Stick Welding Aluminum

[k0ua]

I gave it another go this morning. I don't know why, but preheat made it easier to weld. The picture doesn't seem to do the weld justices, it looks better in person.:confused3:
The slag is still a beach to get off!

Keep at it Shield, you will make pro some day! .Seriously though it does look tied in to the base metal, so I guess it is welded pretty well.. did you consider taking a hammer to it and finding out?

 

[Shield Arc]

did you consider taking a hammer to it and finding out?

Well I accidental dropped it on the floor and it didn't break, does that count?:laughing:

I didn't think about breaking it, so I went back out to the shop after reading your post.

2-blows with a 4-pound hammer!

 

[k0ua]

yeah, I am thinking that this stick welding of aluminum is for the birds.

 

[rankrank1]

....I didn't think about breaking it, so I went back out to the shop after reading your post.

2-blows with a 4-pound hammer!

Out of curiousity: How many hammer blows would that particular joint taken to break say it had been welded with either tig or mig? (Reason I ask is that I have never welded any aluminum).

 

[rankrank1]

I figure if I ever need to weld aluminum then I simply may try it this way. While recommended practice is to use AC square wave and high frequency to tig aluminum (I do not have those): This fella is using plain ole DC scratch start tig torch and using the SMAW stick rods for filler (instead of normal tig filler wire). Supposedly the flux on the SMAW stick rods helps make up for the cleaning action that you are otherwise lacking by not having AC square wave or high freq. I am sure it is an improvisation, but I simply have very little need (actually zero need) to weld aluminum so do not even want to bother with a Teflon liner in my little mig and fighting the birds nests due to lack of spool gun.

(note: While this fella is using an inverter welder, any ole scratch start tig rig on a transformer would suffice for this method as well).


TIG Welding of aluminum with a DC inverter - YouTube

 

[Shield Arc]

Out of curiousity: How many hammer blows would that particular joint taken to break say it had been welded with either tig or mig? (Reason I ask is that I have never welded any aluminum).

When I first got my Dynasty 300 7 or 8-years ago I was trying to figure out how to run it. I did some testing, but I can't remember the number of blows. But look at the top edge of the plate, it has some pretty good dents in it. And look how much the top plate is bent before breaking.

 

[Shield Arc]

I figure if I ever need to weld aluminum then I simply may try it this way. While recommended practice is to use AC square wave and high frequency to tig aluminum (I do not have those): This fella is using plain ole DC scratch start tig torch and using the SMAW stick rods for filler (instead of normal tig filler wire). Supposedly the flux on the SMAW stick rods helps make up for the cleaning action that you are otherwise lacking by not having AC square wave or high freq. I am sure it is an improvisation, but I simply have very little need (actually zero need) to weld aluminum so do not even want to bother with a Teflon liner in my little mig and fighting the birds nests due to lack of spool gun.

(note: While this fella is using an inverter welder, any ole scratch start tig rig on a transformer would suffice for this method as well).


TIG Welding of aluminum with a DC inverter - YouTube

WOW! That's pretty interesting! But by the sounds of those welds, I'd like to see the end of his tungsten.

Here is a weld I made on DC with 100% helium.

 

[rankrank1]

WOW! That's pretty interesting!....

Glad you liked the video - had a feeling you would enjoy it. Actually the video below is the video that I intended to link first. It is from the same fella, but everything is explained better in this video. Explanations also found in the comments/feedback section too. He is using Argon by the way and not Helium. Impressive since most of us already have Argon on hand for our steel welding tig rigs so nothing special needed except the SMAW stick welding rods for filler.

Again an admitted improvise and maybe not the best solution for frequent user's or professionals but......I expect that my $45 tig torch and my $40 Miller Thunderbolt transformer arc welder could handle this improvisation just fine on those extremely rare occasions that I might need to weld aluminum in my back yard shop.

TIG Welding of aluminum with a DC inverter .THAT'S HOW I DO IT .wmv - YouTube

 

[Shield Arc]

You just don't see many guys chipping slag when Tig welding!

In that video there were several views of his tungsten, didn't look contaminated at all, well no more than any other scratch start tungsten would be.

 

[weldermike]

I had to join in the fun and give it a shot, I took it a little more serious than the last time it tried them. Heres some 3/32 alum stick filler at 75 amps. The rods were horrible, been sitting in a cabinet for years.