Who's had the best luck repairing broken fins? (2006)
- Thread starter 74cafe
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It depends on which fin is broken the head or barrell. I have had good luck brazing fins back on the barrel. Cast iron is difficult to weld as it is quite brittle so brazing seems to work quite well here. With cylinder head fins a competent alloy welder should be able to do the job fairly easily. If the fin in question is not a top or bottom fin you may have to break off an adjacent fin to get access for reattachment.
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74cafe said:
That's an interesting idea. I have a Combat head with one broken fin and I do not have the broken piece. It's the small fin on the side, and as luck would have it, the top fin.
Alternatively, is there someone I can send the head to, so a new fin can be fabricated and installed? Or is taking a hacksaw to the other side a better idea? :shock:
Debby
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Broken aluminum fins can be successfully repaired by using a heliarc weld process followed by skillful shaping and contouring of the repair with a file.
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I seen hucksters hawking this rod at car, bike and boat shows for years.. Big deal - you can repair a soda can!!
BUT wait, there's MORE... that video is incredible!
If it's all true this stuff has real value! I will be the first on my block to buy some if anyone of our good friends out there confirm they have had the same results.. I've fins, cases, brackets screaming for help..
oh my gosh!
http://aluminumrepair.com/video_new.asp
Thanks for the tip L.A.B. !!
BUT wait, there's MORE... that video is incredible!
If it's all true this stuff has real value! I will be the first on my block to buy some if anyone of our good friends out there confirm they have had the same results.. I've fins, cases, brackets screaming for help..
oh my gosh!
http://aluminumrepair.com/video_new.asp
Thanks for the tip L.A.B. !!
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- Nov 20, 2004
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I've been using Lumiweld for years and that has worked on EVERYTHING (alloy) I have tried it on so far!
I was under the impression that HTS-2000 was an improved type? (I have bought a kit but not needed to use it yet) but unless you try it you will never know?
Obviously the results will depend to a certain extent on the ability of the user.
I was under the impression that HTS-2000 was an improved type? (I have bought a kit but not needed to use it yet) but unless you try it you will never know?
Obviously the results will depend to a certain extent on the ability of the user.
Debbie, If the piece of fin is missing you can get a completely trashed head and break a piece of fin off about the same size as the missing piece and then trim it to fit prior to welding. You should probably be able to use any alloy head or barrel for harvesting your fin bits not just Norton. A session with a dremel followed by bead blasting should render the repair almost invisible.
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- Apr 8, 2013
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I have a chip in my head fin, and a local welder said he can't repair it. ( I don't have the broken piece) Do you think Lumiweld could be used for this, build it up slowly? My concern is that I add to much heat to the head and I'm not sure how sensitive the head is to over heating. Thanks for any experience you can add to this.
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I've never tried a repair on such a large casting as a cylinder head.
It would certainly need a lot of heat which might not be good for the head unless the heat could be mostly contained in the area of the broken fin as the head would rapidly conduct the heat away.
The problem with building it up is the first layer of Lumiweld/HTS/whatever would melt as the second was applied so needs to be done in one go. I think you would probably have to 'cast' the missing section of fin using stainless steel sheet metal to form a 'mould' as demonstrated below...
Aluminium repair with HTS2000
HTS-2000, UK Supplier of Aluminium Repair Brazing Rods. Low temperature, extremely strong and flexible alternative to welding
www.aluminiumrepair.co.uk
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- Apr 8, 2013
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Thanks for the inputI've never tried a repair on such a large casting as a cylinder head.
It would certainly need a lot of heat which might not be good for the head unless the heat could be mostly contained in the area of the broken fin as the head would rapidly conduct the heat away.
The problem with building it up is the first layer of Lumiweld/HTS/whatever would melt as the second was applied so needs to be done in one go. I think you would probably have to 'cast' the missing section of fin using stainless steel sheet metal to form a 'mould' as demonstrated below...
Aluminium repair with HTS2000
HTS-2000, UK Supplier of Aluminium Repair Brazing Rods. Low temperature, extremely strong and flexible alternative to weldingwww.aluminiumrepair.co.uk
lcrken
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I've repaired a couple of Commando heads with broken fins by tig welding a replacement piece on. Both were on top fins, so welding access was not a problem. I used 4043 rod with good results, but have been told that 4047 might be slightly better because of its higher silicon content. In both cases I cut the replacement out of aluminum sheet, but you would probably have a more original look if you could use a matching piece from a junk head. That's what I'm planning to do with the current 750 head I'm working on.
Ken
Ken
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