Welding Aluminum with a MIG spool gun for the first time EVER
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
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Welding Aluminum with a MIG spool gun for the first time EVER. I bought the Millermatic 211 and the spoolmate 100 spoolgun with dreams of building diamondplate tool boxes, wakeboarding towers and dreams of sugar plums dancing in my head. However, with such high expectations and aspirations comes a fear of failure. I've waited a long time before even making an attempt because of this fear to fail. With a day off due to the 4th of July holiday and motivated by Jody from weldingtipsandtricks.com I thought I'd take an opportunity to practice laying beads on a piece of scrap alluminum I've had laying around the back 40 for the the last 7-8 years. As it turns out, old aluminum that's very oxidized and weathered creates a lot of soot and dross as you see in the video. It did make for some good practice for tip angle, stick out, and heat. Aluminum is expensive and you don't want to learn lessons on warping and cracking on something you've put a lot of time and money into.
I like your down to earth honesty and no pretense in this video. Well done !
Love this video. For us novices, this is what we need to build confidence. Haters gotta hate. F-them.
A little tips your moving WAY TO FAST slow down some its not a stick haha a spool gun is a lot like mig but put the gun more vertical. You also mite want to make or buy a bench and put a metal top on it makes everything easy. And stop putting your brush on the ground your contaminating it then witch your material will be as well. And 86 the fan your blowing you shield away that's why your having problems.
Best advice yet!
Darrin Peterson Thanks for the advice Darrin! Cleanliness, slow down, think more about shielding gas envelope, and work easier from a metal table.
Darrin Peterson I agree with Darrin, and maybe increase wire feed a bit as well, but your moving way to fast, another tip, I would never weld pushing my weld away from me if I could help it, I would always go from right to left, or left to right, but never away from me, hurts you when trying to stay in the puddle. But other than that, Darrin's advice is solid lol
Excellent video...because it's REAL! I think you've done a great job of showing people that not only is it OK to make mistakes..but with skills such as welding, it's the ONLY way you actually perfect your craft! Very well done...and you made it easier for others to dive right in! So thank you
you got it right welding is all about practice and if you don't make mistakes you don't learn
when you was trying to stack dimes and the weld was sinking, to much heat in the work piece, think and look at your work wile welding, all that heat has to go somewhere and well its the work that take is all. alum is a good heat sink but not all that great for constant welding on, let it cool off some n burn some more, noticed it was warping, alum will also tell you if its getting to hot by looking at the bead, if its ripples r getting smooth then its time to cool it with a air nozzle or let it sit. dont remember how many spools ive ran out, to many to remember, my first welds was, well,,, puke on a stick looked better i could say.. your travel speed got to fast and your angle went wrong, you'll improve as you practice. yes u can drag weld with it. just takes practice to find what works best for you, i drag on thin stuff to keep from blowing holes in it, but if its real thin i just tig it. time an practice and it will come natural to ya, the tips can be cleaned up and reused, think ive used the one on my mig at work for bout a year. got a few .035 tips that i can now run .045 through. lol and oh, $25 on welding supply com they have locktite can of ceramic nozzle spray, well worth it to help save your tips, coat the bottom of your cone and spray the hole inside of the cone wile its on your gun getting the tip as well, the burn back dont stick as bad and spatter falls right off. have fun and practice practice
My initiation with aluminum spool gun welding taught me that preparation was key, to include preheat to 300 Farenheight, 30 CFH argon gas, correct stick out (3/4"), 5 degrees work angle, and as usual, watch and control the puddle. The puddle is not as easy to see. It should appear as a silvery molten pool. Overheating the material will cause a weird wrinkling of the weld. Also wire speed and voltage take some tweaking. Typically the voltage is upped compared to a steel weld. The blackening is probably due to either/or low CFH, and white oxide on base metal. It is a "humbling" process. I would actually defer someone to learn TIG and /or use Alumiloy, Alumiweld braze rod with propane. Good luck (skill) my friend.
Nice spool gun you got there. I've never used one, but I am looking forward to try. Since, I already have the welder (HOBART 210), I want to go for it. Thank you for sharing and take care my friend.👍👍
Your mistakes are very educational. Just showing great welds is not as helpful .
On aluminum when starting a weld, I drag the wire back (about a inch or so) as i'm striking a weld this helps to preheat,if there is a gap it kind of fills it, if its old alum. that you are welding you will be laying fresh clean material on top to run your weld over it.
I'm reading all these comments, it's actually funny because everyone of us that can charge for welds had to go through the same thing as this guy at one point before we realized Tig welding was an art that needed to be mastered. we just didn't post our embarrassing moments on you tube. I give this guy kudos. hopefully you're stacking dimes with tungsten now buddy
Cody Guynn ....veey good constructive commitment not like ones these idiots posted.... !
