So tonight I went to the hammerspace to get a lesson in braising. Braising is basically using a metal allow to connect two pieces of metal together. Basically, if you'e ever done soldering, it's very similar. Think of it as soldering supersized, with a propane torch instead of an iron. We wired up the joins on the foot shells, used handheld and pneumatic tools to buff and clean the edges really good (which is VERY important in braising aluminum, as you want to be connecting to the actual metal, not the oxidized layer on top), then Joseph (the metal shop mentor) showed me how to braise. Most of it is getting the aluminum to temperature, which can take a while. But once it's there you just lay the braising rod to it, and melt it into the edge or wherever. Works great.
Works better than the quick steel putty one of the other folks there mentioned. I tried some last night and it seemed to be solid enough until I tested in the morning--came right apart. Brittle as heck, too. Perhaps I needed to buff it as well, but in any case, the braising is working and I can go ahead and do the feet that way.
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