MuggyWeld

[David Ragan]

Have you all any experience w this stuff for small shop uses?

Sometimes, I think that it might be good to have a small welder for brass, Al, steel......that is around $1K investment.

I ran across the MuggyWeld information, website---the demos look pretty good, and a lot less $ than the welder.

Anybody have the MuggyWeld stuff?

Thanks

[David Bassett]

... Anybody have the MuggyWeld stuff?

No, no experience, just a strong negative reaction to their marketing. When I search for reviews it seems like their product may work pretty well (people are successful with it) and I'm not the only one that feels like they're "snake oil" salesmen (vitriolic reviews about how they can't meet their claims.)

First, since they say you can do it with a propane torch it is "welding" only in the sense JB Weld is "welding". (A propane torch doesn't get hot enough to melt base metals and weld. Depending on the torch it can be used for soldering and, my books say, for some brazing. Brazing & soldering are similar, the definition is less than 840F is soldering, higher is brazing. In both cases the filler material is melted and adheres to both surfaces binding them together without melting and mixing with the base metal.)

Since they are careless with their claims I inherently don't trust them. If you want to join metals I think learning how to do it for your situation and then shopping for a product that fits would be a better choice. Most welding stores will have brazing rod & flux and almost any plumbing or jewelry supply would have soldering supplies. (I'm trying to learn to weld and doing it well isn't buying a torch or welder and cranking them out. It requires practice to learn and maintain the skill. Common advice for folks wanting to do a one-off project that could be welded is to use bolts or industrial, i.e. not Home Depot quality, pop-rivets.)

[Dave Sheldrake]

Tried similar rods years back ( I was lloyds certified at one point) it never really worked any better than using basic epoxy glue. Corrosion of the base metals was the biggest problem especially in stuff like Monkey metal (Maizak alloys) and some of the aluminium alloys.

With a hydrogen generating torch (clean flame) it's works better but still not great at best

[David Ragan]

I must say this is the kind of information I'm looking for.

So, short of plopping down $ for a welder, and if I want to braze, what kind of setup does that require?

[David Bassett]

... So, short of plopping down $ for a welder, and if I want to braze, what kind of setup does that require?

Short answer: some sort of torch, probably with higher output than the little hardware store propane torches.

More complete answer: it depends on what you are using as brazing material and what you are actually brazing. Basically you need to get your part(s) hot enough to melt the brazing material, so you need some understanding of their thermal mass and the BTUs of your torch. (Assuming of course your torch gets hotter than braze material to begin with.)

I've been taking welding classes, so I don't have as many brazing answers to repeat for you. My impression is that today a lot of just brazing is done with Acetylene/Air (e.g. Turbo-Torch), but a lot of folk prefer Oxy-Acetylene because with the Oxygen you can also cut steel & weld many things. Not too long ago MAPP gas was used too, as it is tamed safer version of Acetylene, but the only MAPP gas plant has shut down and today "MAPP" gas canisters come with some sort of souped up propane that isn't hot enough to work well in many situations. I've read that brazing is used extensively in industry, but they do it in temperature controlled ovens not with torches.

For an obsessive view of torch work, you can check out TM Technologies. A local vocational school & your local welding supply are good places to checkout. Also, as shop classes fade away torch work is showing up in art departments teaching metal sculpture. If you get into Acetylene work you will get to know someone locally to source your gas and they (usually) are a source for torches & protective gear, WITH advice, parts, & repairs! (Do realize most of their customers will be arc welders of some sort and other industrial users of gas, so the selection in stock will probably be small.)

PS- Harbor Freight sells a "Victor-esque" torch that gets terrible reviews. Apparently some instances have had poor seals and, well, life gets really exciting if you start leaking Oxygen & Acetylene around the shop! I will admit I'm not sure how common the problems are and how much the volume of bad reviews reflect general contempt for HF quality. Most folk recommend something from Victor, Smith, or Harris, the big 3, to be safe. If you catch a sale on a kit, you can get into HF price range. (The problem is finding a kit with the pieces you actually want.... )