The ups and downs of welding ALUMINUM???

A friend of mine has a favorite saying...it's even sprawled across the custom front license plate on her 'Cuda, "Never Say Never!". Ha Ha, it's not just a semi-obscure 80s song, it's also sage advice!!!

I always said I'd never have any desire to learn welding...it just ain't anything that's ever appealed to me before. I always got friends to weld the oddball parts together that I needed joined, or simply engineered some "bolt on" solutions to cover the need. Meltin' steel together didn't interest me in the slightest...and still doesn't.

But lately I've found myself with a couple small parts-making projects to do, and it'd be pretty convenient to either know someone who excells in welding aluminum, or learn to do it myself! (Can't believe I just said that!!)

So...is this some mystical "black art"??? I know spit about welding, but I know enough to know that welding aluminum is a different process in some ways than welding steel is...right???

Some immediate questions come to mind, such as:

1. Does welding aluminum (up to 3/8" thick) involve a special type of welder or welding equipment?

2. Is there any safety issues (such as when welding galvanized metal for example) to be cautious of?

3. Is this something that a common guy could learn to do at home on affordable equipment?

I still got no inclination to do any steel welding...but aluminum is a favorite medium of mine to work with, and I think I could do much more if I could stick stuff together with a little heat now and then!

If there's any classes available, or videos, etc...I'd be interested in hearing about 'em. It's not something I'm looking to make a career out of...but it would be cool to know more about it...so I can see if it might be worth persuing on a hobbyist level.

SOMEONE here has got ta be an accomplished aluminum welder...so whaddaya say? Any tips, advice or warnings for someone thinkin' about giving it a whirl???

 

Yes to #1. It can be done with a torch but its not the accepted practice and way more difficult than with a MIG or TIG welder. The later is the most widely accepted practice.

Yes to #2 all welding has saftey issues. Gasses electricity heat.

No to #3. Its not something you're (not you personally) probably going to pic up on your own, a little harder than say pluming brakes or hooking up a throttle cable. And no the equipment isn't going to be cheap.

I don't know about your little burg ( ) but most places with a community college have a welding program.

 

according to a couple of friends, Oxy fuel welding aluminum is about as much fun as self castration.


if you get a hot little mig welder, I have been told you can weld aluminum with it- but again, you are limited on what you can weld (thickness) and you have to be pretty handy with a mig welder to begin with to make it work. I personally have done a *little* aluminum welding with a mig. suffice to say, A buddy with alot more experience and a massive machine does it for me now.

 

You are problably going to need to get a TIG. Aluminum is tough to weld. It doesn't change color like steel does so it's tough to judge how much heat you are applying. Unless you are planning to do a lot of it and practice a ton it will probably be more frustrating than it's worth. If you don't want to do any other welding it may be a large investment for what you get in return. On the other hand once you start you may find that you want to use it on stuff you never thought of doing yourself before. There is never anything wrong with learning new skills. I would agree with the advice of trying to take a course and see if you like it before you invest in equipment as it will be costly.

 

The only aluminum welding I've done has been with STICK. It's smokey,has alot of slag, and hard to get the setting just right. It helps to preheat the material your welding.
Your passes are faster than steel as the alum. burns up quicker.
I've done it on aluminum cat-tracks for boom lifts, repaired aluminum wheels, and welded up the side cases on my dirtbikes using stick.

 

Miller 350P with aluminum wire gun works, tig is the usual Weld style of choice for aluminum though. Neitehr are all that cheap and both require patience and at least basic training followed by practice. We weld louvers all day long in my company with mig welders, and even the most seasoned blow through on occasion.

Why aluminum? If you are making small parts you should be able to machine what you want from chunks of the stuff.

 

If I were you, I wouldn't try it...
r

 

if you are not a welder now , learning to weld with a tig on aluminum is something i wouldn't recogmend. you are right when you say it is a different process.

i have a tig , and i seam to be ok at it with steel and stainless steel , but when i need some small aluminun part welded , i take it to a guy who is REAL good at it..he does it all day long and can usually do it right away and not charge me too uch

 

Whichis strange considering that I was never taught to tig anything but aluminum. Had to run perfect beads with a mig then perfect tig beads on aluminum.

Sadly I have never used that since. I can't even recall what setting to put the tig welder on.

 

You might want to check this out:

http://www.alumiweld.com/

I personally haven't used the product, but have seen their infomercial. They do some pretty amazing shit with this rod and a propane torch. Have strength data to back it up.
I think it would be worth the cheap investment to give it a try.
Let me know if you do, and how you make out.

 

I'm no welder so I had a friend of mine whip up this aluminum gas tank for my new project. The aluminum welds are like tiny droplets stacked on each other. Almost perfect!

 

A salesman came into our shop one day and tried to sell us some of that crap. He "welded" (soldered,actually) a penny to the bottom of a soda can, then challenged us to pry it off. He was right, we couldn't pry it off, until I stuck a screwdriver up through the hole in the can and smacked it on the table. Penny popped right off taking the "weld" with it.

That stuff may be good for jiffy-fix-it type stuff, but I wouldn't trust it too far.

 

That looks like Stainless to me.

