1946 Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser Fuel Tank's

Phil wrote:
Hello
I am a welder by trade , used to work as a certified A/C welder for major
company , still do Alum . and 4130 A/C welding , a man brought a wing tank
to me from his Piper PA- 12 Super Cruiser today , he has a small leak around
one of the fittings , the tank has been soldered together , he says it's
Alum. but I am not convinced , the sheet metal is very thin and is non
magnetic , I scraped some of the solder material and it was soft like lead ,
the man called an older fellow A/C restorer and he thinks it's Alum , all
the fuel tanks that I have worked on were made from 5052 of whatever
Alum.and TIG welded , 1946 may pre date the Heli-Arc process , wonder if
someone can shed some light on this wing tank question.
Thanks
Phil
EAA 12873


Ask this question over at www.SuperCub.Org and you probably can get the
definitive answer. Lots of J-5, PA-12, and PA-14 mechanics there.