Jody is a true rock-star. I watch him and drool over the welding machines and bottles of gas. I’m guessing $1200 would get you going with tig welding aluminum. Migs cheaper.
I’ve been trying to teach myself to weld al with oxy-acetylene—with some success (the pieces stayed stuck).
The problem is the flux flashes so that you can’t see the pool. They make special glasses for that flux—about $150.
Another $50 and you could get a bottle of argon and borrow you’re neighbor’s mig.
Anyway, what I was going to say: the alumiweld rods are self fluxing—you just heat the part and scratch oxide with the rod.
It’s not for weight bearing but refrig guys can seal holes in radiators with it.
Harris makes fluxes and rods for brazing—melting point of is around 800 degrees and up. I don’t know if you could get that hot with a map torch and it’s easy to blow through. But those rods have aluminum as the base.
You may look into those.
Cheers.
Migs cheaper.
And easier. ;) It's my go to when welding aluminum. I have a Hobart 235 with a spool gun and a bottle of argon at the ready. I also have a Lincoln 185, or so, stick/tig square-wave, but there's so much prep you have to do to get a good tig weld on aluminum, and I don't have the patience or talent for tig welding al - it seems.
I can tig steel though, and weld steel with an oxy-acetylene torch as well. Aluminum seems to have a mind of its own. :) But for really important welds, and especially for small Al pieces you need to use the TIG process, IMO. Those jobs I usually take to someone with the talent for it.
And again, the problem with brazing aluminum, at least in my experience, and like you mentioned, is the iffy nature of the final join. And like TIG, you need to take the time to prep the pieces. I'll give the flux a go to see if it helps. :-)