learning curve

[k.a.m]

i am wondering if you can weld allum. without a spoolgun with a 140 with the proper gas and all? i am just trying to learn about this whole mig thing thanks for any info.

[smyrna5]

i am wondering if you can weld allum. without a spoolgun with a 140 with the proper gas and all? i am just trying to learn about this whole mig thing thanks for any info.

It can be done, with difficulty and on a very limited basis. The biggest problem you will face is that aluminum is a very good heat sink, so the 140 doesn't have sufficient power to weld large or thick pieces of aluminum. The other problem you will have is that aluminum wire is very soft, so it tends to birds nest a lot. Use the search function to read about some of our members adventures with birds nesting using the HH 187 (same wire feed mechanism). You can cut down on the birds nesting by using a teflon liner, setting the roller tension just right, and keeping the gun as straight as possible. You must also clean the metal scrupulously, and pre-heat it.

To read about an interesting try at welding aluminum with a Lincoln 135T by a member of one of my bicycle building forums, take a look at this thread and some of Donnovan's pictures. There is also a link to the Lincoln advice on welding Aluminum with a 110v MIG. This guy is a very amateur welder, so keep that in mind.

http://www.atomiczombie.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1166&SearchTerms=aluminum

[k.a.m]

thanks for the input smyrna5 i am going to go to those posts and sight to read up. the stuff i would want to tackle would mostly be 1/8'' or thinner boats mostly crack repairs and add on brackets i saw my brother in law welding like that years ago not a pretty sight but he was just starting out contributed bad looking welds to inexpieriance then i saw the price of a spoolgun the other day in a northern tool mag. and fig i better start researching this so when i go to the banker (wife) i have all my ducks in a row. thanks again:)

[k.a.m]

i have a question smyrna5 the welds that donovan had in the pics are they what i can expect? the reason i am asking is my boat trailer is allum. and the welds on it are more the look of mild steel the pics looked more of a molten look

[smyrna5]

i have a question smyrna5 the welds that donovan had in the pics are they what i can expect? the reason i am asking is my boat trailer is allum. and the welds on it are more the look of mild steel the pics looked more of a molten look

Well, to be honest, the 140 just doesn't have enough guts to weld aluminum effectively. The stuff just takes more power than our little 140s can put out. I don't think Donovan has a lot of experience, based on his forum posts. I am sure someone like Dan here could do a better job, but he would still have his hands tied by the 140 on Aluminum.

You might do a search for some posts by Clay Walters. I know he built an Al pontoon boat with his 175 and struggled mightily with it. The 187 has the guts, but it still has birds nest problems with Al wire. Here is a good thread disucussing it

http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/showthread.php?t=19136&highlight=175+aluminum

[Brianstick]

I tried it one time without a spool gun. It was a joke, the only time i good get a bead going was when the gun hose was absolutely straight. I spent more time pulling tangled wire out of the wire feeder than i did welding. good luck.

[k.a.m]

thanks again for all the input smyrna5, and brianstick i am going to look at the post but i fear i will back off this idea until funds allow me to set up properly for the jobs i want to do i love a challenge but love decent results not having any equip. right now i think i will wait to be able to buy what i need. again thanks for the input and knowledge.:)