has anyone tried the ali wire and argon gas available at halfrauds for ali welding???

what where your results like??

boggle

i have and result was carp - but this was on dirty scrap just for a play, i am sure I could do better but doubt be as pretty as AC TIG.

peeps on here have done reasonable jobs but the aluminium must be clean.

from memory the torch needs to be 90 degree to metal, unlike for steel when it is angled and you pull away from the heat pool as opposed to pushing in for steel. (or is it other way round).

buy the gas and wire and play.

[Edited on 24/2/10 by 02GF74]

I tried it and didnt succeed

Im now on the lookout for an AC TIG!!

Something I have learned over the last 40.5 years with my current Employer is:-
Use the right tool for the job. Anything else is a compromise on results and possbily safety. (depending on what the task is).

You know it makes sense.

Depending on what you are doing, you could also try TechnoWeld or similar Low Temp Ally welding techniques.
I have tried these, and they work well, but so I cant get it to look as a good as a proper weld of any description.
Strength wise, I have found it to be as strong as the joining metal itself.

Just my 2d's worth.

You'll need a new liner for the torch too. Teflon i think. I tried with the standard liner before. The wire kept scrunching up and breaking at the rollers, and when it did work, the metal didn't melt, leaving molten blobs of wire rolling about on top. Must try again properly though. As above about the right tools etc, saw them using mig welding to make a aluminium body for a car on american hotrod, so there's nothing wrong with it

we have a lorch programmable pulse mig welder for ali.....i had a play with it today and i was impressed...we also have a ac/dc tig set too...

was just thinking if i could tack my ali jobs at home it makes it easyer for me than having to weld them at work and hope i got it right.....

A spool gun helps because it gets rid of the risk of jamming / need to change liners etc.

Otherwise super clean aliminium (stainless steel brush only), argon gas and practice.

Trouble is you have to get the heat into the workpiece initially (otherwise it just sits on top like proverbial bird shite) but not overcook it or you'll blow great big holes in your workpiece.

I'm planning on tacking my EFi plenum together with Mig then slopping technoweld over the joints to make sure they're air tight.....

beware, technoweld/lumiweld and other aluminium solders are not as great as they are made out to be.

firstly for a big items, you need one hell of a lot of heat, then you will find that as the aluminium cools, it shrinks and then "weld" tears apart.

well, in my experience at least.

example of small aluminium tubes lumiwelded successfully:

from this

(BTW it is a rear view mirror support)

[Edited on 24/2/10 by 02GF74]

teflon liner, change polarity from steel , pure argon = super mig weld. lare percentage of commerical ali welding done with mig.

Aluminium tipper lorry backs are mig welded but the thickness of the material helps with the process. I have seen synergic double pulse mig on aluminium and it looks like robot work, look at Japanese bike frames and you'll see some examples.

I was once told by a welder of 50+ years experience that MIG was developed for welding aluminium in the field during WW2 as it made repairs easier and less risky than gas welding. It was later it was used for steel.

Infact that seems to be confirmed here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_metal_arc_welding

So yes is definately workable. However it is much easier on thicker materials (3mm or more)

David

I welded up a slightly holed piston on a Yamaha FS1E with a MIG using alloy wire! Worked fine afterwards but it was only a field bike.

quote:

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Originally posted by 02GF74
beware, technoweld/lumiweld and other aluminium solders are not as great as they are made out to be.

firstly for a big items, you need one hell of a lot of heat, then you will find that as the aluminium cools, it shrinks and then "weld" tears apart.

well, in my experience at least.

example of small aluminium tubes lumiwelded successfully:

from this

(BTW it is a rear view mirror support)

[Edited on 24/2/10 by 02GF74]

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Have a look at this link:
http://www.afsa.org.za/Portals/0/Documents/Welding%20corner/pocket-guide.pdf
which seems pretty good on how to weld aluminium
Also see www.millerwelds.com for loads of useful stuff on welding.

Regards
Hugh

Buy yourself a TIG cheapskate. :p

I have a MIG running ally at work, I can handle it down to 18g, below that is a bit marginal!

Matt, buy your self a donor cheapskate :p

Touché

you have to make sure that ally is clean I believe they recoment a stainless steel wire brust to clean the area I also read that the heat setting generally had to be higher than you would generally expect

quote:

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Originally posted by Airhead
Buy yourself a TIG cheapskate. :p

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