Based on your first paragraph, I was expecting a lot worse! The beads look decent to me. Thanks for sharing

I tried another weld with everything the same (same parent metals, same surface preparation, same filler rod) except that I fit the parts up with a small gap (stood the pieces apart using a .035" mig wire), instead of fitted up tightly like I did at first. I also did no pre-heating, to keep as ...

Gary - thanks for the ideas, however "hot and fast" was the first thing I tried and it actually seemed to have the cracking problem really bad. I'd be surprised if this were a contamination issue because the molten puddle when it is a liquid seems to be flowing together just fine. (And the...

Here is my completed intercooler, taken before installation in the car. I went over it with a blue 3" scotch brite disc, which cleaned up the uneven oxide finish from old and new materials, and removed the random odd burned-in sharpie and masking tape residue. I didn't go crazy doing fine grit ...

Hey Kevn thanks for the compliment! I'd love to see other intercooler / end tank designs, especially any that are innovative. This cooler is for a VW in an autocross racing application where the class does not have a minimum weight, and the boost pressure is in the upper 20's psi range. Weight savin...

Hey folks - I have some aluminum round tubing, .065" thick that is mandrel bent, and of uncertain alloy. It is significantly more malleable than 5052 however, so maybe its something like 3003. I have tried welding it to 5052 sheet and also to 6061 tubing, using 4043 filler rod, and in some case...

(above post continued...) and below is a picture of the end result, after being welded on.

Sure - First I used a tubing expander tool (see picture below) patially inserted into the tubing, to flare out the end. These can be had for cheap (I recall spending about $8) from harbor freight. They come in three different sizes. http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/?category=&q=...

The intercooler is all done now. I was really proud of a couple of beads I put down today welding on that last mounting bracket. I made them all in one shot, with no stops. I've finally got my filler rod feeding hand working.

Thanks ogorir! :D I feel like I've definitely gotten better at "TIG sheet aluminum" since I started this project, and I really appreciate your helpful advice on the techniques also. I welded on the first two of three mounting flanges to the intercooler today. Its looking like a totally per...

I'm using an Everlast "Super200P"

I got the second end tank done! While the design of this one was a simple three pieces of sheet, I challenged myself by trying smoothly rounding over the edges where the sheets mate together. (I made a homemade "T-dolly" for this, by grinding a hemispherical shape into the end of a steel r...

It's a dual pass intercooler, with the inlet and outlet both sharing the same end tank. At the other end tank, the air makes a "U-turn". Here's a photo of what it looked like before I pulled the plastic off. (epoxied on aluminum tubing connection is where the failure occurred.)

I've completed the first end tank now. Got the bead formed on the second round tube, and welded that to the rest of the intercooler. I have been able to fuse weld (no filler) the back side of many welds that are tricky to access, but possible, with the TIG torch; such as pictured below, through the ...

Update: The last piece of sheet metal on this end tank welded on nicely. I'll be ready to weld the round tubing piece on as soon as I get the bead formed for the rubber hose connection.

Thanks for the tips, I think I will do just that (practice & attempt the "keyhole" filling method, for more complete penetration). The other idea I had was, experimenting with some heat sink compound I've got (clay / putty like like stuff) - I was thinking I might try forming it into a...

I'd like to experiment with 1100 filler rod sometime. I decided against it for this project though, because I didn't see it in the Alcoa filler rod selection chart for the materials I'm welding, which (IIRC) means that a butt weld with it is weaker than the parent metals. It sure made it seem like A...

Here is the inside of the manifold (showing the inside welds) before I welded it to the core. And also, a picture of the tubing end after forming it into a square transition.

Thanks guys. Good to know others are reading this forum who are interested. ogorir - yes I am test fitting in the vehicle as I go, and I'm making use of the opportunity to redesign the position of the tubing connections. I am even reversing the inlet and outlet to make the routing of the boost tubes...

Take a look at your tungsten. It should be a shiny or dull metallic color, not blue or other rainbow colors, etc. Rainbow colors on the tungsten indicate an oxidized tungsten. If you strike an arc with an oxidized tungsten it will blow that black smut onto the surface at the beginning of the arc; it...

Update - I took a first pass at solvent cleaning the intercooler core. I used gasoline to dissolve and remove the old engine oil out of the insides. It initially turned the gasoline black, while a subsequent gasoline wash stayed mostly clear. I used a nylon bristle brush with the gasoline to scrub t...

Here are some other interesting examples of intercooler end tanks I came across... This looks like a very smooth flowing design. It looks like sections were cut out of large diameter mandrel bent tubing. (Notice they are formed into rectangular shapes near the intercooler core) http://photos1.blogge...

I just read a new theoretical idea for an intercooler that actually might work well for your situation: the "Fusion" intercooler, is an air to paraffin wax heat exchanger, where the wax functions as a heat sink material. It would work like a water-air intercooler, but without the extra coo...

I am working on replacing an intercooler's (broken) plastic end tanks with custom fabricated aluminum ones. Here is about where I am at currently; I am starting with the inlet manifold. I haven't done any welding yet, just measuring and laying out the sheetmetal pieces, taking time so that they'll f...

I wanted to get some practice on a not too serious project involving welding outside corners in 16 gauge aluminum, so I ended up welding a cube. Then I put dots on the faces to turn it into a die. It made a kind of fun thing that my kid can play with. The alloy of this particular material is unknown...