 

could be the picture..........I polished it

 

Hmmmm.that's what I'm thinkin'....
Aluminum doesn't discolor along the weld like that.

 

As soon as I looked at the picture I said to my self "it sure looks like stainless not aluminum"

Nice tank though!

 

if you've never welded before...even basic mig then tig welding is def. not something to start on!!!! Aluminum is one of the hardest metals to weld...it burns real fast and melts super quick so you have to know what to look for and how to apply heat properly...as for equipment you can go two different routes 1) a GOOD mig set-up with a spool gun, this would be best for large aluminum welds 2) spend the EXTRA dough and buy a good GTAW welder, this will run you about 2 grand for a good one, but on the positive you won't need another welder especially if you farm out most of your welds...now with a tig welder you will need different equipment, different colored tips on tungsten mean different materials it should be used for (red tip=steel green tip= aluminum) a longer nozzle is nice, and different gas....HOPE THIS HELPED

 

Go for it! I say tig is the way to go. Aluminum isn't the easiest material to weld, but I don't think it's hard either. Thin material might be harder, and some cast aluminum is poor quality for welding. Larger pieces of aluminum transfer so much heat that it takes a lot of current to weld, so you need a good setup. I don't really get the "aluminum doesn't change colors" thing- I'm looking for a puddle.

Thanks,
Kurt

 

I am with Kurt, TIG is the only way and it just takes pracitice! Also a lot of money if you are going to get a real good TIG setup, easy 3-4000. You have to ask yourself is it worth it?

Rex

 

Everybody has covered the good and bad of aluminum welding. Tig is the better way to go. Wire fed aluminum welding is messy, lots of spatter and smoke. If you want nice clean welds tig is the way to go. It is not something you can pick up quick. Lots of practice, and knowing what to look for in the puddle is really important. You can blow a hole really quickly.I weld anodized aluminum for t-tops on boats, and you have to double pass everything. The first pass is to burn away the anodizing, and the second pass is to clean up the weld. I've been doing it for about six years, and I learn something every week. It helps to get hooked up with somebody that has been doing it for years. Good luck

 

what thickness are you hoping to weld?..thick aluminum is mostly done with mig..1/4" and up..i have done as thin as 1/8" with a mig. if i were you i`d start learning to weld with steel as its more forgiving to learn on..then go to aluminum. the process of creating a puddle and moving it along is the same for all welding.

 

That looks mucho like steel...you need a new friend.

 

If thats aluminum I must have just passed into another dimension and have to learn things all over again.

 

Thanks, people!!!

I was looking to weld some relatively thick stuff (1/4" to 3/8" thick), so it looks like if I do need any aluminum welding done that I'll be looking through the Yellow Pages to find a qualified local welder to do it!!

But...as usual, I came up with a way to solve my immediate problem! I looked at a pushrod tube and thought "Duh! That basic idea will work just as well on a smaller scale!" Ha Ha...I tell ya...my tap & dies set is INVALUABLE! I'd be lost without it!!!

My thinking was that welding two pieces together would be MUCH easier than trying to create the same part by cutting it out of a single chunk using saw blades, files, a drill and sandpaper...but there's other ways to join pieces together besides welding!!

(Now, for my bigger projects, I'll just cut and shape the pieces and then have them welded, then do the clean-up work myself. No biggie!)

I appreciate the constructive comments, though...it really helped me make up my mind!!

 

Send it out to a professional, and only believe about 10% of what you read on here. Wow, I cant believe how many people out there will chime in on something they know absolutely nothing about.

 

Fat Hack

I have been welding aluminum for the past 25 years daily
opnions may differ on what i have to say but i have tried most and ill just limmit to what works for me
Starting out i used a mig with 4043 035 wire and argon worked ok but never reliable. Miller lincoln and my local supplier advised on using a different liner
one made of plastic to help feed the wire more smooth didnt see any improvements.
Tried oversize tips, larger size liner ,different drive rolls,
more heat, more feed, less argon,different size cups and different lenght tips.
still verry unreliable at best.
When I tried a different alloy is where i started to notice a difference I started to use 5356 035 with a 035 tip that sits just slightly inside the cup this setup will give more reliable service with a average mig set up than most.
Aluminum takes more heat than steel cause it dissipates the heat more quickly so i would recomend at least miller or better yet lincoln 200.
For some reason i like the way the lincoln welds with alum better i just seems smoother I havent noticed a difference with steel between the two machines.
the 5356 wire is much harder and will feed better it is a little harder to weld with but i have gotten good results with all alloys 3003 4043 5356 and 6061
from 1/16 to 1/2 with no pre heat on a 250 machine.
As for gas welding alum i have only limmited knowledge of but i would recommend the roncovell video title Steve Davis shop tour .
Tig welders require more cash outlay and time to learn than mig
if your interested in tig let me know.

My typing sucks so if there is something you dont understand let me know
Good luck aluminum is no mystery a push in the right direction and your welding
Beware the sales guy most of the time they dont know what works.
Bill

 

and of course, here comes the loudmouth I take my stuff to...

 

Come on man tig aint the way to go on a budget
Come down from your t top the man aint welding anodize
and why are you doing a double pass on anodize ?

 

Thanks................................






.............................dick!

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!