OT Aluminum Welding

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avant 1735

Member

• Jun 15, 2018

• #1

Going to attempt welding some aluminum angle pieces. I have heard of welding rods for alumin., but have never used any. Are there any recommendations on the rod to use and settings for the welder. The stuff I am goin to weld is about 3/16 thick or a hare smaller. From what I have found out so far is to use only DC current. thanks

 

Welding man

Well-known Member

Location

West Virginia

• Jun 15, 2018

• #1

I am not trying to discourage you, but I have been in the welding business for over 40 years and I personally have never found any stick electrode to weld aluminum that was worth a darn and the ones that claim to be, are so expensive that you would be better off to hire a professional welder with a TIG or MIG machine to weld it and be done with it. I weld Aluminum on a daily basis and if all I had to weld it with was stick, I wouldn't be welding aluminum, but good luck.

 

Ultradog MN

Well-known Member

Location

Twin Cities

• Jun 15, 2018

• #1

If you have any extra dough look for a good tig setup. Watercooled torch,
foot feed. A tig machine will easily double as a good rod burner too - rectified dc but still good.
I got paid to mess around with a tig machine for a couple of years at the U of M way back when. Nice Miller unit.
Silicon bronze on steel, stellite and stainless, heliarc.
It's still my all time favorite way to glue metal together.

 

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Bob Harvey

Well-known Member

• Jun 15, 2018

• #1

I spent (mis-spent) some of my early years as an Aluminum welder - ended up in the racy car biz in Calif. TIG was my specialty (was pretty darned good - could weld exotic alloys the thickness of a paper match cover), SO, you really need to think about this, hiring a 'pro' is the best option - won't be inexpensive, BUT, it will get the job done properly. HTH

 

guido

Well-known Member

• Jun 15, 2018

• #1

Hello avant 1735,

I was given aluminum stick rods to try. The salesman asked me to let him know. What a joke! I would think you need plan B,

Guido.

 

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unc

Member

• Jun 15, 2018

• #1

As the previous posters have noted, TIG and MIG are the preferred processes for welding aluminum. HOWEVER, sometimes one gets in a spot where you have to use what you have. If stick aluminum electrodes are all that are available, use DC reverse polarity (electrode positive), and here is the trick- use your torch to preheat the joints a little bit. They don't have to be melting hot, but some preheat helps. You will probably find that aluminum will require a little more heat than the same thickness of steel. Practice on some scrap, and cross your fingers.
Does your local high school or vocational college have a welding shop? This sounds like a good project for students. unc

 

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Adrian Billheimer

Well-known Member

• Jun 15, 2018

• #1

An aluminum rod I have tried is 4043, got it at tractor supply, should be able to get at any farm supply or welding supply store. When you start practicing, be ready they melt fast!

 

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john in la

Well-known Member

Location

What part of in La do you not understand

• Jun 15, 2018

• #1

Braze it with a propane or mapp torch

 

69stang

Member

• Jun 15, 2018

• #1

I would suggest if you want to weld it yourself to use a gas torch and aluminum filler wire. its cheaper than aluminum electrodes. Takes a little practice, but does a good job. Make sure however you weld it that its clean.

 

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flying belgian

Well-known Member

• Jun 15, 2018

• #1

I bought some magic alum. rods for use with torch from a booth at the state fair one time. What a joke. The only way you can tell alum is hot--is when it is in a puddle on the floor.

 

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mjsnodgrass

Member

• Jun 16, 2018

• #1

use a new clean stainless steel wire brush to clean the joint before hand. i've ran into some aluminum where the oxide coating seemed to melt at a higher temperature than the actual aluminum. do not use brake clean or acetone to remove the oxidation. you will never get the fumes out of your lungs. good luck

 

MarkB_MI

Well-known Member

Location

Motown USA

• Jun 16, 2018

• #1

With practice, you can gas weld 3/16" aluminum. (Assuming, of course, it's a weldable alloy.) You need to use an appropriate flux and it's a bit tricky. If these pieces you want to weld can't be replaced, I'd take them to someone with a TIG setup.

 

RBnSC

Well-known Member

• Jun 16, 2018

• #1

Years ago we had a couple of aluminum dump trailers. I had no choice but had to learn to stick weld repairs. What I remember is you had to have a dc welder and use reverse polarity. You have to pre heat the metal. Not impossible but not easy. Be careful those white hot aluminum sparks will burn the snot out of you. I have the scars to prove it.
Ron

 

jon f mn

Well-known Member

• Jun 16, 2018

• #1

I tried those rods and wasn't able to get them to work. I think Lanse tried them and found them barely usable. One thing to remember is it takes a lot more power to weld aluminum, so set your welder about 50% higher than for the same steel.

 

Crazy Horse

Well-known Member

• Jun 16, 2018

• #1

Avant ....... I'm curious, is aluminum necessary for your project or are you just determined to build or repair something that is aluminum? Why not steel if steel could be used? What are you building or repairing?

 

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1948CaseVAI

Well-known Member

• Jun 16, 2018

• #1

If jon f mn can't get them to work then you need to figure out another plan unless the project is for fun and can be tossed away without consequence.

 

Crazy Horse

Well-known Member

• Jun 16, 2018

• #1

Video below, takes about 8+ minutes. A product video that is obviously selling the rod and the welder, but still a good video. Keep in mind, they didn't get some old farmer to weld up whatever they welded in the video, the guy is obviously a pro and knows what he's doing. Still good to watch though .....
Welding Aluminum 101

 

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dr sportster

Well-known Member

• Jun 16, 2018

• #1

About the only thing you get away with arc welding aluminum is bakery racks{ pure 3003]. Nobody cares about bead appearance . Oxy/acet would be a better choice for that. You need flux.

 

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Usedtobeiowadave

Member

• Jun 17, 2018

• #1

You might be better off using JB Weld, or something like it, and some gusset pieces where possible. Depends on what you need it to do and important the appearance is.