Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

aceonbass wrote:Just finished Sepp's harness. He opted for the bass cut cap, so I supplied a C&D .0047 cap. Most of the selector switch is original, but the leaves, one of the plastic insulator tubes, and the nut were replaced. I also used a pair of NOS Ajax Blue caps. They spec'd out at .045uF & .051uF. I really don't know their construction (I'm not cutting one open!), but I do think they sound better than the C&D caps RIC currently uses.

Dane,

The harness looks fantastic!! I hope the pickguard arrives soon so I can mount it up and install the toaster. I'll let you all know how it sounds when it gets buttoned up in a few weeks!

Sepp

Kopfjaeger wrote:I'll let you all know how it sounds when it gets buttoned up in a few weeks!

Sepp

So, has a string choice been made for it's re-initialization?

Jeff,

I think so. Either Circle K .098, .073. .055, .039 or one step; lighter. I am leaning towards this set to start.

Sepp

I haven't seen this in a while such great work being done!

Has anyone attempted to have their old (pre 73) aluminum saddles welded? Welding aluminum is tricky but it is easily done by those skilled with the proper welding gear. I'm seriously thinking about taking my saddles to a local welder that does welding with aluminum to see if he can fill in the deep grooves in my saddles. Has anyone had any success in doing this?? As long as he is adding aluminum to the slots, I can re-cut the slot to the proper depth and have the string sitting on aluminum not epoxy.

Sepp

Welding "aluminum" is not necessarily the same as welding cast aluminum. The alloys are different for casting. I'm not sure it will really make a huge difference since I have not ever tried it. I know cast iron and steel are VERY different in how you weld them.

I guess, when you talk to a welder, make sure you mention these are castings (I think they are, right?)...

aceonbass wrote:As small as the saddle is, I'll bet he'd melt them trying. I think Mark's idea of the metal epoxy sounds good. You're gonna end up removing most of the material anyway wen you re-slot the saddle.

Actually, someone who is good at TIG welding should be able to do it. The heat control is amazing, I actually knew a guy who could weld a sheet of aluminum foil to 1/4 inch plate, watched him do it!

cjj wrote:

aceonbass wrote:As small as the saddle is, I'll bet he'd melt them trying. I think Mark's idea of the metal epoxy sounds good. You're gonna end up removing most of the material anyway wen you re-slot the saddle.

Actually, someone who is good at TIG welding should be able to do it. The heat control is amazing, I actually knew a guy who could weld a sheet of aluminum foil to 1/4 inch plate, watched him do it!

Now that sounds impressive!! I guess I'll take them to the welder and ask him what he thinks. Melting them is not an option so he needs to know that up front. if there is the slightest chance of turning the saddle into a molten pool of aluminum, I won't risk it. If a saddle bites the dust, I'm gunna be one real ****** off hombre!!

Sepp

OK, I did a little looking around about welding cast aluminum. Cast aluminum often has porosity that seems to cause problems with welding. It can be done, but it's tricky and it takes someone who knows what they are doing. And sometimes it just doesn't work, depending on the alloy used.

And, with the small size, it's gonna take someone who know what they are doing as well, which usually adds to the cost. The guy I mentioned who welded foil to a plate, all he did was weld aluminum, day in and day out, and he'd been doing it for about 40 years. He did not work cheap...

Normal electronic solder won't easily alloy with aluminum. There are special aluminum solder alloys, which take a special flux, but I've never done anything with them. I'd guess they take a totally different temperature than electronic solder (higher) so your soldering iron wouldn't work...

A few days ago I was looking at sites on the subject and came across this. http://www.aluminumrepair.com/

My curiosity was peaked but to purchase a pound of product seemed a bit much to try it out. To make matters worse, I'd be the one doing the work, with ZERO experience. Not a comforting thought with such a difficult item to replace.

Any way I'm going to inquire and see what the pro's tell me. I'll keep everyone posted.

Sepp

Oh yeah, an oxy-acetylene torch and a tiny part. There's a recipe for an instant puddle...


Actually I've done a bit of aluminum brazing with a torch. It works fairly well for bigger things, heat control is a big factor. Aluminum conducts heat REALLY well and it's hard to keep the heat just where you want it, especially with a torch.

That's the beauty of electric arc welding, the heat is very concentrated, just where the arc is. In aluminum, it spreads quickly, but with TIG, a good operator can control it and keep it contained so as to not melt everything...

The problem with cast aluminum is there may be impurities in the metal. TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding would be the best option IMO. You would need to find a welder with a small TIG torch. I know of a few welders that could do this but haven't seen them since I retired over 5 years ago. I can TIG weld but never got the knack for aluminum. The right person could do this in a matter of minutes as long as the impurities were not too bad. We would weld cast aluminum all the time at work, generally preheating the item but these are so small that step may not be needed.

Note: I believe any solder would be too soft.

If you want to use epoxy I would recommend Devcon Aluminum Putty.