down.....lol. seems like the word "blue" was in brand but not 100% sure. Sorry I couldn't help you. After I tried 3-4 brands and the metal had to be red hot, it melted but was about impossible to work with then. That was me though, someone else may use same one and have better luck
Would the blue propane or small green propane work for the aluminum rods to melt
Yes. But will take much longer to heat up
I have a crack in my keel. I am probably going to use my oxy acetylene torches. I have used map with these rods and it simply takes too long and you heat up more than just the area of the repair
So can we assume the brazing rods melt before the aluminum hull???
Yes. They have a low melting point
Hi mate i have a Bernzomatic TS 4000..would that generate enuff heat to do this on a small boat?
From the looks, that should work fine. Actually better than my torch
@@precisionanglingYT thanks for your reply budd
..i'll be giving it a go
Does thy weaken the aluminum in the areas you brazed?
I haven't noticed anything!! Did have some very minor warping.
The proper way would be to hammer and dolly the rivets tighter OR replace them. Much cheaper than buying the alumaloy rods. The alumaloy rods are for holes and cracks. I can't tell you how many riveted boats I've fixed just by tightening up the rivets.
Great Video!! Did I hear you say central Maine?
Yes sir!! Born and raised
@@precisionanglingYT Super cool! From the Bangor area!!
Scoring is only good for plastic and wood my friend! When cooling scored metal causes surface tension and puts welds under stress which is not good, especially so with aluminum.
So the cooling liquid actually contracts the welds surrounding it?
Did you take a screwdriver and try to pop the weld off after the weld?
Yes. Solid bond. Also did a light-moderate strike with a rubber mallet!! No problem with either
LoL you did exactly like me, put epoxy to seal those darn leaks but often they wear off. I want to do this weld seal on my boat. I believe the local Harbor Freight store sells those rods. Must be soft alloy aluminium to heat so easy. Tell me, how well does it penetrate into the boat aluminum with minimal heat? Is there any possibility that added aluminum separates or comes off? Tks for good video.
They’re a soft allow. Mine were fluxless as the rod had it built in, may want to check HF and see if they’re fluxless.
I wouldn’t say it penetrates the aluminum. I have one separate, but it was one of my first. Haven’t had any others separate
@@precisionanglingYT Yes they are. Just went by HF yesterday and saw them in the welding isle. Only 8 thin rods in a pack for over $10 I think. Fluxless. Seems expensive as thin they are. Description on package says fairly low melting temp but has a high tensile strength and good bonding.
Works for a while, until the dissimilar metal corrosion starts. I oxy acetylene welded one, with standard Al silicon rods, and it caused a lot of corrosion. Later, I had to MIG weld it.
Aluminum brazing rod shouldn't be a dissimilar metal to an aluminum boat
@@daltonsales5481 It is different, it is a low melting point alloy, nothing like the aluminium metal of a boat. Even aluminium welding wire has to be the right grade.
i fixed these boats 45 yrs ago with torch and flux coated alum rods
Pretty much what these are! They work great
Have you ground down your welds?
I didn’t. They flattened out enough for me. I would have if they were higher than i liked. You can easily grind them down tho
What size aluminum rods did you use?
1/8”. Only size they sell as far as I know
I wish I could do it on the bottom with the boat on the trailer. I have a big motor on it...too much stuff inside to flip it over
Depending on how big the hole is, you may be able to patch it on the trailer!!
@@precisionanglingYT Awesome! I ordered some last night. Thank you!
Nice how too, but since the rivets were the issue I personally would have just replaced the rivets and reserved the brazing for holes and cracks.
Replacing the rivets was the first thing I tried. They broke over a season and a half. One would need industrial rivets
@@precisionanglingYT sounds like you used pop rivets as apposed to solid rivets.
@@precisionanglingYT contact an aircraft mechanic for your riveting
Do you recommend grinding off the excess for a smoother finish or just leave it ?
