Anyone here MIG Aluminum?
 

Hey guys. I have a Lincoln Sp 135 and i'm wondering how well it'll do for welding aluminum. I mean, they sell the stuff for it, but i also know MIGs arent that great for aluminum. So before i spend the cash for the extra stuff, does anyone have pics of the resulting welds? I'm planning on making boxes.. IC pipes... nothing thick. I know Ghetto D used to mig intercooler stuff with it... Thanks in advance.



Also what exactly do i need to buy to get started?

Re: Anyone here MIG Aluminum?
 

Wont work, you need a gun with a spool on it or a push/ pull gun. Otherwise it will just bind and continue to feed out right after the drive rollers making a rants nest. I tried it with my SP-135 Plus. you need a lincoln power MIG with a Cobra gun with the drive rollers by the goose neck.

Re: Anyone here MIG Aluminum?
 

My mate had a go at it, said it was a real pain getting the wire speed right because the aluminium wire would always fold up and stop feeding properly. He never had much success from what i remember, but people have told me that it does work.

Re: Anyone here MIG Aluminum?
 

werd, done it, but you need a spool gun and argon. Its tough, but with practice the welds can look as good as a TIG. Strength, idk, but we used a MIG to build aluminum space frame chassis that held up fine for a couple years.


[edit] getting the wire speed and amperage spot on is tough as ----. The spool gun I was using had a rate adjuster built in, which I would consider a requirement. Preheating the aluminum with a torch helped get the amperage requirement consistant.

Re: Anyone here MIG Aluminum?
 

Its not that hard to dial your voltage and wire speed. normaly 1 volt per 10 amps. I found around 20-25V using .035 wire downhand works best.

Re: Anyone here MIG Aluminum?
 

We were having trouble with it mostly on the thinner stuff (and the chassis' was primarily .030 wall 1" diameter tube and .030 sheet). What was happening is if you set it right when the metal was cold, after a few seconds of welding the arc was too hot, so you had to move faster, then the wire speed would be too slow.

Re: Anyone here MIG Aluminum?
 

with thin "tin" aluminium you use pulse on pulse mode of transfer. Really thats not much of a frame. I still use it on 1/8 - 1/4" and .035 wire

Re: Anyone here MIG Aluminum?
 

all this talk sounds very unerving. not so excited about this anymore, guess i go find a smiley tig?

Re: Anyone here MIG Aluminum?
 

if you want to only want weld steel

Re: Anyone here MIG Aluminum?
 

oh wtf, i thought they made smileys with the AC option? mb i got confused with some other welder. but yea, i want something with good aluminum welding capability... i have very easy access to aluminum and steel isnt great for everything.

THanks for the replies btw. Helped a lot!