Hot Rods Tubing Joinery-Braze or TIG?

"Brazed" tube chassis were typical construction on British/European racing cars, including formula cars from the lower classes up through Formula 1, before monocoque took over. The filler rod material was more sophisticated than "garden variety" brass; I think a silver/nickel/bronze alloy, but don't quote me on that. Any road race car repair/restoration shop would know exactly.

 

Bike ( bicycle) framed are lugged and silver soldered or no lugs and brazed (brass) . If your building a car, weld it , stick , tig or mig. Worry less about looks and more about strength
The advantage of lugless is your no longer restricted to whatever lugs you can buy. This means any angles in the frame you like.

 

I remember years ago brazing of chassis and roll bars was preferred by the SCCA. Haven't seen a rule book in years so I am not sure if it still is or not. I know for a long time aircraft tube frames we're brazed.

 

We used to build dragster chassis back in the 60's/70's with mild steel tube nickel bronzed. My avatar is done that way. Blown'92 hemi.

 

Brazing is strong as shit. Do it.
"Silver soldering" is actually brazing. I do it all day at work.

Sent from my LGLS992 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I was brazing all day yesterday, with a MIG welder.

 

Gas flux brazing, using high nickle alloy rod was used on virtually every race car frame in the '50's into the '70's and beyond except for USAC. Proven equally as strong as tight and in some cases better.

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Brazing has to work pretty well as both Bentley and Rolls Royce still join the roof sail panel to the top of the quarter panels with brazing not robot welds like other spots on the body.

 

That’s what I was talking about. Had a friend build a friend an engine stand, beautiful welding, but it broke with a sbc. I guess it’s more prevalent than I thought.

Bones

 

Yep, I had that problem when I bought a Miller 250 mig. I bought the tri gas, couldn’t make it weld fir shit. Called the company they came out, couldn’t figure it out, left me with the problem, had several guys try to weld with it, still couldn’t figure what was wrong. Went to get a new bottle of gas, the guy asked why I was using tri gas, I said that’s what they said was the best. He said, no, most folks use CO2, I said give me a bottle , machine worked like a champ. Just my experience. Still prefer stick, if it’s a critical weld.

Bones