Mig Welding question

[Normantwo2cool]

I manufacture over 1,200 sets of stainless steel headers a year and build thousands of aluminum parts. All are tig welded.

I have been tig welding allmost daily for allmost 25 years.

Any tig welder for $200 new doesnt have the amps to weld 1/4" aluminum. If it hasnt been received return it when it does. You will not be able to give it away to anyone who is knowledgeable on the subject.

Mig welding aluminum never really works well. Because you cannot preheat. At the best it could be used for emergencies. Even when tig welding thick aluminum parts with a low amp welder it takes preheating.

Next up would be a spool gun which can work well in areas like trailer repair or building heavy parts.

Next would come in a push/pull cobra type lead mounted on a larger mig welding source.. This is alot better than a spool gun but you cannot weld small parts and it much better for fabrication lots of heavy parts.

I would suggest purchasing a tig welder. One thing if its not blue dont wassssste your money. In other words buy a miller.

To weld aluminum it takes alot more heat than steel. Even on 1/4" aluminum a 200 amp tig welder you will have to preheat before welding.

If money is an issue and if you are just learning anyhow I would suggest purchasing an old miller 330 a/bp tig welder. These were made from the mid 60's till the early 90's.

I find them local all the time for less than $1,000 with a torch, flow meter, and a bottle. Keep in mind a 2R argon bottle is like $250 if you have to buy it. They can be rented for about $10 a month.

This welder is a workhorse and has solid state circuitry. You can also weld steel, Stainless steel, titanium etc.

It makes a much cleaner and stronger weld than a mig welder especially on aluminum.

[wistech]

Sounds like your biased towards miller? I had my mig welder(lincoln sp100 )for about 15 years . I would guess it goes through about 50 to a 100 pounds of steel wire a year without a glitch. We shall see how the cheap tig works. If I need heavy stuff welded it goes to my brother (a welding instructor) . It wont be an industrial application so 100% duty cycle wont be needed. If it doesnt work out Ill trade it in on a welding helmet.

So true about aluminum . My mig is set up for aluminum to but it really cant handle the big jobs. Preheating is always a pain.

[Normantwo2cool]

I do not own stock in the company. Its just its hard to go wrong with a miller.

I have owned many different welders over the years. All companies have made some good welders and some very poor.

Even miller went to aluminum wound welders a few years back. It was a catstrophy in my opinion.

The lincoln sp100 is copper wound and is a good welder. I had one with a Tweco mini mig gun 15' length in our race trailer for years.


If you are trying to mig a heavier aluminum part the take a torch and preheat it. Or if its small enough place it in an oven.

Before you heat up the part take the welder and run it on scrap aluminum. Make sure the settings are correct and get the welder nice and warm. Clean the nozzle. Clip your wire then go preheat your part. Or if you are using an oven preheat it while you are doing this.

Then weld away. Having everything warm and working good will assure a good quality weld. Alot of times you have a small weld and only one shot. There is no need to get your welder acting right on the part you are going to weld.

[wistech]

So true welding is a skill that takes lots of practice to get good at.Although welder have come a long way since the days of the good old stick systems.

[wistech]

Got my elcheapo welder in today. Did a little steel welding and it easily has the power for that but I did notice one thing. I am waaaayyyy out of practice with tig. Didnt have enough argon left in the tank to try out more than a few seconds of aluminum ,then it was black weld city. LOL I feel like a kid with yet another new toy.

[Normantwo2cool]

Remember if you have problem welding thicker aluminim just get everything ready and preheat with a torch.

Do you have a watercooled torch with the new welder?? If not you can purchase one for just over $100. Instead of using a cooler just rig it to a water hose and let the drain run on the ground.

For very small jobs you can get by with using an air cooled torch. But for heavy aluminum welding you need a water cooled one.