If it's done right, it's VERY hard to break a braze. Both surfaces need to have fresh metal exposed before hand, especially aluminium I think. If you can get a good surface, the adhesion will be excellent, and the brass itself is very strong. It's also very good in situations where there may be some flex, welds cause uneven crystal and grain structures in the steel, and brittle areas, but brass anneals without a slow cool, as does aluminium, so the joints won't be brittle.Hijacker wrote:I wouldn't trust brazing on a turbo piping application. That's just me.
One thing one would have to consider is the different flexes of materials cooling down. If brazing aluminium to steel, you might need to braze-weld, but you should be able to look up the gaps you need for different materials, to prevent problems with cooling. (if aluminium to aluminium, I'd use a hoseclamp to hold a collar very tightly to each side, and do a normal braze with capillary action - the surface area makes properly fitted brazes of that type formidabilly strong)
I've obviously never done this, but I'm quite sure that it would work. Also, a weld can look good and be bad, but if a braze flows right it will be fine, unless you see copper when it's cool (means it got too hot, and burnt the brass).
It WOULD lose out in appearance, unless painted.
