Gluing aluminum to aluminum?

Sluis Van Shipyards

Sluis Van Shipyards

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I was looking to see if there was anything that would bond aluminum to aluminum really well. I found a site that makes glue especially for this, Permabond, but for a 1oz bottle of their super glue type glue it's like $30! How much better would it be than just using regular super glue? Anyone have any experience with this? What I want to do this on isn't under weight or anything, it would just be 1/16" thick aluminum that would be detail. I want to wrap around and glue it to a 1/4" aluminum piece.
 
As long as you sand the bonding sides with a heavy grit sandpaper you will have no trouble with CA glue. You just have to clamp to ensure you get good bonding, since the metal memory might tend to pull the pieces away from each other before the glue cures. 5 minute epoxy will work too.

TazMan2000
 
I would just use thick epoxy. Varieties with slower cure tend to give a tougher bond. JB-Weld brand is popular.
Before it has cured, excess glue can be removed with water or alcohol on q-tips, depending on variety.

Superglue can break if the part is subjected to a shock. All glues can break if the parts are subjected to temperature variations.
I have heard of brazing aluminium but getting started doing that would probably cost more than $30.

BTW. 1/16" alu .. that's about 1.5 mm. If the 1/4" base surface is cylindrical, I would recommend making your detail piece out of a piece of alu tube of the right inner diameter to mate with the base part's outer diameter.
It is difficult to bend sheet metal of that thickness without a special-purpose machine and very difficult especially around something as tight as 1/4".
 
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If the pieces are safe to heat up, you can get some brazing rods at harbor freight to braze the pieces together. It's called aluminaweld, and you can use a regular propane torch to braze with. You just have to make sure you heat both pieces up enough that the aluminaweld sticks to both pieces. Basically clamp your pieces together how you want them, and heat them until they're hot enough that the brazing rod melts without the torch flame on it.


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I've used those brazing rods for aluminum and work extremely well for pressure/weight bearing parts. But if the surface area is large enough, steel filled epoxy or industrial cyanoacrylate works well too. Just roughen the surfaces to be joined with sandpaper and don't wait too long before bonding or an oxide layer will form on the surface which will make the bond weaker (scrub with steel brush and wipe with alcohol to remove said layer).
 
+1 for a metal epoxy. CA glue doesn't grip metal at all well. Even something light will come away as soon as it gets a bit of a knock.

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Perhaps SVS, you can explain what exactly you are bonding together, and what it will be used for. I only assumed that since it wasn't going to support weight that it may be just for display. Others have assumed that your pieces will be subjected to shock and temperature extremes. If that is so, a mechanical connection, in addition to almost any glue will do the trick. Glue the pieces together, then screw it all together by drilling a few holes, and tapping them out for screws.

TazMan2000
 
ARKM said:
Two part metal epoxy is where it's at. I have used J-B Weld many times to glue aluminum to aluminum. It works great.
Click to expand...

I think that's the route I'm going to go. I searched around some more after posting and lots of sites suggested JB Weld. From what I've read the problem is oxidation if you're using it for a load bearing or structural part, and that's when you need the fancy glues. I just figure I will sand the part and then maybe cut some grooves into it for the epoxy to grab onto.

I did look at brazing before, but I thought someone said that you can grind/sand down a seam like you can with a weld.
 
http://www.hernon.com

smells terrible, but you can attach 1/8" thick pieces, and the aluminum will bend before the glue gives up.

JB Weld as no shearing strength. JB 2 pieces and twist them, they will pop. JB just hardens. Even silicone works if not under stress. And silicone is easily undone if you want to redo.

Alumiweld even looks like a weld. Fun with blowtorches!
 
JPH said:
JB Weld as no shearing strength. JB 2 pieces and twist them, they will pop. JB just hardens.
Click to expand...

Maybe you got a bad batch or read some bad data because that has not been my experience with J-B Weld. Can I break apart two pieces of aluminum that have been glued together via J-B Weld? Yes. Can I or someone much stronger than me do that with their bare hands? Nope. Not even close. At least not with as small of parts as I use anyways (lightsaber claws and other lightsaber parts).

Obviously the amount of leverage (or even weight) of both parts to the amount of surface area glued, will affect whether or not the two parts can be broken apart by hand but if if the parts have that much leverage or weight to such a small surface area, no glue, regardless of brand or composition, should be used to connect them together.
 
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JB Weld and Devcon 5 minute epoxy are the glues I use for aluminum. If it needs to be crazy strong I use JB Weld. The only thing about JB Weld is it takes a while to cure. If I need something difficult to clamp glued I use Devcon 5 minute epoxy. The 5 minute epoxy is pretty strong too. Mostly it's about surface preparation, as others have already said.
 
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