welding aluminum with spoolmate / miller setup

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2fpower

2fpower

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Got a Miller 210 with a spoolmate and finally broke it out to patch up some holes and worked great. Now I am getting ready to fill up larger holes - about 4" round. I cut pieces to fill and then cut edges at angles. How tight should my pieces be to the hole? Should I cut them back 1/16 or 1/8 to allow for some expansion?

I have some pics on my Utah link on my sig.


Thanks,
 
1/8" is a big gap to fill.
What gas are you using? I always found Helium was better for welding Aluminium using a DC welder.
I also used a large lump of brass to act as a heat sink cuts down on the expansion, not much but every little helps.

Nice little project by the way ;)
 
A little more information would help answer your question (application, thickness, alloy) but generally speaking a nice fit-up would be my preference. Beveling both pieces would be my advise if you plan on grinding the welds smooth.
 
firestopper said:
A little more information would help answer your question (application, thickness, alloy) but generally speaking a nice fit-up would be my preference. Beveling both pieces would be my advise if you plan on grinding the welds smooth.
Click to expand...

^^^ this..

Looked at your pics. I feel you are cold and slow, close though. My experience/preference with aluminum is hot and fast. Be sure its CLEAN TOO.

J
 
Thanks all. I played with heat and speed quite a bit, and it started looking better. The heat sink really helped.
 
Spool guns are quite tricky - they start out cold and finish very hot , no real control other than the amperage setting of the machine , and using dc is all a handicap . Just have to learn to work with it , some use the other hand to control the wire speed to give some control of heat input when starting out , then dial up the speed as the work heats up - not easy but can be done . An argon/helium mix helps a lot with penetration on thicker parts , body work straight argon is fine . Use a pure stainless steel brush to clean the parts and be careful of some of the cheap flap disks - they can contaminate the aluminum . I keep several brushes and all my flap wheels for aluminum separate and are marked AL ONLY . The black showing around your weld is from contamination and oxygen - try turning up the argon a bit and watch how the gun angle is kept , stay closer to 90* . Most people that are learning make the mistake of too low an angle to be able to see what they are doing , angle of the electrode is super important in any welding anyway . Move yourself instead of manipulating the gun - it can get quite uncomfortable at times .

If you are new to this , that is a pretty good job for starting out - I must say .

Sarge
 
@Weber Sarge Thanks for the compliment. It definitely is tricky with spool gun. I played with argon several times, never really figuring it out. I think that I use an argon/helium mix for stainless MIG, will have to see what mix that is.

I did go inside the fender and welded the back too. Overkill is my middle name.

Good advice on the dedicated brushes. That likely was my issue with contamination as I was using flap wheel grinder to clean, then a wire wheel on my right angle drill.

Yes, it was my first time doing aluminum with MIG, and I sure miss the TIG setup from years ago. Anyone have suggestions on TIG units to watch for on C-list? I might do my next project in Aluminum, so seems like a good investment.
 
On Aluminium, I used TIG, with Helium as the shield gas. Just gives me more control and better finish.
Mind you I've not welded Ali for years, so I'll be pretty 5h1t for the first try ;)
 
I got a cheap TIG welder and have been learning aluminum.

My welds aren't pretty (yet).
But it's fun!
 
As sarge mentioned, adjusting the wire speed on the fly is excellent advise you can also "fine tune" by varying your arc gap. This technique (arc gap) works for regular Mig welding as well such as vertical up.
 
I've got a Miller Dynasty 200DX , love it . All the settings can be a pain to learn but it's not that hard . The adjustable settings on the new inverter machines sure help a lot compared to running a transformer unit . I'd love to have the new 280DX but can't justify it's price tag - mine is old enough now trade-in value is down quite a bit , but it would be nice to have , as always - more power .

I've Dynasty units (stick to the ac/dc DX if want aluminum flexibility) go for around $1200 used . My power unit alone was $3500 new ...That hurt .

Sarge
 
Weber Sarge said:
I've Dynasty units (stick to the ac/dc DX if want aluminum flexibility) go for around $1200 used . My power unit alone was $3500 new ...That hurt .
Click to expand...

Weber Sarge, are you making a paycheck with your welder?

My current setup is an AHP AlphaTIG 200X, and a MillerMatic 175 MIG machine. I'd like to upgrade my MIG machine. I'd like to have a MM252. But I've also gotten reasonably good at TIG where I am also thinking about getting a nicer TIG machine and just welding the stuff I need to slower (I am not making a paycheck with my welders).

I've also thought about upgrading my setup to the Syncrowave 210 w/ the spoolgun package for MIG welding. Though I'd like to get the Synchrowave 250 and add the Suitcase wirefeeder, but I can't get a straight answer as to whether the Miller Suitcase wirefeeder will work with that machine power source or not.
 
I like my Lincoln 185 TIG for what I do, mostly 12 gauge or thinner. Most of my welding is with my Lincoln 225 MIG so I am not an expert in aluminum. I don't do it professionally. Sorry I can't be of more help to you.
 
Here's the deal - I wanted a tig since I hate the sparks from a mig or stick when working indoors (basement shop) , not to mention the smoke :confused: . I had used a tig a little bit , so I researched around and bought the Dynasty outright along with a tig runner kit , which was a waste of money (there are far better tig torches , ect out there ) .
So , now I had a tig - had to learn it and spent an insane amount of time reading , watching videos and practicing . In the last 9yrs I've gone from barely being able to run a decent bead on steel to welding some fairly exotic parts , lots of specialty repair jobs and general fab work . I also run the stick side a lot as the Dynasty is the one inverter machine that can run 6010/7010 stick rods decently . I mostly use 7018 for stick work , some 6011 for dirty , farm-like junk that gets dumped here to fix . Lot of steel , tool steel , cast aluminum work here for locals and an occasional crazy-rare part shipped here for repair .

The Dynasty has paid for itself in side jobs alone . I don't earn a regular paycheck welding , except when I get called out to do a pipe casing job for bore work - the local Pipe Fitters don't want that nasty stuff so us Laborer's do it around this area . Welding overhead in a trench box in the mud with water running out of the joint's bottom sucks , but can be done . I've got a ton of metal and slag in my face and doc says it looks interesting on x-rays . Never did like him much .

The reason I push the Dynasty so much over the Synchrowave , the HP Alpha tig , or the Lincoln 185 tig is flexibility . The Dynasty will run on single or 3 phase , can be run on 110V if necessary (it's been tossed into the Cruiser for field repairs running off a generator - 110amps limit) and it has a whole slew of spot timers/slope/frequency/balance controls to use it on nearly anything . The Dynasty series is also flat-out reliable , never heard of anyone truly blowing one up yet . You can score used ones nearly down to a grand and I wouldn't hesitate to buy even a beat up one - Miller has parts and will repair nearly anything .

I seriously want the new Dynasty 280 . Same as above with my 200 , but more power and additional waveforms , plus sd card capability for later upgrade programming . Even if you only stick weld now , hard to beat a well-built inverter for running smooth , steady output even on a generator - no other welder comes close .

Sarge
 
wouldn't you want AC if Alum is in the cards?
 
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