Advice required

[SamT]

Hello, new to welding and have not yet purchased a machine either.

Ive been reading through the tutorial sections of the site so far.

Now i have a few projects in mind and this is where i need you advice. Basically i want a mig welder for home use, using at weekends etc. What i mainly want is to do some aluminium welding, and some steel at a future date. Now as im new to welding and my primary objective is to do some aluminium welding would i be better off to just go straight onto practicing aluminium welding untill i get the hang of it or would you recommend me to learn to weld steel first.

And also what machine should i be looking at, bearing in mind this is only for home use and the projects are relatively small. ideally i'd like to spend around £200-250 no more than £300. Obviously the cheaper the better lol, but still able to function for my requirements.

Thanks

Sam

 

[matt1978]

I'd like a 12" c**k but lifes a bitch!

I think if welding Aluminium is going to be important to you then you really need to consider spending a little more money. If everything is cheap cheap cheap then you will have problems feeding and it will all get very frustrating for you.

Aluminium is a little harder to weld than steel, but it would make more sense to learn the basics with steel, mainly because the material is cheaper and generally easier to get hold of. Once you feel comfortable then you should get practising on Aluminium.

 

[shenion]

What type of aluminum welding do you need to do? Thickness, cast, sheet etc.

You can use MIG, but it is not ideal. TIG is best for Al, but is a bigger investment.

The cheapest MIG that will work reliably would be a Clarke.

Yes, practice on steel first. Al welding with MIG is a bit tricky to set up.

You will need pure argon for Al welding. You can use it on steel, but the welds will be tall.

 

[zardoz]

If i were you (and steel was a main objective) i'd go for the Clarke 165T, which can be bought from Machine Mart, for £247 or from this Forum's Weldequip a bit cheaper and with plenty of free advice for the asking, along with an after sales service. It beats all the other 'cheaper' welders easily, in fact I will probably be seeing him myself this week to make the same purchase
although if welding Ally is your main thing i'd go for a TIG, not sure how easy it would be for a learner though. Maybe more experienced heads can say.?
Any colleges near you doing night classes after xmas ? A great place to get cheap practice (you will find out i am College night classes biggest unpaid advocate, for shear value for money 3 hours a week welding experience.)
give Weldequip a Private Message.

 

[matt1978]

165 Amps, isn't going to be much good if he wants to weld Aluminium of any thickness. Unless he has the option to pre-heat.

As he said, Tig welding is your best for Aluminium but apart from the kit being much more expensive, the process itself is much harder to learn, especially on Aluminium.

 

[zardoz]

165 Amps, isn't going to be much good if he wants to weld Aluminium of any thickness. Unless he has the option to pre-heat.

As he said, Tig welding is your best for Aluminium but apart from the kit being much more expensive, the process itself is much harder to learn, especially on Aluminium.

Indeed, Ally can be hard to learn. Beginners often don't know that the back of a weld often needs to be kept oxygen free as well as the top.

 

[Wozzaaah]

I know this isn't an option for you now but it may be of interest in the future. If doing a lot of alu welding, one of these, available from migtigarc, is ideal but they're quite expensive. Fits any mig with a standard euro connector.

 

[matt1978]

Yeah Zardoz,

You actually don't want "Burn thru" on Aluminium (Unless its a Open Butt Weld). If your welding a T-Fillet of a Lap Joint, you actually want to see whats called a "Witness Line", this can be seen when you hold the back of the underside of the plate towards the light and you should be able to follow a line underneath the joint. This line looks like a small change on the material surface but should not of burnt or blistered through. If you have this line, then this is optimum penteration.

 

[SamT]

thanks for the replies guys, great help

i am in fact trying to get on a night course in january, was suppose to be on one now, but that fell through!!

i'd love a nice tig welder, but for what im doing i just cannot justify spending that much money. I would rather just try it out on the mig until i succeed.

when welding the aluminium it would mainly be 2mm thick tubes.
I will be needing to weld steel for automotive needs mid next year anyway, as i have a track car to build.

cheers

 

[shenion]

The Clarke 165 will do 2mm with no problem. I ave done 3mm with my 130.