Brazing or Welding?

[realmoto]

I have seen some builds and some are brazing and some are welding. What is consider better? I mean what will be stronger and more durable. As far as the tubing can the same type of tubing can it be use for both, or is there different tubing? Am thinking of building my 1st chassis and looking to see witch way to go to buy my tools.

Thanks,

[AX10wannabe]

i thought there was a thread like this already. but anyhoo....

depends on if you use tube or not. if your going to use tube (like brake line) then braze it but if you want to use solid rod then MIG weld it... for my bumper i used 1/4" solid rod and welded it together, just put it in a bench vise just below where you want to make a bend then heat it up andd tap it with a hammer until you get the desired angle/shape. i think most guys here braze their tubers and stuff.

tools- you can buy mini versions of oxy/acet torches for like 100 bucks.. i've never used one but am thinking about maybe buying one so i dont wear out my dad's regular propane torch all the time.

[realmoto]

Originally Posted by AX10wannabe

i thought there was a thread like this already. but anyhoo....

depends on if you use tube or not. if your going to use tube (like brake line) then braze it but if you want to use solid rod then MIG weld it... for my bumper i used 1/4" solid rod and welded it together, just put it in a bench vise just below where you want to make a bend then heat it up andd tap it with a hammer until you get the desired angle/shape. i think most guys here braze their tubers and stuff.

tools- you can buy mini versions of oxy/acet torches for like 100 bucks.. i've never used one but am thinking about maybe buying one so i dont wear out my dad's regular propane torch all the time.

Thanks, if there was a thread like this sorry I didn't see it. But thanks any way for your post. You said you are welding your stuff. What size welder are you using and wire. From your experience what brand machine would you say would work good for this application?

[AX10wannabe]

i use a Clarke 220v MIG welder(chinese version of a Miller) only because its sitting there doing nothing. plus we use it alot for other big stuff like trailers, lawnmowers etc..

hmm... if your only doing RC stuff then brazing is probably the way to go.
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows....jsp?locale=en
here's the little torch i was talking about. this will give you some flame for brazing,soldering etc.

[Neil426]

once you get the hang of brazing, your joints will come out a lot smoother. some of the new brazing rods out now are unbelievably easy to use and to make look great. I saw a demo 2 weeks ago and the only used a mapp torch. Put the stuff in a vise and beat it with a 3lbs. hammer. The joints did not break.

[zim35]

i have to agree with neil426 once you learn to braze properly you will never doubt brazing, and its also much cleaner and smoother.

[CREEPERBOB]

WHAT ZIM AND NEIL SAID++

[792.5cj5]

tig

[Charlie-III]

Welding is probably stronger, but brazing will give a nicer joint and be strong enough. If you hit something to break a good brazed joint, you have many other issues to deal with....HAHAHAHA ROTFLMAO.....

Brazing is a little easier for thin wall tubing than welding.

It is also cheaper to get set up for brazing than welding.

[holycaveman]

I have got all three. Mig, tig., and torches. Once i learned to braze, i will never go back to weldin for scalers. Its easier though to lightly tak trickey joints with a spot weld,then braze them.
In the end brazing is much nicer in my op. Tig welding is sweet,but takes more time to do it right.

[Tommy R]

Antonio,

I think we may have discussed this on Saturday, but I try to braze whenever I can because it provides a much nicer looking finish and can resemble a more realistic looking weld joint. With welding, there is often lots of grinding and finish work needed to make the joints look nice and scale on an RC rig. Some other pitfalls with welding is if your welder is powerful it may be impossible to turn it down enough to not burn away thinner materials. I've got a 220V 185A Lincoln MIG and even turned down to it's lowest power setting I only use it for small tack welds. I'd never use a welder for more than that, unless it's very light duty welder or maybe a TIG.

If it's too difficult to hold parts together for brazing, I'll often tack them with the welder, clean up the weld, and then braze the parts for a better looking finish. For our purposes, I think a braze is just as strong as a weld. I haven't had one fail yet.

There are quite a few threads out there for brazing tips as well as the equipment involved. At a minimum you'll want a Mapp gas torch kit, some flux, and some solder. Personally, I only use Harris 56 solder and their flux. It's really nice stuff....pricey, though! I currently use a Mapp gas kit from Home Depot, but if you have the means, a Smith "Little Torch" is the tool to get for brazing (from my research).

Pretty much all my tubing is 3/16" brake line with the coating removed. Occasionally I'll use some 5/32" solid rod. Just be aware that when heating to braze, the thicker/denser part will require more heat be applied to it than the thinner piece.

Good luck with it! Custom fabrication is a challenge, but very rewarding!

[MystRacing]

The strength and durability with each depends some on the joint design and even more on the skill of the operator. Brazing is a bit more of an art form than arc welding. I use a smaller than typical oxy/acetylene setup and have even brazed together an unlimited soapbox derby car from 3/4" square steel tubing. To test the strength I brazed one 3/4" tube to another in a T configuration with the long piece being about a foot long. Placed it in a vice and then jumped up and down on the part sticking out till the 3/4" steel tubing bent without any joint failure.

Point being for RC applications either will be plenty strong.