AkumaNoZeta Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 I have an aluminum project that I would like to have done for cheap, maybe by a novice needing practice. I have a 7M-GE and I got the ITBs off a RB26 and would like to have a lower intake made to mate the two, and eventually a plenum too. I've been thinking about it for a long time and willing to admit it's beyond my skill level. Would anyone be interested? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkumaNoZeta Posted January 15, 2013 Author Share Posted January 15, 2013 I guess no one is interested. I can't afford $2000+ for a professional to make it. I'm going to make a scale drawing on poster board of what I want so I can go around town here and see if any of these industrial fab places would be willing to give it a try, and hopefully not cost too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xnke Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 It's going to be expensive. The parts are cheap, but the *time* it will take to get them fitted properly is what you are paying for. Price the time at 2$ an hour and you might find a price you like... I'd offer to do the job, but it would be 800-1200$ plus materials, so there's no point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 If you can't afford to pay someone to do the work, you have to learn how to do the work yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Gotta pay to play. Play takes payment in the form of time or money, but usually both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkumaNoZeta Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 In my case, I don't even care if it takes a year and 6 months to make. I have tons of patience, just no money. If I had a TIG I would do it myself. I'm already considering getting a few pieces of 1/2" thick aluminum and start making the flanges myself. The runners will be a little difficult, going from an oval to a circle, and also spreading out a tiny bit to meet the ITBs. I'm sure if I make a jig to hold the flanges in the right positions then I can make the runners myself too and then just number them, put reference marks on them, and give the whole thing for someone to weld up for me. We do have a nice oxy-acetelyn torch, has anybody ever tried welding aluminum with one? I've only done it with a TIG before in school. There's a lot more money going into building a car than I originally thought, I've already spent $1000 just on C25 for my MIG and I'm barely half-way done with my chassis work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xnke Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 (edited) Yes, I've done some oxyfuel welding of aluminum. My advice is don't even pick it up to try, unless you are making airplane fairings or full aluminum bodies. To do it right, you'll have the same amount of money in the setup as buying a 200A AC/DC TIG with pulse function. (I paid about 700$ for mine plus the first tank of gas and 3lbs of aluminum rod) On top of that, you need special lenses in the helmet, you need a full-face mask, goggles won't cut it, and you need a flux to strip the oxides, very similar to brazing flux. Also, you won't be doing thick-to-thin that way, without a LOT of practice. Oxyfuel welding of aluminum is mostly used for doing large sheet forming of aluminum that will be finish-formed on an english wheel or with a hammer and dolly; as the weld deposit is more ductile. Fabrication work is expensive...it requires expensive (money) tools, expensive (time) training/practice, and time for a fabricator to work out all the details in the plan, cut the parts out to the marked dimensions, correct the marked dimensions to ones that fit correctly, apply his expensive tools and expensive training into assembling/welding/fitting/machining your project into existence. It's called Spending Time for a reason...your fabricator is investing *his* time into *your* project, based on receiving currency return. His time, experience, training, and tooling cost him, and he has to recoup that cost by charging for his time, pay for his training, pay for his tooling, consumables, ect. In short, You either pay someone to do it, or you invest the time, tooling, training, and recoup your initial project plus a new skillset. Edited January 17, 2013 by Xnke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skirkland1980 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I'm also planning to make my own aluminum intake. What I've found is a welder is just plain too expensive. I'm going to buy a oxy acetylene torch (about $300) and rent the tanks. Check out this video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkumaNoZeta Posted January 17, 2013 Author Share Posted January 17, 2013 I've had some experience with these torch handles before and it was shockingly easy on sheet steel so I should be able to get a hang of it on aluminum. The welder in this video isn't as good as the guy in your video though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwznk009mQs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xnke Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 (edited) You guys are missing the point made in my above post...You will be welding THIN sheet and tube to THICK flanges and plates. Once you get enough heat with the torch into the thick side of the weld, your thin side will be overheated and will give you FITS to get the join made. The torch simply doesn't have the fine control of heat that the TIG welder does. You will be years ahead of practice to spend the 1500-2500$ you'd spend on acetylene and oxygen, flux, rods, practice material and mask shades to just buy the TIG welder and be done with it. Hell, you could take JUST what you spend on practice material alone and buy a chinese TIG (they are fine machines, don't let any BUY'MERIKA screamer fool you. Jasic Inverter Co. makes a comparable machine to Miller, but it's in a bigger box.) and be done with it. Yes, Tinman shows a lot of stuff welded with a torch, that's where I get my aluminum flux and one of the lenses for my mask...but he's also been doing it for 25 years for aircraft skins. It's all sheet-to-sheet work, not sheet-to-bar or tube-to-bar. BIG difference. Edited January 18, 2013 by Xnke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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