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Posted by ChrisH in Wash St [67.142.167.22] on Thursday, December 03, 2009 at 16:00:14 :
In Reply to: aluminum welding with spool gun posted by Jerry in Idaho [64.139.238.43] on Wednesday, December 02, 2009 at 12:30:06 :
Howdy Jerry,
Couple of thoughts. If you are going to weld what I call hen-skin then you will do best with a tig machine, nice quality good- looking welds though some what slow. If your going to be welding 3/16" and up then I would go with the spool gun. You can weld all-position welds with the spool gun, can make nice filet welds into corners etc. They are best when welding materials of different thickness together which is tricky with the tig. Welding is what I've done since early 1960's. Go see some local welder tell him what you want to do, ask to borrow his equip or give you a couple of pointers, most will be glad to help. Also remember that there are two types of tig: ac and dc. Easiest way to sort that out is ac for alum. and dc for all else( yes you can weld alum with dc but ac is better, and yes you can weld alum with a stick machine- these welds are maybe ok structurally but even your kids will say their ugly, and yes alum. can be welded with a torch) I would go for the ac tig with foot control for thin stuff, there are many mixes of gas that will work but single gas is always cheapest. I would go for the wire feed for thicker materials, especially structural and out of position welds and for production. Well, opinions are like bellybuttons, everybody has one.
If you like I have a Miller Spoolmatic 30A gun and a Miller WC-115A controller with contactor built in. Less than one 1# roll thru it that I'll sell for $1,500. or trade for certain firearms. But, I don't think it will work with your mig machine. Also today (thurs.) in the Wenatchee, Wa craigslist is an ac/dc tig machine like new for $900.00. Don't know the owner,just saw it posting some tools myself. Also I am not familiar with this particular model. Talk to your local welding supply guys and they will give you advice also. Maybe they have a good used unit or will rent you something, probably let you make payments too. This stuff ain't rocket science as they say but first be sure of your future uses of the machine so you get the right one first time out. Chris