FC Posted September 14, 2023 Report Share Posted September 14, 2023 I have to reassemble my Thompson drum magazine by using brazing. It's very thin steel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pexgFjrh-rQ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Hess Posted September 14, 2023 Report Share Posted September 14, 2023 Brazing is a quite strong joint, but requires close fitting. Original Lotus 7 frames were brazed, not welded. Probably all the other Lotus frames of tube construction of that era as well, including the formula 1 cars. I would practice on some similar thin metal before putting the torch to your magazine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC Posted September 16, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2023 Why is your Lotus brazed, because of thin metal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Hess Posted September 16, 2023 Report Share Posted September 16, 2023 None of mine are brazed. The Locost 7, a Lotus 7 clone that I am building, has square 304 stainless tubing and I MIG it, with a little SMAW occasionally. All my other Lotus are not tube based space frames. The Europas are a box back bone originally. I made a 304 stainless space frame in place of one, the other I haven't started on yet. The 2 more modern ones have frames made from extruded aluminum. A really big extruder. Lotus pretty much put tube space frames behind them in the early 60's. Now, the original Lotus 7s, as made by Lotus and not a clone, were made from round carbon steel tubing, and that was brazed. I suspect they used brazing to minimize distortion versus welding, but who knows. They didn't exactly ever say why they did it that way. The tubing wasn't that thin. I think they were 16ga. MAYBE 18, but I think 16. Too thin to stick weld, but could be welded with gas, I would think. Brazing would probably have a whole lot less "blow through... OOPS" events. Hard to find a pic of an original 7 frame online. I have pics in books. Here is a pic of a Lotus 11 frame, which is very, very similar to an original 7 frame: In the 70's, some engineers took a 7 frame and built a 3D model with the latest at the time software to analyze forces, etc., and see what needed strengthening. They were like "This thing will never work. We'll beef it up to a point it will work" and would up doubling the weight of it. Meanwhile real Lotus 7's were and still are one of the fastest vehicles on a race track up to 100 MPH. After that, forget it, as they have "barn door" aerodynamics. Chapman designed and built the 11 to be aerodynamic. With a 100 HP Coventry Climax motor, it raced at Le Mans and won it's class. It would do 140MPH down the back stretch, and it got 40+MPG throughout the race. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC Posted September 16, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2023 I'd never heard of bronze welding, but saw a picture of it being done on a car frame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Hess Posted September 16, 2023 Report Share Posted September 16, 2023 You can also get brazing wire with flux on it for MIG machines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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