Polite, and total sense, well said!
Why in god's name are you pushing away from yourself? Pushing the bead doesn't mean pushing the gun.
Position yourself so you are welding across your torso, not away from it. That way you'll actually be able to see what you're welding and control the stick out and travel speed. And because of how the guns are designed you won't be dragging your hand into the fresh bead, so you'll be able to brace your hand against the work and not bob up and down like you do!
atsernov I think I just learned something from you. Thanks!
I do hope it helps!
+briansmobile1, yeah yeah homes I saw the same , all I know is what I have seen from first hand . Not Video.
I always try to do it myself (fuck a manual), now we hv UA-cam...... I can watch others fuck up before I try ; )
((atsernov)) thanks for the input fersure.
The other thing I meant to mention Brian is that I notice you're working on the floor. You might have better control with the piece in a vice on a bench at a comfortable working height - better for your back too :-)
I actually think working on the floor is good idea since most of your serious welding jobs arent always gona be in a convenient place for your body.
Not for a beginner. You have to take small steps first.
Good impromptu video. I've never welded aluminum but I'm watching to get the basics. Thanks for taking the time to make the vid
Main reason for the black soot, and burnback on startup is that the hose is not pre-charged with Argon, prior to initiating the arc. Set wire speed to zero, and run a few inches of wire before starting to weld at selected speed.
What's a synchrowave???? lol I thought about the brush thing after watching the vid and bought another brush already. I have a bunch of that tool box plate (SO PRETTY!) but I'm afraid to melt it into a blob just yet. Keep me posted- I'm trying to learn all I can at this stage in the game. Thanks!
I don't know Sean. I'm not familiar enough with that model. I would check with the Snap-On guy next time he's around and ask him. He won't have a circuit board and spool gun on his truck, but I bet he could steer you straight.
It just makes you feel cool. ; D It's kind of like dressing up as Batman or Superman when you're a kid. Welders are like toys for grown ups. I worked my arse off as a kid- now I'm all grown up on my own I can play.
I was at US Welding today talking to Todd about buying a TIG setup. For something decent it's about $2k plus tank, rod, and electrodes. This set up is about $200 plus tank and wire.
LOL You can't win. If I say it European way people here will mock and correct me. When I'm in Europe I say "A-LU-MI-NIUM" I also spell tyre tire here. When in Rome...
I do that with my steel welder tips, but was told not to on the aluminum gun. Perhaps there's a different type than the blue stuff I use for steel?
You may need to reverse the polarity for aluminum welding by reversing ground and lead cable.
i love my wire welder (lincoln 100)......its flux core so i can weld outside....its spool gun adaptable so i may go this route....great vid brian
Both. It just depends how thick the material is. I don't use the 220 unless it's needed. I have fewer of those outlets around the shop.
3/4" is a good stick out. I wouldn't say I've done well going fast. Doing short sections and allowing the work to cool between has worked best.
turn gas down your pulling in air more is not better run hotter and preheat to boil off the water and oils in al i us a propane torch and it helps with cold starts to good job so far hotter you run in al the better you can go to far wire and heat and i all ways run out some wire eveytime i stop 3 to 5 inchs so the tip has hard wire not soft to start
No one is perfect.... some people fail at commenting, some people are long and boring. We all get by just the same.
I wouldn't weld on the floor unless there was an over riding reason to,
turn the machine so the fan doesn't affect the weld gas.
I weld on a table with the machine blowing underneath, it helps.
Watch the video, you jump off to a very fast start, then slow down, then go fast again. Focus on not jumping at the start, just move smoothly. a slight angle lets the gas precede the puddle, too much angle blows the gas away.
Watch some spoolgun welding videos.!
May need to check your gas flow. May need more argon. Keep any draft away from your area. Shield the weld.
Ok, how about if you get paid to do it professionally? Then can I be a welder?
Try turning the wire speed down, its called spray welding. If the machine is set right spray welding also cuts down on the spatter. The black should never be on the bead but it is normal for it to be on both sides of it. Try cleaning it with a rag rather than a wire brush. Always push.
Good job, it's nice to watch a regular guy trying something new and learning as you go. Thank you for the getting started video
doing my first time now :) Thanks for your video!
THANK YOU!
There's not a ton of people in ear shot of my little island. : )
You got my thumbs up when you forgot to hook the ground up.....you're awesome.......
I did the exact same thing... too excited!!
Bro your moving way to fast build your puddle then move
I've got the exact same set up as you do, and my first time Welding Aluminum with minimal practice. Years ago I made 1/8 inch thick, one inch wide Bows to cover my aluminum fishing boat and they turned out excellent. Today, I'm attempting to weld 1/16" angle to a thick block of aluminum. So I watched your video, to remind me & get tips from your commenters.
That is awesome!
