Spool Gun

[bozy]

Hi all, i was wondering if any of you have ever used a spool gun for welding aluminum i hav'nt needed to weld auminum before so not sure wether to go down the line of a spool gun or try my hand at tig welding im not sure what sort of gauge metal i will need to weld, any advice will be greatly appreciated

 

[shenion]

A Clarke MIG will do aluminum ok as the torch is short. If you use 5536 wire or 0,9mm 4043 it can feed with no problems.

MIG on aluminum is not ideal. Cold starts and takes fiddling with setting and techique to get right.

After doing it a few times, I got a TIG

 

[malcolm]

There's a bit on welding aluminium on http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/metals.htm Should give it a shot and not bother with the spool gun - that only makes wire feed easier but doesn't make the welding any easier.

I didn't use a spool gun, and after trying it with a basic MIG I also bought a TIG welder for welding aluminium (even with bad TIG technique it's easier). You do need an AC TIG though which costs a fortune.

 

[weldwise]

i use ali mig quite often i find it almost the same as steel but i preheat the ali also you have to be quick if its 2 or 3 mil ali.any thicker and i use a tig..boat builders use ali mig all the time its where i got the skills from....as for a spool gun they work great but i only reccomend it on thin ali as most 240volt migs dont have enough va va voom to melt thick ali ..hope this helps

 

[bozy]

Thanks to you all for your replies i think on reflection i will put the money towards a tig welder, ive always wanted to give it a try

 

[aametalmaster]

Just finished this repair job. http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=24977
TIG also would have worked just would take longer...Bob