Home made kit car. - How to join aluminium box sections.

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Wed 10 Jun 2020 12:18
Home made kit car. - How to join aluminium box sections. - beershark

Hi,

I have a number of six foot long anodised aluminium box sections. They are half an inch by an inch in cross section and are HOLLOW. I wish to join them in pairs by splinting a foot long section across the ends of the two pieces in the lengthened section. Pop rivets would be good, but the likelihood of obtaining any long enough to pass through two half inch sections seems difficult in the U.K. Any suggestions as to how I may source any in the U.K. would be helpful, alternatively any other means of fixing these pieces together securely.

Thanks,

Steve

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Wed 10 Jun 2020 13:40
Home made kit car. - How to join aluminium box sections. - Cris_on_the_gas

Get someone to weld them

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Sat 13 Jun 2020 00:56
Home made kit car. - How to join aluminium box sections. - edlithgow

Long time since I used pop rivets, but I'm pretty sure they work in blind holes, so I'm not sure I understand your comment, which seems to imply you want/need them to span the box section.

I'd have thought they just need to go through the tube wall, and whatever you are using as a splint.

Self-tapping screws wouldalso locate, but for strength (I assume this isn't serious structure but something like weather protection) you'd need welding, brazing or an industrial adhesive, probably an epoxy.

Welding aluminium is a bit tricky, hence "get someone" above. My MIG night-class test weld was, by some fluke, absolutely perfect when sectioned and acid-etched, but I bet I wouldn't have been able to do it again.

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