Aluminum Welding
 

So someone tell me if Im retarded. I know you can weld aluminum with a TIG or MIG welder but I don't know the first thing about welding in general. I have a flux at my disposal that I am gonna start ------- so I can learn how to get a bead going and ---- but I was wondering about Alum, is it harder to weld? What is the easist way and what is the BEST way to weld it.

I was talking with a friend about it and he said it might be easier than steel to learn with. I dont know a lot about it but I thought the temps were different and Alum needed to be hotter. someone skool me.

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

easiest = tig
best = tig

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

You can TIG, MIG, and Stick weld aluminium. Stick makes a ------- mess. MIG is fairly messy trying to set your machine is a hasel for someone that doesnt weld aluminium alot. TIG is the 'fastest', easiest, and best way for a newbie.

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

and you can't weld aluminum with a flux

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

Eh you're wrong, Look up Aluminium SMAW Electrodes. They use flux.... Shielded Metal Arc Welding which means its self sheilded.... I'm the 'omgmasterwelder'

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

i think rude meant with a flux core wire feed welder? smaw is stick electrodes, not wire feed? am i wrong, or does smaw apply to flux core wire?

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

"you can't weld aluminum with a flux." He never said SMAW, GMAW, FCAW-S, FCAW-G. :-*

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

I was only going to use the flux to get used to makin a nice bead and the basics. All though I think I am going to end up flux'ing the rest of the downpipe. I dont plan to be the next master fabricator but it would be sweet to try making my own mani's and strut braces. Cool ---- to play with in the new garage you know.

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

I meant flux core welder. I have mig 125a and the only thing I can weld with it is steel. can't weld aluminum with it

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

You can weld aluminium if it has a gas setup and teflon liner in the whip. Push Pull set ups work a lot better.

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

thats the point a easy mig welder does not have gas nor teflon its just a flux wire mig welder. weld mild steel how would you put gas in a easy mig 125a? I would love to know how. I dont know a lot about welders but I know I am correct when I say you can't weld aluminum with a easy mig

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

correct me if im wrong but you could possibly weld aluminum with a flux mig you have to reverse the polarity and use copper wire... ive never done it but i have had some people say they have.

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

We had a wire feed welder setup for Aluminum at my old work. I tried using it once. The ---- would feed so fast, I couldn't adjust it, and it burnt right through the metal in a split second. I gave up.

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

turn the amparage and feed down

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

roflcopter, captain obvious!

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

HUH? You run DCEP with gas. Copper wire? Thats an incompatible filler metal for aluminium. Old trick was balling the tungsten with copper for a more stable arc.


I could make you a nozzle that slips over the end of the gun that has a tube on it for argon. Teflon liners are cheap.

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

im pretty sure the method i was talking about didnt require gas but i could be wrong. as far as it as explained to me you would just reverse the polarity on you fluxcore mig use copper mig wire and adjust your feed as necessary,not sure about how thick of aluminum you could do this with but i hear it works..

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

Couldn't or I would have. I could adjust the side of the welder that was for carbon steel, but the aluminum setup was off some other port on the welder. I would have loved to turn it all down, but couldn't find anyway to adjust it. So I just said ---- it.

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

how the hell can you weld 2 peices of aluminum together with copper? and no shielding gas? you've got to be kidding... give your head a shake, you might hear some rocks rolling around up there. :S

i've used the old copper trick with mig welding steel by clamping a plate of copper to the edge of some steel to prevent the filler material from going over the sharp edge i wanted to keep.

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

Yup we use copper 'spoons' and flat bar for backing fairly often

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

like i said im not a welder!!! i have been told by couple people that its possible not that it is/has been done i havent tried anything like this which if you would have read my previous post you would know that i was mearly telling what i have heard and trying to learn if it was possible or not. so if this isnt possible what would the copper mig spools for that are for flux migs? steel,mild steel,or what?

Re: Aluminum Welding
 

I know this is a year old thread but I hate opening new threads when there's something out there already. I looked at this wire:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=012

And the seller told me it was a gas-less aluminum wire. Meaning flux to me. I have a cheapy Harbor Freight welder which works fine for what I need on steel but now for my race bike I need to weld some aluminum pieces. So yes or no?