Solder to Aluminum?

If the bullet hole came through above the cylinder line, all that you would lose is splashed oil, and not a lot at that. The odds of the bullet hitting above the cylinder line as opposed to below the line were better than 50-50, so a LOT of bullet holes in Merlin engines were patched. The APPROVED process was to heliarc weld it, but in the field, a lot of genius mechanics figured out an alternative and much simpler process.

Jim

Here is something most folk don't know. During WWII the RAF mechanics used to solder plates over the bullet holes in Spitfire engines. They used a really hot iron and heavy engine oil. As an experiment I had a go at soldering aluminium and their method worked but was a bit hit or miss. You have to solder through a film of engine oil and keep the iron vigorously moving while tinning the surfaces. Yeah! I know it is not what you wanted but it was just a bit of history.

Interesting thing happened in the So. Pacific in WWII. They were reinforcing sections of the planes that came back all shot up. One day the epifany-angel decended and suggested that perhaps they should be reinforcing the places that weren't all shot up.

If it came back, it was obvious.

-- Keith

I didn't say the plane they got the engine from was still flying and, furthermore, I did not say the damage was sufficient to destroy the engine. Think oil leaks, coolant leaks, et.al. Both kind of leaks would, "eventually", destroy an engine if it was allowed to run for any length of time. Remember that these aircraft were fighting in the skies just above their home bases for much of the time. They would come in as soon as trouble was indicated and there was much cannibalisation of bits from damaged and crashed aircraft. There was a war on after all. Remember also that such aircraft could glide down in the event of an engine failure.

snip

So you seem to think a crack, or bit chipped out, of an ali block caused by a bullet's impact that lets either oil or coolant to escape is NOT a hole? Strange considering that fluid can get out?

That should work rather well.

Short of aircraft, short of pilots, short of ammunition, attacked by a vastly superior airforce that had had several more years to prepare than they had. Their only advantage was that they were fighting on home territory, so could fight longer than the Luftwaffe, who had burnt fuel coming and had to get back. They recycled what they could, from whole aircraft to the few remaining bits that were good. I wonder what would have happened had transplant surgery been developed back then:

The Aviator's Song:

Oh, the bold aviator was dying And as 'neath the wreckage he lay, he lay To the sobbing mechanics about him These last parting words he did say

"Take the cylinders out of my kidneys The connecting rod out of my brain, my brain From the small of my back get the crankshaft And assemble the engine again"

Paul Burke

1. The RAF never had fewer than 50 fighters available for immediate replacements, and the number was usually over 100. Lots of good things were done to increase supply--Lord Beaverbrook would certainly have gone to jail in peacetime--but the planes were always there.
2. Home territory helped a lot, but Chain Home rdf (radar) got the planes to where they needed to be. Goering thought they'd need three times the aircraft they had, in order to intercept that effectively, and Dowding for once agreed with him--apart from radar.

(Reference: "The Narrow Margin" by Derek Wood)

And anyway, that sort of stuff is done routinely by any good Nascar pit crew. Though they don't talk as loudly about trying to make the other guys crash. ;-)

Cheers,

Phil Hobbs

"Aluminum Solder-It (ALP-21)

flows at 395F far below the melting point of aluminum. It is used to solder many types and gauges of aluminum as well as to solder aluminum to most other metals. It is especially useful for joining dissimilar gauges of aluminum. Use Aluminum Solder-It for aluminum tubing, aluminum antennas, aluminum radiators, air conditioning condensers, refrigeration, aluminum boats, doors, windows, anodized aluminum and aluminum foil. Great for constructing and repairing Remote Controlled Aircraft Parts and cosmetic repair of Homebuilt Aircraft/Parts. "

James Arthur

You better find out if it contains cadmimum; the fumes are *very* toxic!!!!

Thanks! Some useful info at their site:

using

the

Use J. W. Harris Stay-Clean Aluminum Flux. Smells bad, works fine. Intended for repairing aluminum refrigeration parts. They recommend using silver-bearing solder (Stay-Brite) or Alusol, but it will work just fine with tin-lead as well.

toxic!!!!

I generally avoid fumes. Suggestion: don't breathe them.

Solder-it once had Material Safety Data Sheets on their site; too bad they're no longer there.

They *do* have suggestions on soldering aluminum:

I found Solder-it silver-bearing solder paste at Lowe's, the home improvement store, in the plumbing department. Seems convenient aluminum soldering supplies might be found locally wherever refrigeration servicing & repair materials are sold, yes?

Cheers, James

This was a morale issue, however.

The civilians were disturbed to see truck after truck of crashed Spitfires and Hurricanes; but never German planes. They didn't grok they were being fixed. I believe at some point the War Office put signs on the trucks with "soon good as new" or such.