how hard is it to weld alu

[s410man]

hopefully going to have a new lorch m-pro 210 within a few weeks but a large reason for buying it is to weld ali

my problem is i have a lot to weld now but after this one job probably very little so i dont want to buy a tig for one job then keep it unused or sell it

so how hard is it to weld ali

i believe the lorch has a synergic mode which helps but how hard is it

im fairly competent with a mig but is ali something completely different again

thanks

 

[candygt]

Personally I have no experiance in ali welding however this may be of some use to you as it is also about the use of MIG for ali.

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/aluminium-welding.htm

 

[shenion]

A lot depends on what you want to weld and the filler wire used.

It takes a lot of fiddling and practice to get a consistent weld. Once you get it set up and have the torch speed down, it is not that bad.

Getting the machine to feed smoothly is also an issue.

 

[aametalmaster]

I weld alum mig about once a week. By the time i get the welder set for each job i am done with it. Every part is different but its fairly easy to weld and learn how to do it. Get some 1/8" scrap alum and practice...Bob

 

[s410man]

A lot depends on what you want to weld and the filler wire used.

It takes a lot of fiddling and practice to get a consistent weld. Once you get it set up and have the torch speed down, it is not that bad.

Getting the machine to feed smoothly is also an issue.

would this still be a big issue with a 4 roller wire feeder

is synergic a big help with this or not

ive already got a sealey cosme esab and weldstar welders here but didnt think they would be up to the job-was i wrong

ps why cant you weld alu with a arc welder

thanks

 

[wyn]

ps why cant you weld alu with a arc welder

You can get aluminium rods for arc welding but they are a bit of a nightmare to use........lots of smoke and can't see the weld very well.

 

[s410man]

You can get aluminium rods for arc welding but they are a bit of a nightmare to use........lots of smoke and can't see the weld very well.

any form of blower availabel

hoover?

know it cant be to powerful as it could blow the arc away

just an idea

probably going to go for the lorch anyway but just wanted to see if it could be dual purpose

anyone know of a company that would do a free demo of a tig and mig welder bearing in mind i would definantly purchase 1/both of them if i was impressed

thanks for all the comments so far

thanks

 

[Rich.]

Theres a company up here called Newarc that make some pretty awesome machines. They often offer demos of there kit when your looking to buy, and they make tig and mig, would be worth an email at least.

There in Newcastle btw.

Rich

 

[Drains]

s410, if you are ever welding and there's too much smoke, don't blow it away, suck it. If you blow, you'll disturb the shielding gasses.

 

[Sparkey]

s410, if you are ever welding and there's too much smoke, don't blow it away, suck it. If you blow, you'll disturb the shielding gasses.

Now that's some weird advice Si!

 

[Drains]

Now that's some weird advice Si!

I'm surprised you didn't give it first.

 

[Sparkey]

I'm surprised you didn't give it first.

Nah, i'll leave some of the fun for you Si!

 

[Burning Elbows]

tig is best imo for ali
10/50 ali is ok to mig with a good plant n skilled hands but 54/54 soots up like a git n H20 ... well ya may aswell shove the plant up your ...
a 210 amp plant depending on the size of the job i guess will weld upto 4mm thick(just a guess) and from experience i know i can tig ali faster than mig it up to 3mm(but i have been doing it afew years )

i hope some of that is some use