Subject: Repairing cast aluminum - Can it be done?

From: Joe Broderick <[email-masked]>
Date: 2 May 1996 22:54:02 -0700

Hello,

I'm a first time visitor to this group.  I thought I might ask this group as I don't now where to start 
doing my research on the possibilities.  

I have a piece of cast aluminum on a movie camera that is broken off and I was wonder if it 
can be welded/brazed (please excuse my ignorance of the proper terminology) back 
together. 

The best way to describe it is that a barrel about the diameter and size of a roll of quaters is 
inserted into a hole in the cast aluminum piece.  The securing or lockdown finger with the 
tiedown screw is what is broken off .  It's kinda small but not terribly precision work.

My question is this : can this piece be reattached without warping the cast piece and/or still 
maintain the alinement of the screw so that it still will secure the piece that gets inserted?

Any comments are appreciated

Thanks

Joe Broderick

[email-masked]
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From: Gene Olson <[email-masked]>
Date: 3 May 1996 23:25:07 GMT

>Any comments are appreciated

Obviously I haven't seen it but welding on a small aluminum ( if that is what it is, it might be pot 
metal)  part will almost certainly destroy the threads if they are within a quarter inch of the weld 
zone. I doubt it would warp the cast piece apprecialbly.

It Could be oven soldered with alloy solder from Harris filler metals, this will work wether the piece 
is pot metal or al.   Put yellow orchre into the threads and on the inside of the tube hole to prevent 
the solder from entering, clean the surfaces to bright surface, apply liberal flux (get it to match 
solder) cut tiny pieces of the filler metal and arrange all around the edge of the seam to be soldered 
and bring up to soldering temp about 500. (you MAY have to take your wife out to dinner, but it 
shouldn't stink unless ther is some strange paint to burn off)

Gene

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From: Gene Olson <[email-masked]>
Date: 3 May 1996 23:14:31 GMT

Gene

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From: [email-masked] (Don Clarke)
Date: 5 May 1996 03:23:30 GMT

>My question is this : can this piece be reattached without warping the cast 
>piece and/or still maintain the alinement of the screw so that it still will 
>secure the piece that gets inserted?

simple job. Might cost a bit because of the time needed to ensure precise 
alignment, but any well equipped welding/fabricating shop would be able to fix 
the piece. Unless the part was bent when the breakage happened???