[Navig]

Step #3

Sand your aluminum plate to receive glue:










[Navig]

Step #4

Apply superglue to aluminum end plate and plastic cube and fit them together.








I’m using a little scrap piece to make sure the it’s nice and square.




[Navig]

Step #5


Clamp and let dry.











[Navig]

Step #6

Sand the extra lip off.





I use a sanding surface:









Dremel’s fine:







[Navig]

Step #7


Pop the end plug out.









Vice the square tube jig piece, then pop the end cap out. It may be stuck a bit if glue leaked to the edges.

[Navig]

Done

[Navig]

And here’s what makes these 2 little mods work so great:






After simply mounting the corner brackets together and plugging the holes, you are straight ready to flush mount plastic paneling to the frame.










If you finish your frame nicely or paint/powder-coat it, you can even offset the plastic paneling for a little reveal:

[Overclockers.com]

This tutorial was superb and deserved to be shared on the front page. Thanks for sharing your craft with us Navig!

-hokie

[Lord_of_Decay]

Nice write up but soldering techniques need some work. Using the process in the videos you created a "cold solder joint" by not heating the base material hot enough to melt the solder without direct heat applied. Also using basic lead based solder the joint is not structurally sound to support a load or for rigidity.

A hard style soldering method should be used when dealing with any joint which will support a load or for rigidity, aka silver soldering.

My father was a machinist by trade and I had soldering/brazing/welding techniques instilled in me through childhood.

[Navig]

Thanks for the info. My knowledge base = exactly what was posted above, and not a bit more.

Literally, I was working with a machinist on a different project--"not so DIY outside corner brackets", and I mentioned how I could put together an inside corner bracket with 2 pieces of stock angle aluminum. A local company could TIG weld that for me for $80/hour. But this machinist mentioned that I could try soldering brass. I had some solder for volt mods, I had a plumber's torch for plumbing, I found some angle brass, and so I gave it a go!

With my batch, it seems plenty sturdy as is. By design the corner brackets aren't really load bearing--the solder joint really is for resisting torquing and separation. I guess we'll see when I put together a frame.

So, then, you recommend silver solder for the next batch?




ps. Honored for the front page!

[Noshei]

I must agree with Lord of Decay. My father is a master plumber and I have also worked as a plumber and have very much the same techniques instilled in myself.

When soldering materials such as brass or copper a hot joint is the best method to use. This means that you heat the material up enough that simply touching it with the solder will melt the solder. This method requires more heat, but creates a much better joint.

I can't remember if the same holds true with brass, but a simple method for knowing when copper is hot enough to apply the solder is that the flame coming off of the copper will turn green (its pretty cool looking if you havent seen it before).

Silver solder is probably a good choice here, but keep in mind here are that silver solder costs a decent amount more than standard solder. Though in small quanities you wont end up spending too much more.

One last thing, using enough flux is very important. If you dont have enough flux or it is not covering enough of the joint you will get a bad solder. So dont be skimpy on the flux, having more than needed isnt a bad thing.

great guide though.

[Lord_of_Decay]

Silver solder/Plumbers solder wold work better for the next batch, its strong enough to support a structure/load but the melting point is low enough for it not to melt the joining metals. The main difference between the different solders is the melting temp of the filler material, Lead -> Silver -> Brass.

Great guide.

[Phillip2060]

Nice product, hopefully we will see something hitting the retail market that will do the same thing

[Navig]

Thanks,

I've been looking for a long time, so I went DIY.

The project using these brackets is coming soon...I'm working 2 projects simultaneously right now both of which are about 3/4 done.

Then I'll be doing the project based on these brackets.