JB Weld?

[RLAxial]

Hey everyone, i was looking at some trailers that people were making, but i noticed there all either welded or brazed. would jb weld work to join the two metals together, maybe some one can let me know

[YYCADM]

I don't know if it would be structurally strong enough. Even though JB is pretty tough stuff, it still needs a firm anchor point. I suppose if you were able to pack it into the tubing ends, maybe drill a small hole where you're attaching it, it might give you the strength needed.
The problems would likely start when you tried to grind down the excess. Once you removed the material on the exterior, you wouldn't have a lot left holding the parts together. At the end of the day, it's still just an epoxy glue, so I would expect that it would fail sooner or later...probably sooner

[RLAxial]

Originally Posted by YYCADM

I don't know if it would be structurally strong enough. Even though JB is pretty tough stuff, it still needs a firm anchor point. I suppose if you were able to pack it into the tubing ends, maybe drill a small hole where you're attaching it, it might give you the strength needed.
The problems would likely start when you tried to grind down the excess. Once you removed the material on the exterior, you wouldn't have a lot left holding the parts together. At the end of the day, it's still just an epoxy glue, so I would expect that it would fail sooner or later...probably sooner

Yeahh, thats what i was thinking, but i never worked with jb weld so i thought id see what others thought, maybe some one can direct me in the right path on other methods

[Grizzly4x4]

I've tried building a roll bar with JB at the joints before. It doesn't stick to the metal very well.

[ecoli]

Originally Posted by Grizzly4x4

I've tried building a roll bar with JB at the joints before. It doesn't stick to the metal very well.

That's been my experience as well. It breaks off very easily from metal on metal joints. It does work as a good filler material if you have a crappy brazed/welded joint that needs smoothing out.

Lots of threads on brazing in here. Look at the sticky at the top and that should get you started. Since it's a trailer and most of the pieces are going to be at right angles, you could also look into bolting it together if you're not comfortable with brazing.

[RLAxial]

Originally Posted by ecoli

That's been my experience as well. It breaks off very easily from metal on metal joints. It does work as a good filler material if you have a crappy brazed/welded joint that needs smoothing out.

Lots of threads on brazing in here. Look at the sticky at the top and that should get you started. Since it's a trailer and most of the pieces are going to be at right angles, you could also look into bolting it together if you're not comfortable with brazing.

Yea i think thats what im going to do, down the road ill give brazing a try, but i think if i bolt everything up neatly it shouldnt be a problem, if any ones built a trailer by bolting it together feel free to put a picture here

[Revin]

Years ago I JB'd 2 chevy 1.5" exhaust valves together as a demo for the stuff, it sat on the counter for years with guys trying to break them apart by hand. One day i got tired of looking at them and put it in the press. The valve stem broke before the JB let go.
I also used it to repair a 50cent piece sized hole punched in the bottom of the engine case on a dirt bike, flipped the bike over, cleaned and scuffed around the hole, JB'd a beer can over the hole with a couple more layers on top,next morning I flipped it back over, filled it with oil and went riding, it held for close to 15 years of riding "after a skid plate was installed" before it started leaking.

[RLAxial]

Originally Posted by Revin

Years ago I JB'd 2 chevy 1.5" exhaust valves together as a demo for the stuff, it sat on the counter for years with guys trying to break them apart by hand. One day i got tired of looking at them and put it in the press. The valve stem broke before the JB let go.
I also used it to repair a 50cent piece sized hole punched in the bottom of the engine case on a dirt bike, flipped the bike over, cleaned and scuffed around the hole, JB'd a beer can over the hole with a couple more layers on top,next morning I flipped it back over, filled it with oil and went riding, it held for close to 15 years of riding "after a skid plate was installed" before it started leaking.

so would it be worth a try?

[meatmonkey]

Not sure how much offroad abuse it would take, but for a street trailer I'm sure it would be fine.

JB prefers a rough, but clean, surface to adhere to. This is why it works good on engine blocks, but not flat surfaces of aluminum. So scratch up your contact surfaces.

And don't use the Quik version, in my experience it doesn't hold nearly as well.

[avanord]

I tried to use it on aluminum tubing. That's definitely a no go.

[Revin]

meatmonkey is right, the JB Quick doesn't work near as well, i don't use it. Just make sure the parts are clean and ruff them up with some course sandpaper and give it a try. The dirtbike engine case i fixed was aluminum and last time I checked beer cans are aluminum also - "in fact I think I'll go drink a can and check that out right now"