Thanks Trevor, But it was not that big of a deal before... I was just hoping with the magic of the internet and a wide range of experience on a forum like this I would run across a lot of people who have done this frequently.
As an aside, While I no longer run a commercial shop, I still dabble in it and annoyed/amused & exasperated with the number of people who want a part and then complain its not perfect and new condition for a used 40-50 year old part. I know several people who got out of stocking used parts for this reason who are well known in the Brit bike community. I personally expect, Nicks, gouges, scratches and cracks even.
So, while I am only a passable welder suitable for basic fab work and construction, I do know and used to work with many who are. Gas welding and TIG are 2 different animals. I did a stint in another shop working on their backlog of vintage bikes, but took the job so I could learn the business side from the owner. He was AMAZING welding aluminum with a gas torch. He made it look so easy, For a 70 something guy in a wheelchair (Actually a hot rodded motorized mobility chair) He had some excellent skills.
However I got some aerospace welders who enjoyed some side hustle money tax free (Cash) and for about 5 years I would take in welding jobs for vintage bikes no one else would take on. I did all the prep work, and got some excellent guys to weld them up, then smoothed and shaped, polished and repaired the threads.
None of these guys had any idea of what a British bike looked like, But we did unobtainium sheetmetal and any number of alloy parts. For rod, I just went to a industrial supply store near my work, and showed them the parts, They gave me 2 types of rod to try. One was the wrong color but welded okay, The other was spot on. Once I dressed the welds,, you could not tell there was a repair, except one Triumph case and 2 Norton parts as the color was okay, But those parts no matter how much cleaning and prep I did just ooozed Oil. In the welds there was small black dots from outgassing. You couldnt tell by color or texture, but if you knew where to look you could see the black dots/shallow pinholes.
There is many castings STOCK from the factories that also have those same black dots from dirt, dross or outgassing in a casting so its not a big deal.
I used to also offer modified Timing and primary covers and when I was done it looked factory. **
My point here is, I wanted some feedback what others were using and what they specced at the welding supply. I would rather have an idea of what to ask for instead of hoping I get the right material and the counter person knows how to do his job.
I did get an answer of sorts,, from Magnetoman on the BB forum, I had read his postings on a BSA project and he mentioned some filler material he has been using but I had forgotten about it. Someone else sent me a link to it, Very helpful.
" A little bit here in a thread from BritBike forum that may be relevant for welding head fins - on a 1957 BSA Spitfire (posted by Magnetoman, 11/11/13);
"...I have a 450 Amp TIG available, recently I bought a 200 Amp machine. The reason for this is the newer inverter welders have adjustable waveforms that make the arc much more precise and controllable than is possible with a transformer welder. This is especially useful for aluminum. Anyway, after researching the issue I bought the machine, gathered junk motorcycle castings (again, thanks KC in S.B. and MikeG), and have been experimenting with various filler materials and electrodes.
One of the reasons I'm pursuing this is I need to repair and/or replace several fins on my Spitfire Scrambler's head, and TIG is the way to do this. Also, I need the control an inverter TIG gives me for another project I've been working on for the past few months...I was experimenting with 4047 filler rod last week to see if its increased fluidity over the more standard 4043 would be helpful on castings and went further with that work than I had planned...I only had the 4047 in 1/8" rod, which was too large for for a proper repair...If you're familiar with gas welding, think of a 200 A inverter TIG as giving you the pinpoint control of a #000 tip that has the heat output of a #4...and then producing a realistic sand-cast texture in the now-smooth filler...The trick to restoring the original finish is to place emery cloth on top of the dressed weld (ie smoothed back to original shape) and to use a hammer on the emery cloth, the rough finish of the emery cloth is transferred to the alloy...a few months ago someone showed texturing being done this way, but with the help of a Hasting's Air-Peen hammer... After filing with a 10-inch second cut file followed by 60 grit and 100 grit sandpaper applied with the air hammer, finished with #00 steel wool rubbed in the direction of the grain...looks like the best of these attempts.
TIG Welding of Fins 02/06/14
4043 worked as well as any of the others on BSA's casting alloy so it is what I have been using on this head. I prefer smaller diameter filler rather than larger since it provides me with more flexibility in the build up process. Even where the fins were ~1/8" thick I used 1/16" diameter filler.
See more with photos here:
http://www.britbike.com/forums/ubbth...96/type/thread-----------------------------------------------
** For custom timing covers, Early Triumph preunits for the quill oil feed used a bushing, which can wear or get sloppy allowing oil feed drop. A common mod is weld the boss around the oil feed boss and then machine it to later 63 -> up specs with a cavity and oil seal,
As well, A trick I learned while not stock, is to take a Preunit magneto model and convert it to a points style cam driven ignition and using a EI (Boyer, Sparx, Wassell EI units)
To do this, you of course have to use a later unit Triumph exhaust cam which drops right in. Then take a unit timing cover and the magneto model timing cover, Build a jig (Steel plate with holes for screws and a dowel to locate the boss's) Then cut both covers and weld them together 1/2 & 1/2 You know have the superior unit model oil feed, you also have the timing side points cavity which is a superior ignition plus a threaded oil boss for a pressure gauge or feed oil to the head instead of the dribble from return side..
Another mod done frequently-(Did about 14-15 of these) Is converting early generator model Preunit Triumphs to a Belt drive primary and a Alternator on the primary along with a later unit model crank and rods. We welded the engine cases to build up material for the bosses for the stator studs. machined them and used Unit model Lucas or Sparx alternators. Then cut up a Triumph 500 unit primary and a Preunit Generator primary and again, using a thick steel plate and jig, mated the 2 covers 1/2 & 1/2 so you had the alternator bulge. Some early style and some later unit style with the removable 3 screw access cover so you can strobe time the motors.
This was some 15-20 years back when many people did not value PU Triumphs as highly as now, but some people liked them but did not like their short comings, reliability issues and wanted to be daily riders.
Upgrading to later unit specs made these late 40s and early 50s rigids as reliable as a 1970s Triumph. It was fun as well to sort the rivet counters, Most people didnt notice, but serious Brit Bike people would look at it, Know its not stock but are confused how we pulled it off. Sometimes we just lied and said........
"oh no,, a limited number of factory machines were built this way........." It helped I knew a famous Triumph dealer who loved to play mind games. 80% of the Sandy Bandits stories were fabricated or purposely misleading. Cliff would happily play along and insist it was true and spin lengthy stories about this stuff.
I also took on wrecked bikes with severe damage, Engines with rods thru them, Mangled combustion chambers, cracked heads. No job too small or too hard if you were willing to pay.
I think there is a need for this service again, And considering offering it. I have the resources to do it. Ill dig up some old repairs and post some pictures. Some I took on for the challenge. If someone said it couldnt be done, I hate people telling me something cant be repaired when I know it can.