Jodi is always peddling the TIG finger! lol
wire feed is not near fast enough! that's why u keep burning back
TIG is probably the way to go I think.
I was welding on some badly weathered and poorly cleaned scrap aluminum. Since buying brand new clean material that is even super thin, it's easy. The contaminants are what make it so hard. I also recommend using a laser temp gun. If it accumulates too much heat from welding too long on it, the whole piece goes to mush. Patience and cleanliness are key to successful welds.
I guess I'm ashamed that they suck???
Yes. He wants to be heard. I can respect that. What he says about me doesn't bother me. It makes him look bad- not me. I don't mind if he's critical of me, but if his comments are disrespectful toward others I'll delete them. Do you see any like that?
220 has two "legs" of power (One black wire and one red wire and a bare ground wire.) 110 has a hot and a neutral (one black and one white and of course a bare ground wire.) You're pretty smart when it comes to electricity.
Time wise you're right. Money wise this is a super affordable solution for when you need to weld up the occasional project or repair an oil pan etc. Set up gets faster as you become proficient. I'm a noob. X D
I would like to give you some tips I learned. 1 - I hold the gun straight up, 2 - the black is normal, 4-you will definitely know when you don't have enough shielding gas the weld will look terrible and sometimes you can drill out the messed up tips
Nunber 3 ? Lol great advice!
michael wheeler We've all missed a number or a letter when counting up. Classic humor, thank you.
You know im only joking mate, glad you saw the funny side if it ;)
You know im only joking mate, glad you saw the funny side if it ;)
I like that the messed up tips could be cleaned up.
Interesting. What do you make?
Think you are moving way too fast.
Your welding is not good
I've heard that from many people with solid reputations. I'd like to get a TIG setup, but the cost is the barrier for now. The Miller setup I'd like to get next is almost $4K.
I just bought some .030 today. The gun only comes with 0.030 tips. Must be a reason??? I figure it's not too expensive to try it.
It is. It was a POS NIGHTMARE because it had a clamp undone inside the torch sleave. Once I figured that out and fixed it AND learned it's a constant contact style it's been a champ. I've really liked it- especially for the price.
Also a big reason for the black in this example is material impurities (dirty aluminum that has been outdoors in the dirt for years) and air movement in the shop blowing the gas away.
I felt it was a bargain even if the price was $800 higher. I still would have bought it just as fast.
You should really learn to slow your travel speed down, Going way to fast..
If you have room in your shop and you have the money I'd recommend it. That way you can do more intricate welds and on thinner metal.
MHO but it looks like you are going way to fast. I would try pulling across
Don't weld on concrete because if it gets too got it will explode.
That's correct. When using this process you have to think "push the spray" not "drag the bead." I would love to do a follow up. Thanks for showing interest. I just bought some material today!
You're welcome! And welcome to having another "super power!"
Thanks man... I REALLY appreciate you putting this video up , and sharing your experience , it was a big help to me !!
Probably right.
I have the same welder setup. Glad I watched your video . I am just getting ready for my first try and learned a lot from your mistakes. I'm going to try the auto set though because I have good results with it with the mig welding. I wonder if anti spatter spray on the tips would keep the aluminum from sticking to them? Probably could file off the aluminum and re drill the hole in a pinch to save the tip. Anyway glad you made the video. Thanks
I just picked up a digital thickness gauge at Menards for $10.00. It looks pretty cool.
Well spoken sir.
Wire feed aluminum is very difficult. I went to school for welding and we did 10ga aluminum with TiG and MiG. Tig was a lot easier because you get better heat control plus pre and post flow of gas. We used Lincoln training C300 machines with their Aluminum Mig gun. Much easier to do it that way than using a spool gun. But no one really wants to spend dang near $9,000 for all that.
I tested out of my automotive program after a semester. I then studied business at University and graduated with a bachelor's degree on the Dean's list. Rather than attacking me personally (I'm not offended in the least bit- you have no idea about me- obviously) Perhaps you would be more productive by describing the nature of your concerns. for ie. needing certifications to weld, protecting your industry, etc.
I find that if welding is like riding a bike, then aluminum welding is like riding a unicycle. Things go bad in a hurry, usually because the puddle melts out or the base metal is not clean.
Sounds like you need a tig finger from Jodi, ha ha.
Straight Argon.
I got a good deal on my Lincoln Precision Tig 275 $4000. Now they cost more than that. After I bought all the Accessories for it , I have $6000 in it. They are expensive. The Inverter ones cost even more.
To me it seems like its to much work to switch the mig back and forth between Aluminum and steel. Most of the time when you need to weld Aluminum its just one little thing. With a tig your just changing the tungsten.
I do, but on a super limited non UA-cam basis. Just to keep up with fam etc.
Unless you've turned a "project" into aluminum pudding.... then you can be afraid.
