mig welding aluminum
mig welding aluminum I just broght a lincoln 185 mig welder and i see they sell aluminum wire for mig so how well do the welds turn out and how hard is it to mig weld aluminum
Make sure when you weld you push rather than pull, or else you will have a black soot. Also, as you go along with your weld, speed up.
http://www.millerwelds.com/education...lermatic.html#
Look for the aluminum instructional video.
http://www.millerwelds.com/education...lermatic.html#
Look for the aluminum instructional video.
6 & 8 Second Club
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,284
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From: Illinois, RT 66 dragway area
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We tried fixing a couple of ladders, the guy was a good mig welder on steel for years. He just never got a good weld with the mig on alum, he actually ended up buying the TIG add on kit for the welder. He said it was alot harder than he thought trying to MIG alum. Good luck.
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We tried fixing a couple of ladders, the guy was a good mig welder on steel for years. He just never got a good weld with the mig on alum, he actually ended up buying the TIG add on kit for the welder. He said it was alot harder than he thought trying to MIG alum. Good luck.
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Launching!
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 297
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From: Tucson
Ill tell you what
I have tried and tried to get the spool gun to work,
on thicker metal like .375 and up it will work.
At work we have a dimension 400 miller with the 30a spool gun attachment, I went to a 50% helium, 50% argon mix called bluesheild #2 the gas helped but still not real pretty. If your making an aluminum trailer it will work,
but an intake or some other hot rod part dont waste your time. it has low penatration on thiner metals because youll have to turn the heat down so much. spool gun =
I have tried and tried to get the spool gun to work,
on thicker metal like .375 and up it will work.
At work we have a dimension 400 miller with the 30a spool gun attachment, I went to a 50% helium, 50% argon mix called bluesheild #2 the gas helped but still not real pretty. If your making an aluminum trailer it will work,
but an intake or some other hot rod part dont waste your time. it has low penatration on thiner metals because youll have to turn the heat down so much. spool gun =
Launching!
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 297
Likes: 0
From: Tucson
Originally Posted by JD1969
Is the 185 an AC/DC machine?
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Staging Lane
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 62
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From: MS
I do a lot of mig welding aluminum, you need to buy a spool gun for your mig welder.
Your mig will weld aluminum as it sets but pushing the soft wire thru the long wip dosn't work very well.
Welding anything less than 1/8" thick will take some pratice.
Welding aluminum is best done in a "spray" mode. Basicly this it when wire melts before
it touches the puddle. When you have it settup right there will no patter and no ****.
Hope this helps.
Your mig will weld aluminum as it sets but pushing the soft wire thru the long wip dosn't work very well.
Welding anything less than 1/8" thick will take some pratice.
Welding aluminum is best done in a "spray" mode. Basicly this it when wire melts before
it touches the puddle. When you have it settup right there will no patter and no ****.
Hope this helps.
Launching!
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 297
Likes: 0
From: Tucson
Originally Posted by TTAWD
I do a lot of mig welding aluminum, you need to buy a spool gun for your mig welder.
Your mig will weld aluminum as it sets but pushing the soft wire thru the long wip dosn't work very well.
Welding anything less than 1/8" thick will take some pratice.
Welding aluminum is best done in a "spray" mode. Basicly this it when wire melts before
it touches the puddle. When you have it settup right there will no patter and no ****.
Hope this helps.
Your mig will weld aluminum as it sets but pushing the soft wire thru the long wip dosn't work very well.
Welding anything less than 1/8" thick will take some pratice.
Welding aluminum is best done in a "spray" mode. Basicly this it when wire melts before
it touches the puddle. When you have it settup right there will no patter and no ****.
Hope this helps.
thays exactly correct. The problem with 1/8 or thinner is if you do get penatration it will probaly warp the metal. and thats not cool.
Any of you guys worked with one of the newer Miller or Lincoln Pulse welders for aluminum? I swear it allows you to weld aluminum like you are welding steel. I have only personally worked with the Miller versions but it makes welding aluminum a walk in the park compared to the old way. They aren't cheap but if you do it very often well worth the money IMO.
Originally Posted by pist0lpete
Any of you guys worked with one of the newer Miller or Lincoln Pulse welders for aluminum?
And to answer the original question, I wasted a lot of time and money trying to get my previous MIG welder to push aluminum wire. The only way that it might work is if you were to use 1/16" or bigger wire, and that would need a lot of amperage.
I have a spool gun, but have never really been able to set it up to where i am happy with the damn thing. Any aluminum projects I just use the tig. I have not seen any spool welds that impress me one bit.
