Is a square wave T.I.G. needed to weld aluminum or will a high freq. work?

Yes regular high freq is all you need.
Switch to AC, high freq to continues, and your all set.

rich

I use my miller 185 MIG quite often to weld aluminum so you definately don't need all that fancy crap..

Originally posted by hy_desert_4wheeler
I use my miller 185 MIG quite often to weld aluminum so you definately don't need all that fancy crap..

That's the rig I have. So you just bought the opt. spool gun, use straight argon and it works great? I'm thinking of getting the spool gun.

Originally posted by hy_desert_4wheeler
I use my miller 185 MIG quite often to weld aluminum so you definately don't need all that fancy crap..

Try welding some .032 aluminum with that mig and see what it looks like.:D
Welders are like wrenches you need a few different machines for different jobs.
Granted a spool gun will work for some stuff but it lacks the versatility of a tig machine.

rich

Originally posted by MetalMender


Try welding some .032 aluminum with that mig and see what it looks like.:D
Welders are like wrenches you need a few different machines for different jobs.
Granted a spool gun will work for some stuff but it lacks the versatility of a tig machine.

rich

That's what I was afraid of.

I've got a bigass Lincoln Electric Ranger 8 with a TIG setup. My steel guy doesnt know much about welding aluminum. Is there anyway to weld aluminum with it? Thanks

Originally posted by hy_desert_4wheeler
I use my miller 185 MIG quite often to weld aluminum so you definately don't need all that fancy crap..

Tried that once, couldn't find the foot pedal. :D

Tom

Why buy a thousand dollar wrench for something a cresent wrench you already have will work? If it something that you only use once or twice a year is it worth it or should I just take it to someone that welds aluminum and pay them? Amazing we were just having this conversation this weekend cause a buddy just welded some aluminum with a spool gun and it came out really nice. (didn't need to be real strong it was only 1/8" wall tube) So my question is it feasible to use a spool gun on a miller 175 or 185 to occasionaly weld aluminum?

Originally posted by broncorob
I've got a bigass Lincoln Electric Ranger 8 with a TIG setup. My steel guy doesnt know much about welding aluminum. Is there anyway to weld aluminum with it? Thanks

As long as you have a AC position on your polarity switch, all you need is a high freq box hooked to the tig torch your ready to weld but without the benefit of remote amperage controll unless so equipped.

(didn't need to be real strong it was only 1/8" wall tube)
Hell for a lot of the jobs I do .125 is HEAVY.

rich

Thanks for the advice rich.

Originally posted by inphobic
Why buy a thousand dollar wrench for something a cresent wrench you already have will work? If it something that you only use once or twice a year is it worth it or should I just take it to someone that welds aluminum and pay them? Amazing we were just having this conversation this weekend cause a buddy just welded some aluminum with a spool gun and it came out really nice. (didn't need to be real strong it was only 1/8" wall tube) So my question is it feasible to use a spool gun on a miller 175 or 185 to occasionaly weld aluminum?

YES!!! If you want to weld up an aluminum diamond plate tool box for your rig, grab the spool gun and get to work! Just remember you need LOTS of current to get good penetration with aluminum.

If you want to relocate the filler neck on your aluminum radiator, you'll make one big mess with a spool gun.

Different jobs, different requirements.

I'm still lusting for a Miller 250 w/ aluminum spool gun. Simple fact is the spool gun is about 4 times faster than a tig, when working on big large flat area's.

Neat thing about a TIG welder, is you can weld super thin material, but better is you can use a foot shear to cut 0.050" ribbons from the sheets to use as the "filler rod". Ya, would also like to get a nice foot shear and brake!

Ya, that cresent wrench will work on your brake lines... but a flare nut wrench will do a better job of not rounding off the edges of that flare nut!

Tom

Originally posted by MetalMender


As long as you have a AC position on your polarity switch, all you need is a high freq box hooked to the tig torch your ready to weld but without the benefit of remote amperage controll unless so equipped.

Yeah, I've got the AC position. I was told that the Hi freq box costs thousands of dollars tho. A quick search on the internet and I didn't know what I was looking for to get a price on the box. Any idea what they run?

Originally posted by MetalMender


Try welding some .032 aluminum with that mig and see what it looks like.:D
Welders are like wrenches you need a few different machines for different jobs.
Granted a spool gun will work for some stuff but it lacks the versatility of a tig machine.

rich


I decided to take your advice but I didnt have any .032 aluminum so I tried Two beer cans bottom to botton.. I started out with a voltage setting of 1 and a wire speed setting of 10 which only burned holes.. I increased the wire speed several times till I got a decent weld (not great but was strong) my final settings were voltage 1 wire speed 50 argon 30 CFH and that is with .014 thickness material(I cut a third can in half to measure it)..

