alu welding with Clarke 160

[skipman007]

hi can anybody help me out please as i am new to welding so here goes i have bought a 160te turbo clarke welder and the bloke showed me it working BUT i want to start welding aluminium with it instead as thats why i bought it for but i dont realy know how to change it over if you know what i mean but all i do know is that i need aluminium wire (ov course) and been told a teflon wire liner and pure argon and a new gauge but other than that i know nowt so can anybody help me out thanks i much appreciate the help.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Moved this to it's own thread.
Welcome to the forum.
You're right in what you'll need, wire, gas, liner, oversize tips so if you're using 0.8mm wire you need 1mm tips, patience, practise and luck!
I think you'll struggle with that machine, alu mig welding is quite dificult at the best of times.
Everything you know about welding steel goes out of the window, you can't see the weld pool too well, it's very smoky and once you start theb weld going you have to move very quickly to avoid blowing through.
What thickness alu is it and what is it to be used for?

 

[skipman007]

hi thanks for your help and its just 2x2inch box section and i think its about 2-3mm and just want to try and build something with sum plans i made so what would you use if you wanted to weld aluminium.

 

[Country Joe]

so what would you use if you wanted to weld aluminium.

I suspect he'd use a TIG.
Sort of easier that way!
Welcome to the Forum,
CJ

 

[skipman007]

cheers and is it easier using tig than a mig if it is then i will buy a tig welder aswel so what would i need to buy with a tig and what gas cheers for all your help

 

[Wozzaaah]

Tig is the way to go but you'd be looking to spend the better part of £1000 for a decent machine unfortunately.
What reg do you have at the moment? Just thinking if it's a disposable cylinder one then I'd suggest getting a disposable argon cyl to try out before spending a lot of money on a big one.
You're probably looking at around £25 for wire, liner, tips so realistically, with gas, £35-40 to find out if
a - your machine is capable of doing it
b - you're capable of doing it.
I'm not meaning to sound like I'm trying to put you off but having had a go myself I know it's not easy.

 

[Country Joe]

I'm not meaning to sound like I'm trying to put you off but having had a go myself I know it's not easy.

He's right - its a steep (almost vertical) learning curve!

cheers and is it easier using tig than a mig if it is then i will buy a tig welder aswel so what would i need to buy with a tig and what gas cheers for all your help

"Easier", sort of, but not really, just more controlled than trying to pour out ali wire at full tilt!
Not wanting to discourage you either, but the first time tigging ali will most likely be soul-destroyingly difficult. Worse than trying to juggle live cobras! And just about as safe, with the HF (scary voltage) start, constantly on!
After a few hours, it gets a tiny bit better, (think, juggling live cats), but still takes quite a while to get half-way (or even quarter-way) acceptable looking welds.
I've only observed somebody trying it with a MIG, and it looked like a truly spirit-crushing activity, I even had a quick try on the ruined piece of scrap, while he was gone to have a well deserved smoke (smoke & sulk!) and even I worked out that it wasn't going to be the quick 'n' easy game that he'd hoped it would be.
That's not to say some folk have found it to be quite successful, with a MIG, but they don't usually end up as good as a nicely done TIG weld.
Not sure what the plans for this ali box section are, but the project will take a fair bit longer than planned, I'd imagine.
I'd take a look at some of the tutorials, and some of the threads on ali TIG on this site, before committing to a TIG set - 'cos the learning part can't be hurried up.
All the Best,
CJ

 

[skipman007]

hi thanks for all the help just i want to build something to see if it works and am not bothered if the weld is crap just if it works out then i will get a big company to fabricate the finished item as i have been told i might do well if it all works out good so i will have a go with my mig at 1st as there,s no harm in trying

 

[Country Joe]

Yeah, good idea using the MIG right now, as you've got it already, and as Wozzaaah said above, not a massive outlay to get you going.

I probably sounded like a bit of a pessimist in the post above, but I'd not want to be the one to tell you to spend the money, get the kit, and it'll be easy from there - only to have you coming back a day or two later, all annoyed and stroppy!

It most likely will work ok with the MIG anyway, so long as it has the amps to get enough heat into the work-piece, as ali can soak up quite a bit of heat fairly quickly.

You'll need to be quite patient, but as you said, there's no harm in trying.

All the Best,
CJ

 

[skipman007]

cheers m8

 

[GrahamGKD]

Probably a daft suggestion (without knowing what it is) but if you are just making a prototype could you make it in steel? Also, if you decide to try TIG you need a TIG set with AC.