Need a good cheap aluminum welding machine
04-21-2004, 07:47 AM
#1
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Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 167
Need a good cheap aluminum welding machine
I dont know anything about welding but my dad's birthday is coming up and we all want to pitch in and get him a welding machine that will weld aluminum. He's been crying for one for a LONG time now so we figure now is the time to do it. It does NOT have to be some uber machine that can weld 4" thick plates of a aluminum together in .2 seconds or some crap like that.
Just a simple cheap starter machine where if you say...wanted to make an aluminum sheet intake manifold with it you could. Max we wanted to spend was about $450 since that's how much we paid for his lincoln mig welder 2 years ago and we figure there's got to be aluminum machines in the same range?
anyone got any brands/model #'s they'd like to toss my way? retail or eBay is fine by me and used if we have to.
thanks guys!
Just a simple cheap starter machine where if you say...wanted to make an aluminum sheet intake manifold with it you could. Max we wanted to spend was about $450 since that's how much we paid for his lincoln mig welder 2 years ago and we figure there's got to be aluminum machines in the same range?
anyone got any brands/model #'s they'd like to toss my way? retail or eBay is fine by me and used if we have to.
thanks guys!
04-21-2004, 08:14 AM
#2
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 828
Re:Need a good cheap aluminum welding machine
Get the Miller 3035 spoolmate spool gun with the SMSC speed controll box. Your dad can hook it to his Lincoln mig and weld aluminum with it. With the bottle of argon It should run you around $450 to $500.
04-21-2004, 08:15 AM
#3
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Join Date: May 2003
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Re:Need a good cheap aluminum welding machine
A Mig welder can weld aluminum but it take alot of skills. Go with a TIG welder... 
If you have a lincoln mig welder you can convert it to use aluminum feed wire. They sell a kit for it, I guess it depends which Mig welder you have. Check out their site. And to weld aluminum you need shielded gas too, either use pure Argon or Argon/Helium. Hope that helps.
If you have a lincoln mig welder you can convert it to use aluminum feed wire. They sell a kit for it, I guess it depends which Mig welder you have. Check out their site. And to weld aluminum you need shielded gas too, either use pure Argon or Argon/Helium. Hope that helps.
04-21-2004, 08:20 AM
#4
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Re:Need a good cheap aluminum welding machine
so for a tig welder we would also have to buy him a bottle for the argon? how much do entry level tig welders usually run? sorry for the ignorance on this subject. welding has always been my one auto taboo :P
and thanks for the help so far!
oh! I also think it will probably have to be a 110v welder as he doesn't have a 220v outlet in his garage. Do they even make 110v tig welders??
and thanks for the help so far!
oh! I also think it will probably have to be a 110v welder as he doesn't have a 220v outlet in his garage. Do they even make 110v tig welders??
04-21-2004, 08:28 AM
#6
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Join Date: May 2003
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Re:Need a good cheap aluminum welding machine
ok, so this is the items that custom was talking about??
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WD1V
is this EVERYTHING that is needed? how do I find out if this is compatible with my dad's lincoln welder??
aside from this and a bottle of argon, will I need ANYTHING else to get him or will he be good to go?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WD1V
is this EVERYTHING that is needed? how do I find out if this is compatible with my dad's lincoln welder??
aside from this and a bottle of argon, will I need ANYTHING else to get him or will he be good to go?
04-22-2004, 03:05 PM
#7
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Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,579
Re:Need a good cheap aluminum welding machine
Yeah the best way to weld aluminum is a tig welder but that is out of your price range. So I would go with a spool gun like custom coach said. you can get the drive rollers for aluminum to convert your mig, but I've heard they don't work too well.