Originally posted by hy_desert_4wheeler



I decided to take your advice but I didnt have any .032 aluminum so I tried Two beer cans bottom to botton.. I started out with a voltage setting of 1 and a wire speed setting of 10 which only burned holes.. I increased the wire speed several times till I got a decent weld (not great but was strong) my final settings were voltage 1 wire speed 50 argon 30 CFH and that is with .014 thickness material(I cut a third can in half to measure it)..

Kind of like this:D

Uh steve have you ever tried to weld aluminum with a tig machine, Its not something your going to learn overnight.
Just curious thats all :rolleyes:

MetalMender, lets see some foil welded together or some juicy fruit gum wrapers if your up for the challenge???:D

Awesome pic, I think I have a new backdrop! :D

Originally posted by MetalMender


Kind of like this:D dam was that a tig weld.?how thin will a spool gun weld.what about putting aluminum wire in a esab 250 welder?i have a place to hook up a spool gun but it costs $900. bucks what do ya think?

Originally posted by MetalMender


Kind of like this:D

Exactly like that same type beer too

Originally posted by broncorob

Yeah, I've got the AC position. I was told that the Hi freq box costs thousands of dollars tho. A quick search on the internet and I didn't know what I was looking for to get a price on the box. Any idea what they run?
Watch on ebay as I have seen them go for under $100.
I did a quick search there and couldn't find any but keep your eyes peeled as they do show up.

MetalMender, lets see some foil welded together or some juicy fruit gum wrapers if your up for the challenge???
Damn I guess I am going to have to break out .020 tungsten :D

rich

Originally posted by kmgmacgood
have you ever tried to weld aluminum with a tig machine, Its not something your going to learn overnight.
Just curious thats all :rolleyes:

yes yes and yes :mad: :mad:

i was geting allrire welds using that method but the first pice I tryed ended on the other side of the room very fast ;)

Originally posted by kmgmacgood
MetalMender, lets see some foil welded together or some juicy fruit gum wrapers if your up for the challenge???:D
No juciy fruit so I used some reynolds aluminum foil and I am all out of .020 tungstens so I just used the 3/32 that was in the torch which is rather large for this.

Originally posted by MetalMender

No juciy fruit so I used some reynolds aluminum foil and I am all out of .020 tungstens so I just used the 3/32 that was in the torch which is rather large for this.

Holy crap! That is amazing! Well I guess you see somethin new everyday........

Originally posted by steve clark
Is a square wave T.I.G. needed to weld aluminum or will a high freq. work?

Tig is best, but a MIG with a spool-gun can easily do aluminum as well.

Well hell metalmender "you can dooo it" nice to se some others with the skills, some of the shit welding out there that I see on some rigs makes me wonder why there aren't more dead guys from bad weldin. You met the challenge. I have seen very few people weld tin foil without makin holes in it I to can do it and have made Quite a bit of bettin money doin it:) nice

Niiiiiiiiiice work! What machine are you using?

Just noticed the bio's on MetalMender & km... hmm, both at 40 +.Either of you guys first learn in High School?

Ya, first time using a oxy acetlyene torch was in a high school shop class. I was a "nerd" but loved the metal working, and got the respect of the teacher as I kept plugging away at it. Might be one reason I like TIG welding as it just "feels right". Funny, but when I was buying some 4043 rod the other day someone else spotted me buying rod and asked if I wanted a job... seems more "kids" can handle to spool gun, but fewer around to do tig welding.

Sad part... local high school scraped their welding classes. Too much liability, so out the machines went. Sad, but there seems to be a whole class of future welding/machinist just not getting the hands on exposure.

I'm going to go stir crazy building the new shop... just plan to build it as the cash flow permits, but tempted to have the mill, lathe, welder all sitting in the middle of the slab before the walls go up!

These days... electronics engineer ("nerd") who loves nothing more than a nice Ale, and to make metal chips in the evening!

Interesting stuff from Jay Leno (http://popularmechanics.com/automotive/sub_coll_leno/2000/6/jl_calling_machinists/)

Tom

I'm 21 (22 in dec.) and I weld aluminum all day at work. I never got the hang of the spool gun crap, but the TIG always peaked my interest. I moved out on my own and got a job welding aluminum, nothing better to improve your skills than to HAVE to do it or you don't eat right :D .
I've been working at this job for about 8-9 months and I have come a LONG way. let's just say that nobody in the shop (including the guys that were so patient in teaching me how to weld alum.) can touch my welds. I also see a lot of crap out there people are tagging as welds, kind of scary some of the things I've seen, held together with little more penetration than a good tack would have.I just wanted to add this as the previous post was about many young people not knowing or getting the chance to have "hands on" to get to know TIG and it's advantages over a splatter-gun.

-Scott