As ive made an alui bonnet bulge, and would like to have it welded to my bonnet

so all nice and smooth

Steve

yes it can 2mm not a problem, but how thick is the bonnett? also depends on the grade of ali as to how easy/well it welds. Are both the bonnett and the bulge the same grade? welding disimilar grade can be problematic. I may also neet finishing afterwards as you may get some distortion, personally im not sure it would be worth the hassle / work / cost unless its a show car.

It Can certainly be welded, but as mentioned it can be problematic even for a skilled fabricator with the correct piece of equipment.

It might have been a more prudent idea to make a nice new Aluminium bonnet with said new bulge incorporated into the design, as really "knocking up" a new bonnet is not that more time consuming that making the bulge, you could always ask "907" to fabricate such an item for you if you do not have the skills.

If you had been closer I could have dandered over to the sheet metal shop here on campus and have the very eager engineering faculty professor and his equally eager students knock one up as a "project" the metal shop here is like our type of candy store, I must take a picture one day.

A tech team are installing a Daishin Seiki 5 axis c.n.c. in time for the start of next semester, I will drool at the window leaving a large puddle watching that thing in operation

quote:

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Originally posted by steve m
As ive made an alui bonnet bulge, and would like to have it welded to my bonnet

so all nice and smooth

Steve

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Other options (not alll good ideas)

1) Glue, Epoxy? PU? and lap joint.

2) Solder (with aluminium solder), lap joint.

3) Rivet (with lap joint).

I would put the lap joint on the underside of the bonnet.

Having had some success with 2) This is how I might attempt the job, BUT thss is not easy and requires skill/practice holding it all together though whilst soldering is the difficult bit and not melting the whole lot is a problem (the solider melting point is close to the base metal) and you will need a LOT of heat for the bonnet, if done well and a fillet of solder added around the joint and it's cleaned up and polished it will be hard to see the joint.

Welding or a one peace bonnet will probably look the best in the end but is not so simple, and you already have the bulge.. 1 and 3 are probably the easiest...

Dan

[Edited on 14/10/11 by Bluemoon]

Thanks, i knew the risk of distortion would be there!,

I think i will probably uses an araldite type of adhesive, with an over lap joint on the inside,

as long as i can clamp the bulge tight to the bonnet, i should end up with a fairly neat edge/join line

Making another bonnet is also on the cards, and that depends on which carb setup i decide to go with, ie remain with the twin 28/36 dcd, single twin 40on siamese manifld, or twin 40.s

regards

Steve

quote:

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Originally posted by steve m
Thanks, i knew the risk of distortion would be there!,

I think i will probably uses an araldite type of adhesive, with an over lap joint on the inside,

as long as i can clamp the bulge tight to the bonnet, i should end up with a fairly neat edge/join line

Making another bonnet is also on the cards, and that depends on which carb setup i decide to go with, ie remain with the twin 28/36 dcd, single twin 40on siamese manifld, or twin 40.s

regards

Steve

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To answer your original question, yes it can, but if your going to bond it, i would use sikaflex with the appropriate primer. The stuff car window fitters use works a treat, have bonded loads of stuff with it to great effect, you really need to use the special primer, and key the ally first......Oh and don't get any on your hands, its a nightmare to get off.

Al.

if the scoop is 2mm thick why not rivet it on using countersunk rivets? you could get a fluch finish and 2mm is probably just enough to get a countersink into the rivet hole, flush fitting, secure and removable it necessary, csmall countersunk rivets available here:

Fasteners Link

I once saw a TIG welding demo where the tutor welded two sheets of tinfoil together

If you end up using any type of glue, I find best way to hold everything solid is to drill and put a couple of rivets in, holds everything nice and tight, then file the heads off later to get a smooth finish (or use counter sunk like mentioned)