Review on Alumaloy 20 Rods: USA Made, As Seen on TV, 1/8" x 18" Aluminum Welding Rods for Simple Welding, Brazing, and Repair by Suhas Carney

When I received the bundle of rods it just didn't feel complete. So I weighed it and it turned out to be less than 9%; 14.5 ounces versus 16, or 415 grams versus 454. (And yes, my scale was accurate, I checked it on an analytical balance and it was accurate to the gram). stick very well. I had thoroughly clean aluminum (wire and thinner) and MAP gas with lots of heat on the small parts and it looked like that solder had just come to the surface. It turned out to be well wetted and the joints had some bond strength, but they were a lot easier to break than they should be, and when broken there seemed almost no place where the solder actually stuck fused to the base metal. . I'm going to spend some money on an HTS-2000, wish I had done that first. It's more than twice the price but seems to work very reliably. (Although I've seen reports of people having luck with Alumala, which makes me wonder if it really is the alloy.) (update a few hours later) FWIW, I was able to get a strong (but messy looking) Joint using the lap joint method shown in the Alumaloy YouTube videos. You wet the parts to be connected with solder, heat them up and then press them together. It's important to keep the two pieces steady while the joint cures, which can be a little tricky, and as mentioned, the joint was pretty messy when I finished it, but it was extremely strong. The gussets were easy to make pretty, but if I tighten the connections with too much force they break. I may be able to use this for my current project as it is a very light frame that will not be subjected to extreme forces. However, I went ahead and ordered a pound HTS-2000 which seems to be a big hit with more people. (Revain doesn't have it though; I had to order it direct from an aluminum repair shop.)