I left mine because they were flat enough for me. If there was a big lip, or rough edges, I would have ground them flat
@@precisionanglingYT good stuff thanx
Your welcome! Thanks for checking out the video and taking the time to comment
I've tried this on my aluminumboat but with no success at all. I use the map pro gas but my rods doesn't melt efter like 10 minutes heating the same spot.
What do you have for rods? Have you tried increasing the heat of the map gas? With mine, what seems like it would strong enough, often isn’t. Shouldn’t take more than a minute or two. Have you tried directly hearing the rod and seeing if it melts with direct heat?
Well I've increased the heat so much that the aluminum on the boat gets kind of soft. If I heat the rod it brakes in to little peaces. I bought the rods thru Ebay, bad quality maby?
I did try a brand called Alutite and those worked a little better. The once I have now doesn't really melt and flows, more like grainy clay or something
Sounds like the rods may be the problem. Another thing to look at is if your rods need flux. My rods don’t. My rods will melt into a puddle within seconds with direct heat from the map gas. My brand are Alumaloy brazing rods!
@@precisionanglingYT This may be the issue I had. I bought them when they came out years ago. The rods wouldn't adhere to anything. I threw them out while cleaning the basement. I'll try a different brand and keep it around for any new issues.
Bee Bob may be. There are several other brands, some need flux, some don’t, some need higher heat. I’m super pleased with the alumaloy brand I sited in the video!
Why didn't you use the Map Pro in this video?
I did
I have heard jb weld works just as good or better faster easier
Aerosol air freshener for glade
Recomend using any sort of flux?
Depends on the rod. These Alumaloy rods don’t need flux. I believe the flux is built in somehow. Other rods / brands require flux.
@@precisionanglingYT thank you sir, good to know
jb weld is all you need
Seems like it would be better and easier to replace rivet
So you don't need flux or something like that to do this?
No. These rods have flux in them
saw somone use honey as a flux .. havent researched it yet
You should be using a brass brush to clean the area, steel brushes leave too much crap on the metal.
No flux needed for this brazing?
Nope. fluxless rod. Other competitors may require it tho
Those look like Filler Rods for TIG welding
Similar, but not filler rods
Float test?
Yup. No problem from the repairs, or the ones it have done I’ve the last few years
Wouldn’t drilling out the rivet and putting a new one in with some sealant be an option?
I tried a few basic rivets, and they didn’t last long. They broke after a few trips
I was thinking the same thing. A lot easier. The rivets have to be the right ones I guess
Why didn’t you just re tighten the rivets years ago . My old Jon boat is a 1957 my dad bought , it’s floated streams and rivers all over mo. Ark. Miss. La. every 8 or so years with a friend holding a back up weight simply tap the rivet tight again . Now you are good for years to come . Dad passed this old boat to me in 65 and I to my brother he passed now his son has it , Hopefully his boy will use it .
Just a different approach. But yeah you could drill the rivets out and use a cheapo or nicer rivet gun then reepoxy them...
@@gregjones3660 Na you don’t drill em out . The existing rivet , you get someone to hold a reasonable heavy piece of steel on either side of the existing rivet use a small ball pean hammer an tap the other side 3 or 4 times,don’t beat the crap out of it , reasonably lite square hits is all ya need . If you got a few sleepers mark them and re tap . Hole thing 20/25 minutes , your good
@@thedude4632 some may drill them all out... Every last one of em...
Don’t reply again , ask g3, lows, Lund , bass pro . There is 7 boat companies with in 10 or so miles of me they will tell you to do exactly what I did . Some folks just are to foolish to lear the correct or a easier and better way ! Don’t reply !!!
i tried this on a Grumman boat and it would not stick.
Probably didn’t get the aluminum hot enough.
Like 8 🎣
Thanks
You're supposed to heat the surface not the rod. This isn't brazing, this is barely soldering (brazing is over 850F).
czcams.com/video/HSwyiW3XJG4/video.html&ab_channel=patrickscj5
Notice how the stick melted into a complete liquid?
So you don’t use any flux?
Not with these rods. They are fluxless rods. Others require flux
Why wouldn't you just rehit the rivitts? That's what's holding your seats and boat together.