first attempt at alloy welding

[7/11=12]

hi guys

this is my first ever attempt at welding alloy with my mig
iam gob smacked at how much smoke comes from it when welding & the amount of splatter & cant believe how long it stays hot
honest opinions guys because i"d like to master this
the plate i used is 13mm thick just as a test bed to lay beads on,i would like to build my own aux veg oil tank so i can fit it in the back of our vw t4
iam thinking of using 2 mm thick ally
i had to run the mig at full power & the wire speed at just past 8 on the dial

second practise after getting the wire speed right "I Think"

 

[pedrobedro]

Are you using pure argon ?

 

[shenion]

Keep the torch near vertical and use a push direction, not pull.

If you are using 5356 wire, there will be black soot and some smoke. 4043 is cleaner.

 

[blenkie1]

You going to be using 2mm sheet for the tank? Could use less than that. Wagon fuel tanks are about 1mm. Handy if you could get the sides folded, less to weld and less to leak! Wagon fuel tanks are hell to weld when they have been full of diesel. You think you have them sorted till you get them back on and filled back up!!

 

[malcolm]

Can't use less than 2mm if you are welding with MIG. 3mm plus would be handier. For me 2mm is only possible using a big brass heat sink behind the weld, so a tank would be out of the question (you would have to remove the heatsink before you closed it up).

Personally I'd go 4 or 5mm if I was planning to use MIG. Otherwise I would use AC TIG without a heatsink - much easier for aluminium, or just make it up and get someone else to TIG it together.

 

[shenion]

I did a lot of practice on 1.3mm aluminum. Was not hard until you got near an edge. Then it would blow through. A steel backer would help (it may stick to brass.)

 

[volition82]

I can't help with the alu welding with mig never done it, but might be able to help with the welding of the tank as i've done a few before(if you know this already my apologies). The corners are where most people have leaks as they weld in to the corners. The trick is to leave the lid to last that way you can weld inside and outside. Weld from say 200mm back from the corner and do a continuous weld from there, round the corner and 200mm past the corner on the horizontial. Then you weld the vertical in to and overlap the corners. If you do it that way you can feather the stop/starts (on the horizontal) and you'll be unlucky if you get a leak.

 

[7/11=12]

cheers for the great advice guys
this is what the bottle says

TARE 1120 G VOLUME 950cc
PRESSUE:60 BAR AT 20 C
CONTENTS 60 LT
TEST PRESSURE: PH 165 BAR
& this is the ally wire

 

[7/11=12]

this is the sort of tank style/shape/size i had in mind
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280541843006&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

for the siad sizes supermarket metal would do it at 2 mm ally plate & would cost me £45.00 plus vat thats not inc the filler pipe neck ally,,so maybe its probs better to buy this tank also 2mm thick

 

[the snooper]

go to the scrap yards to get some ally it will be much ceaper you might find some folded near to the shape you want

 

[7/11=12]

go to the scrap yards to get some ally it will be much ceaper you might find some folded near to the shape you want

i use to love going to the scrappers buddy even with my then young sons

not know more mate ya cant even get in

there's a big gate/pole thing across & a lady comes to see what your after & thats that

verrrrrrrrrrrrry frustrating & its all down to a government wanting total control over us all but they call it health & safety

 

[7/11=12]

You going to be using 2mm sheet for the tank? Could use less than that. Wagon fuel tanks are about 1mm. Handy if you could get the sides folded, less to weld and less to leak! Wagon fuel tanks are hell to weld when they have been full of diesel. You think you have them sorted till you get them back on and filled back up!!

iam not sure what to do really its sort of "But Not" put me off welding ally mig style
seems so aggressive & a hell of a lot louder compared to migging steel so the though of trying to weld 1mm would scare me lol,,,know maybe i could get it turned right down+the speed turned down & as you say if i could get most folded i"d just have 2 sides & a top to weld,,it was quite frustrating as you sort of couldn't see what you were welding,,possible the gas ive got isn't good stuff it only says argon on it & i didn't get it from machine mart,,to be fair to machine mart there gas is not bad at all really so i may try some of there 100% argon & i get argon/co2 from there & its the extra amount one & it does last a long time for the size of the bottle

 

[pedrobedro]

As above always push the gun or you don't get gas cover. I made a tank from 18g mild steel by folding a square tube and welding the single seam then putting ends on it by making plates a bit bigger and folding them to push over and you are not doing edge welds then. Put a couple of baffle plates inside the tank for when fuel gets low or you might get surge on corners and lose power.

 

[Chickenjohn]

It's all very well laying beads on thick plate but if you are intending on welding a tank with 2mm sheet, then get some 2mm sheet and try to butt weld it together. If you can't weld it without blowing holes then you know how feasible the project is and you may need (as said above ) to get someone to Tig weld the tank together for you.

 

[7/11=12]

It's all very well laying beads on thick plate but if you are intending on welding a tank with 2mm sheet, then get some 2mm sheet and try to butt weld it together. If you can't weld it without blowing holes then you know how feasible the project is and you may need (as said above ) to get someone to Tig weld the tank together for you.

i purely did some test welds to see if my mig/wire/gas i had would weld ally as ive never done ally welding before & its not the cheapest of materials to buy,i had it laying around from a streefighter project sub frame mod

 

[7/11=12]

As above always push the gun or you don't get gas cover. I made a tank from 18g mild steel by folding a square tube and welding the single seam then putting ends on it by making plates a bit bigger and folding them to push over and you are not doing edge welds then. Put a couple of baffle plates inside the tank for when fuel gets low or you might get surge on corners and lose power.

i did the push method,,i was thinking of using steel but iam not too sure of the weight issue if there is one
the tank size i had in mind would be
4 sheets at
30" by 12"
2 sheets 12" by 12" at what ever thickness a tank should be made from & ad on that a couple of baffle sheets,,if its not too heavy i can make it from steel of stainless steel know probs