aluminum mig help!!!!

Phil1958

Phil1958

#1
#1
i finally dragged out the spool gun i bought a few months ago
to see how well i can mig aluminum. not so good:

20150409_164041.jpg

blobs, little penetration, not sure where to start. i can mig ferrous
metal 'ok', not great, but this welding looks worse than a cub
scout den project. obviously i need beginner lessons. any help
or pointers is appreciated :thumbsup:

thanks,

phil
 
Phil1958

Phil1958

#4
#4
pidgeon crap is a good description!

nice looking welds:thumbsup:

i used a regular steel wire brush to clean the aluminum. that might
be one of the issues, no solvent cleaners either.
 
Last edited:
David wulf

David wulf

#7
#7
Phil I just checked and you need 100 percent argon to weld aluminum. That's what I run in my TIG welder .
I think that will make the difference and like said above clean with acetone.
 
Sixpac440

Sixpac440

#8
#8
I work with a cert pro welder .. he says it looks cold, thinks you should be using pure argon, you need to wire brush the aluminum to make sure its cleaned with a brush that is ONLY ever been used on aluminum, no solvent.
 
nds1968

nds1968

#12
#12
Not sure whats going there :confused: I used a spool gun a lot at my previous job. I use to wipe the oil off with lacquer thinner (make sure to move the rag and can far from the welding area to avoid fire) and use a stainless steel wire brush dedicated to aluminum welding only. It's gonna take some experience to master the spool gun as they can be stubborn. Make sure your getting the correct flow of argon coming out of the gun. You'll have to play with the settings and your angles. If you get it dialed in right and the stars align with the moon you'll get minimum splatter :laugh:
 
David wulf

David wulf

#13
#13
Phil are you using 100 percent argon or 75-25 argon and co2 . Most all use 75-25 for migs , and that will not work with aluminum. It will give you what you have . It similar to if I used 75-25 in my tig the welds would look like yours .
 
Phil1958

Phil1958

#14
#14
the electrode was wired negative when it was supposed to be positive. the welds look
a lot better, nowhere's near your tig dave, but practice and tweaking will make perfect!

mig is getting better.jpg

i played with voltage and feed rate between lines and the results are pretty easy to see.

i'm using 100% argon. bought a 4' cylinder from a supply house, they wanted to put me
on a "convenient" monthly rental and billing cycle for all my welding gas needs. i politely
declined.

when the arc is running with the correct polarity i can hear the 'ssssssssssssss' instead of
bacon frying. why can't they make these things plug and play?????

:thumbsup:

phil
 
David wulf

David wulf

#15
#15
Phil it's looking a lot better than before . I have never tried welding with a spool gun so I don't have any tips . But as I've found out with tig practice practice practice and more practice .
 
wb4rt

wb4rt

New Member
#16
#16
Hey, Phil.

Polarity and gas are important. You have that right now.

Are you using 220v or 110v welder? You really need 220v for aluminum. With a spoolgun, you use a longer stickout - 3/8" - 1/2", a lower angle, push technique, and move fast! Get the puddle going as quick as you can and move before the aluminum sucks the heat out.

It takes a lot of practice, at least I do. TIG is much easier for aluminum than MIG because you can control the heat input as you move.

Good luck, keep practicing, and post pictures of your progress.
 
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