OK, im working on my Triumph frame, and whoever did the chop in the early 70's used brazing rod and shitload of bondo. So my question is: Do I have to get the braze out before I can weld it back up? Or should I use braze over the top of the already brazed areas? Thanks!
if it was me, i would clean out the bondo, gring down as needed, and rebraze it. not knowing what the bike frame is made of, brazing is the safest route to take, and besides brass has a higher tensile stength than weld metal. if done correctly the tubing will fail before the brazed joint will. consider formulae 1, light aircraft, etc. used brazing as the weld of choice on tube frames, sometimes because of the chrome moly tube would crack with other welding methods, and sometimes just because it was easier and stronger. brazing gets my vote here bob
most british motorcycle frames were furnace brazed,if you try to melt all the brass out the whole thing would probably collapse.
In England.brazing is an art form.In North America,brazing is frequently frowned upon because it is too esay for some amateur to do a bad job.
[ QUOTE ] So my question is: Do I have to get the braze out before I can weld it back up? [/ QUOTE ] You've already got the answer you need, I thought that I would address your first question; no, you don't ever want to weld steel over brass. If a piece has been brazed and you want to weld it, you must remove all the brass first. I learned this the hard way as a kid, the splatter can get real nasty when the molten steel hits the brass. Good luck with your bike, I agree with the other posters, brazing is the way to go...
Just make really sure there are no bending loads on that part of the frame. If there are, welding is stronger ( In bend and/or work hardening )
well, thankfully im not an amateur, or it would be a problem. Started Brazing it today...fun going over someoen elses crap
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