cant mig aluminium as far as i know you can only tig weld it.my brother in law has a little 110 welder he changed the gun on so he can weld aluminium.haven't seen it in a while but i think it has a small reel right on the gun for a different type of wire.
There is a lot of different types of aluminum as i have found out after buying the tig. Some is easy as pie to weld and some takes more skill than what i have at this time. If you weld it with a mig or tig you must use the proper gas, Which in my opinion is helium. Some use pure argon, but i prefer the helium. I have saw some good looking welds made with a mig and spool gun but i cant vouch for the strength.
First you don't need helium. Helium is general used for thick aluminum, regular argon will work and it is what the Air Force uses. Yes I am a certified Aircraft welder (4130, 347 SS, 718 nickle alloy, 6061-T6 aluminum, 2.5v3al Titanium, and magnesium). Did a search on google and this is what Lincoln had on their web site http://www.lincolnelectric.com/knowledge/articles/content/compactmig.asp
I've got a 220v mig wire welder that's set up for gas. I use argon and have gone as thick as .185 without any problems.
that's a great website. I actually have a lincoln so it's good to know. I actually have never used gas for welding, gonna talk to bryant and see how I can hook up the gas to start practicing on some aluminum. thanks guys
Yep you can do aluminum with a MIG. I've done lots with it. Welds are not as high quality as you'd get with a TIG machine but for what I was doing it was fine. Just turn up the heat and feed and use Argon shield gas. Even though Al melts at a lower temp than steel, it dissipates the heat VERY quickly. Kind of challenging but once you get the hang of it, you'll also say that it is..."easy". Just make sure all of your aluminum is squeaky clean. Including your mig wire liner, filler wire, and the parts you're working with. Welding aluminum is a LOT easier if the parts are clean I once built an all-aluminum battery charger frame out of square tubing from Lowe's, some .080 sheets, an old Briggs 2 cycle 4 HP engine and a GM 12si alternator. It was about 20 lbs lighter than the steel one. I also polished it with some Mother's. Bling Bling! Also used the same unit (Lincoln Weld-Pak 100) to weld ALL the rivets and gusset all of the ribs on a 15' aluminum boat. Friend of mine still uses that boat on a rocky part of the Little Red and it doesn't leak a drop.
Mo, i personaly know how to not weld alum. i do know the people who do, includeing dave chappelle. i can put you in contact with several people who should be able to help you do what ever crazy thing it is that you want to do.
I personally prefer welding aluminum with a tig. I use 100% Argon. The machine I have is the Miller Diversion 160.
Oxy Acetylene Hello, I noticed that oxy acetylene hasn't been mentioned yet. That's how they did it before mig or tig were available. Vince
Hey remember this guys if you are using Argon it is a heavier then air. So if you use it for awhile go inside and sit on the couch upside down for about 15-20 min. This means your feet are sticking up in the air your back is laying down on the cushion and your head is hanging off the couch dangling in space, after doing this for a min or so you will start to notice the room will start to stink like the smell they put in Argon, this is the gas running out the bottom of your lungs. Otherwise the Argon displaces the oxygen in your lungs, and basically it makes it so you cant take as big of breaths as you use to and if you breath enough of it in it you basically become oxygen deprived, and slowly suffocate.
actually I am not I have worked in several fab shops, and there are many welders that recommend doing that, it sounds funny but after welding with gas for 10 hours a day you can get pretty winded on a regular basis, thats about the only thing you have to breathe when you are sitting within a foot or two of a torch..stinger... or whatever you want to call it.. for a couple of hours. Sad to say it appears about as silly as putting potatoes on your eyes when your UV lens goes bad and your eyes swell shut, but it works. The technical terminology of it is called Hypoxia The symptoms would probably include any of the symptoms that are present with hypoxia, or low oxygenation. Weakness, confusion, neausea, red flush skin, cyanosis or bluish purple of the nail beds and lips. Any feeling that you know just aint right. If you think you might be getting into a bad place you probably are already there. Most people dont realize there in a bad position until its about to late. Normal room air is about 21% oxygen at 19% hypoxia starts to set in at 17% you are in a very dangerous atmosphere. At 17% you cant survive long, fire wont even maintain burning much lower than that. Any confined space should have some type of ventilation or some type of breathing appartus should be worn. So everything from feeling queasy, and unable to catch your breath to a headache after welding for awhile is an early warning sign for Hypoxia, this is the reason why when you are welding in enclosed places you use a lead and harness and have a buddy to pull you out incase you pass out. One of the companies I use to work for lost two guys that way, one guy was inside a water tank welding up some leaking seams when he fell over due to the collection of gas in the bottom of the tank, his buddy jumped in to get him and by the time he drug him over to the exit line he passed out due to hypoxia too, nobody found them till the end of the day when every one was picking up to go home.
