Need to find a way to bond alu to alu

crackerkorean

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Jun 14, 2007
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174
I am working on a light and I need to bond two pieces of alu together.
Its a 3mm wide channel that is 30mm dia.

What is the strongest bonding agent. (epoxy acrylic glue anything) that a regular consumer can get.
 

SafetyBob

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Oct 20, 2007
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Yukon, Oklahoma
Devcon makes a really good epoxy that is especially made to repair aluminum. You might check out their site. There may be better products they offer. The bad part is you will probably have to order it from a big industrial supply place (you may have one in a town close to you, so check first). MSC or expecially Grainger would have it....but at a premium.

Bob E.
 

TigerhawkT3

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Do you mean a 3mm gap between the tubes you want to bond? The JB Weld already mentioned should fill that gap and hold properly, but the ideal solution would be to find a third tube to press fit (or just fit and Krazy Glue) between the other two. :)

I don't know if it would work for your application, but you might consider Gorilla Glue. I don't know how rigid it becomes after drying, but it's strong glue and foams up to fill space.
 

ken2400

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Oct 30, 2006
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What about the rods they sell? The ones they put soda cans together with and say they can fix lawn chairs?

I don't know if there would be too much heat to get it work? Might mess up the LED?
 

crackerkorean

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Jun 14, 2007
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its a 3mm channel that the second part will sit in.

The housing is going to be anodized and then bonded together so it needs to be either black or clear. I did find one glue that is used to place sights on guns that should work well.

And just for kicks I tried using super glue and it seems to be doing ok.
 

lotsaluck

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Jan 16, 2005
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Mix JB weld after cleaning both parts with alcohol and scrub the glue into each part with a small stainless wire brush, then press and clamp the parts together until cured. You will not get them apart without tearing the aluminum.

By scrubbing in the glue with the wire brush you clean the oxidation from the aluminum and the glue prevents the instant oxidation that happens when it is exposed to air.
 
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