Your not using Argon & CO2 with your mig? I put quick cupplers on the hose on my small mig welder. I've never used a spool gun before. My dad does it that way. I use a Tig to weld Aluminum.
I've seen Jodi pre heat with a torch and use a laser temp gun to check it. I overheated the plate and warped it.
You're welcome Elton!
I know with your IQ you'll get better at it I enjoyed watching this long video Better than crappy TV how to shows that leave out half the Info needed to learn it
god this is painful to watch
I'm an absolute noob, never welded before, still haven't got my tools yet, so I was interested in the set up as well.
Just find the cheapest welder you can find, like a Campbell Hausfeld or Chicago Electric machine, and run the crap out of it. Either one is only about $100. No sense spending a bunch of money before you've ever tried welding. You may find out you hate it, lol.
+Mattis Sarcastic Bought a Machine, got to pay it off but from what I learned and how excited I am, no chance I'm going to hate it. I wanted a bigger trailer and I wanted to build it out of Aluminium, so I did my homework and ended up buying a Bossweld MST X250. Got the first of these new machines in Australia, new tech, got the spool gun and a few other things with it. Just need to pay it off and pick it up, then I'll be doing all this fun stuff woohoo. I've actually got plans to build a couple of trailers and ofcourse there's the Welding Cart and Welding Table, a few other things are starting to interest me. Anyways, 250 Amps and a few helpful features will give me years and years of fun.
SupaLexy (SupaNautica & MotoLexy) I'd say you'll have all the fun you can stand. Good luck with the aluminum.
Thanks. Right on. What do you mean by right to left with no motion?
Good idea
Practice and surface preparation I'm learning is also very important. Aluminum is VERY picky when it comes to cleanliness.
My welding Instructor used a cleaning Acid for aluminum and he also told me that Aluminum oxidizes fairly quickly.
Thanks
Thanks
Thanks
Echt verknoeien leuk
I just got my Miller 211&100 spoolgun. Watching you was educational and comforting as I made all the same mistakes plus more. Hope you give more lessons on aluminum welding with the 100 as you improve your skill. Thanks, Ken
lol
lol
Spool guns aren't great for "thin aluminum" to begin with. I would recommend using a TIG process for thin stuff. I bet you could weld a truck tool box with it though.
Thanks for putting this video up. I have two things I could offer. Number one, if you use .030 wire use a .035 tip if you use .035 wire drill the tip a little bit larger. I have used 1/16 inch drill bits to enlarge the tip orifice when using 0.035. Using an oversized orifice prevents the sticking which happens when the aluminum wire heats up back into the tip and expands locking it in place. I had very little trouble melting tips once I did this. This modification actually allowed the spray transfer to function, something I never achieved previously. Also don't make such big adjustments, you went from 60 to 70 on your wire speed, try smaller increments, with aluminum especially. I mean what I say when I say thanks for putting this up, it is a common problem with this setup which is exactly the same as mine. You may have gone on to the millerwelds forums and found that many people modify the barrel to use the larger size tips. It involves Drilling and tapping and not everyone has access to that but it is my plan as the next modification. Best of luck to you my friend.
Did you have to reverse the polarity on the welder to weld aluminum? (Positive to negative and negative to positive)
When you first start welding with a new gun you have to wait till the gas get to the end before your weld looks right.
I'm a wanna be. I just spend so much time doing car repair and these videos that I don't get as much welding practice in as I'd like.
Mere så end sproget, jeg virkelig elsker det danske folk! Jeg kan godt lide tysk og russisk bedst. Som du kan se, jeg er ikke godt praktiseres i dansk. Det tog noget hjælp og omkring 20 minutter til at gøre dette. :)
I'm glad I went with tig! The spool gun looks quite tricky and at 3/4 inch and a fan your not getting much gas!
Good job on the video it is intimidating to do this kind of thing live for the first time. if there's definitely a specific application for welding aluminum with MIG welder but it's not short runs on small pieces however this is only practicing this is how everyone learns
Hi. Nice aluminum mig gun. Thoughts. I too am a fan of Welding tips and tricks. I have never seen a video from him regarding a mig aluminum gun. I'll look for it. Keep trying, I have used a standard mig gun since the 80s and I have used D/C tig on steel, but,I have only used tig on aluminum 1 time. Not easy. it looked like fidos but. (Wonder where that came from) Anyway, Steel and aluminum flow different. Practice on Aluminum and the other metals I think will come. Anyway. Enjoy.
My preference is of little consequence- life teaches a person much more when they are open to having the experience. I enjoy learning in whatever language or discipline I can.
just watching you move your hand WAYY too fast.
Gewoon een beetje van het kijken naar Master Milo ; )
You're welcome- TIG is the way to go for so many things. It just gives you SO much more control..... once you've practiced.