What Do I Need to Weld Aluminum?

[Mr Dave]

What kind of welder can I use to weld aluminum sheet (0.025")? I have a little project I'm working on and I need to weld it together. Can this be done with a gas welder?

[64Trvlr]

TIG or MIG with a spool gun would be best. But you can gas weld Aluminum, if you gas weld it practice a while on some scrap before you do your project.
:cool:

[kyjman]

You can use TIG or MIG with Argon gas....one thing you need to know is what type of Aluminum you will be welding.....also I think you can get an aluminum rod to burn with a regular electric welding machine. I've used them and they work pretty well. BUT its important to know what type your using......good luck

[Careful34]

yes, you can gas weld aluminum. You can do it with a propane torch if you want to, it melts at that low a temp. You special aluminum welding rods. The kind I learned on (haven't really done this since I learned it for that matter) had a special blue aluminum flux on them. You also have to make sure the pieces are supported. Aluminum is like solder not steel. It doesn't start to glow, get soft, then melt. It gos straight from solid to liquid. JCWhitney used to sell an aluminum welding kit I believe.

[tucsonrick]

experience

[Mr Dave]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by tucsonrick:
experience<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Wow...that was helpful :rolleyes:

Thanks to everyone who actually posted a helpful response.

[Ralph]

Somewhat short on that experience thing...

JB Weld works pretty well.

[UnkleMunky]

I've seen the aluminum welding stuff in JCW as well as somebody selling something like that on Ebay. I've been curious if those really work well? Would be nice to not have to invest in expensive equipment to weld light material like aluminum.

Good post....as I've been wondering all this myself....

[tucsonrick]

I apolagize for my last post (and my bad spelling), but it is true! Due to the composition of aluminum and the thinness of the sheets , it will be very hard no matter how you go about it because of the low temp required. You can try to gas weld it if you have the time and extra metal to practice on.TIG ,(heli-arc), would be better suited for the job if you already have the equipment.Hope this is more helpful.

[Joe J-Truck]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Ralph:
Somewhat short on that experience thing...

JB Weld works pretty well.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I used to have a 73 dodge motorhome and the governor weights in the rear of the tourqueflite failed and let loose. One went flying through the case and punched a quarter sized hole in the tailshaft housing. I got the internal parts from Dodge but couldn't find the right housing anywhere. I slapped on a bunch of JB weld. It wasn't pretty, but it worked great!!! The tranny ran good and held fluid, I drove it for another year and sold the vehicle.

[J20 project]

Mr. Dave, TIG is the only way to go in this situation. Gas and stick welding aluminum were what you did before TIG became available. 1000% more control over the situation than any other method. Even with MIG you would have a hard time tuning it down for small sheet like that.
J20

[Va-Rob]

If you have about 3g's to spend on the project go with the TIG. Mig welding aluminium dosent work very well with thin stuff. If your going to gas weld it you will need aluminum TIG rods and flux. You'll most likely have to buy a pound of rod if you go to a welding supply.

The stuff people are talking about that jc whitney sells and ebay is an alloy rod that can be melted with a propane torch to make a repair. it is not welding. I have some, it works great on certin things.

A great site for aluminum welding is WWW.tinmantech.com (http://WWW.tinmantech.com)

The best thing to do is have it welded somewhere.

Rob

[Tad]

Try contacting your local high school(s), community college or tech program and see if they want to do it as a community service project. We do this all the time at our high school. Good Luck.