Aluminum solder works!

I've used "aluminum solder" in the past that was worthless. A few years ago I bought some aluminum solder at the local hardware store. that looks like the sticks were poured in a thin stream onto a plate where it cooled into an approximately half round cross section. It came in a plastic tube with, I think, the Forney brand name. Anyway, the stuff just sat around with my other welding and brazing rods until a couple weeks ago when a customer needed some aluminum joined with a low temperature (compared to welding) process. As an experiment I first soldered together two pieces of 6061 1/2" x 1/2" x 1/8" angle. After soldering the pieces at 90 degrees to each other I clamped one piece in the vise and tried bending the other piece. I was able to bend the angle over 90 degrees without the joint failing! I am most impressed with the stuff. This is the method I used: Cleaned both pieces very well so they were grease free. Used a toothbrush sized stainless wire brush to remove oxide layer. Heated the metal until the solder started to flow and then used the brush again through the molten solder to remove any remaining or newly formed oxide layer. This second brushing allowed the solder to completely wet the aluminum. After tinning (aluminuming?) both pieces I pressed them together and heated until the solder flowed and continued holding until the solder solidified. Long explanation for a quick job. After the aluminum is wetted the solder is workable enough with a hot pointed flame that it can be built up into large fillets or to fill large holes. If you can fill holes with plumbing solder, either the old leaded kind or the newer silver and/or antinomy bearing kind, then you can use the aluminum solder for the same thing too. Eric