Bugatt Type 35 , 1/4th Scale

[Roger Zimmermann]

Interesting system, I was not aware of that tiny welding machine. As you experienced, not good for brass, therefore I have no use of it. And I'm not ready to deal with gold, platinum or titanium!

[Bugatti Fan]

Very interesting to learn that you have a miniature TIG Welding Machine.
Surprised to learn that brass was being found difficult for your chassis, as you are worried about it flexing with in scale brass thickness.
I would try to steer clear of mild steel. One scratch or chip in the paint and rusting can start on it, even from a thread tapped hole.I
Stainless might be better but quite hard to work. You could probably go up a bit in brass thickness without suffering scale appearance too much.
There will be many very small holes to consider being drilled for the special fasteners to take the panel retaining wires.
I read somewhere that the chassis on a real 35B lacks rigidity until the engine is bolted on.

[MODEL A MODEL]

Hello Noel, -It is interesting! Every night I try something new or try to improve on the appearance of the welds that I've been doing. The first scale subject that I had thought of are the rocker arms of the Lotus 49, or the Gurney-Weslake Eagle. The welds are very noticeable, and as much a detail as anything else?

Also, the "Birdcage" Maserati! Those welds are not the prettiest either! (I've seen several of those cars up close) -and motorcycles! -many of those have welded frames.

My filler "Rods" are 0.015" to 0.025" in thickness! The smallest readily available rods are 0.045" and that makes them too large! So I have ordered some rods used with LASER welders, or I can reduce some stock through a draw-plate, or a rolling mill.

I have welded Stainless Steel, Mild Steel, Titanium, Nickel/Silver, Copper, Bronze and Nickel!

The advantages are the ease and speed! Either as a welded assembly or as just a way to "Tack" things together to then solder with no worries of parts moving!

I had not thought to use Stainless in a major way, but I am considering it now. It is surprising how strong small weldments can be!

And, Steel is both cheaper and stronger than Brass. (Plus it's prototypical)

[PaulPK]

This is so interesting. Could you post a photo of the bronze test you did. Too bad about the issue with brass welding. I guess you could weld a piece of steel and then make a silicone mold for lost wax casting in brass. Involved but your samples look so good.

[MODEL A MODEL]

Hi Paul.

My day job has been and will for a month or two more, keep me very busy. And my commute is 40+ miles a day, so the only time I have to myself is limited.
When I have a little more confidence in what I'm doing, I'll post some pictures of the different materials and the welds that I can make. For now it's all "Fusion Welds", autogenous welds. Basically, holding two pieces together putting the tungsten electrode in the groove or seam and "POP"

Some dissimilar metals can be joined this way, and some cannot. A lot for me to discover. I have ordered a current textbook, used for passing a certified welding course, most of the information probably won't apply to my needs, and some may be a surprise.

Welding is like a box of chocolates!

[MODEL A MODEL]

One thing to remember, is that this system is limited in it's penetration, how deep the weld can go. However with the thin gauges of metal that we use, I'm getting 100% depth and it is all base metal. Filler metal will add strength and a fillet that can be left alone or manipulated to a desired transition.

-and whenever a part being made is to later be painted? primer and paint should be enough to make everything look seamless.

For the record Brass can be done-ish, a series of tack welds to hold things in place for conventional Silver soldering is a definite application. The vaporizing Zinc fouls the electrode, but holding things from moving around is absolutely a big plus! (Cleaning the electrodes is actually easy, it would be tedious to do it all the time, and when working with say Stainless Steel the difference is night and day.)

[MODEL A MODEL]

Oops! one more thing of course.

Why should I be wed to Brass?

Sure, she's always been there for me, but she is a little expensive? And she's not always available. Had our "forefathers", Olive, Baigent, Conti, Wingrove, had they my access I'm certain they would also have explored the potentials. And I am equally certain that they would, maybe not unanimously, have decided as I have, that the wedding is off!

Brass has it's place, and so do the other elements! (Noble or not!)

[MODEL A MODEL]

A few hours later, . . .



Titanium

[MODEL A MODEL]

Nickel

[MODEL A MODEL]

Mild Steel, (sandblasted)

[MODEL A MODEL]

Nickel / Silver (also sandblasted)

[MODEL A MODEL]

Stainless Steel, and some more Titanium

[Roger Zimmermann]

Fantastic!

[Bugatti Fan]

Interesting experimentation !

[MODEL A MODEL]

Hello Noel! What do you think about the body panels? In the larger 1/4th scale I could form those in Aluminium (Aluminum), louvers and all. The shapes are simple. Scale thickness? Probably not, it might be too prone to crushing dents, but maybe with one of the stiffer alloys? Maybe?

You haven't mentioned all the square head screws? -I have a plan to make an "Assembly Line" for those and other multiples of hardware.

Hope you are well!

Me? I am anxious for Spring!