Martin-Hadland

iTrader: (2)

Have decided that I have had enough of getting all our small aluminum welding jobs done locally as it takes too much time going to and from in the traffic.

I have never welded aluminium so don't know what's best to buy without spending a fortune. It will be used mainly for thin material. Can anyone give me some pointers on what to buy or avoid or even sell me the gear? Want to spend £1500 or less, lot less if possible

Is it going to be a mission to learn?

GARETH T

have you done any TIG welding?

Martin-Hadland

iTrader: (2)

Nope but Tony that works for me has, it can't be that hard to pick up though... can it?

GARETH T

im terrible at it, and i do try and try but im sure with a bit of practice you will be laying lovely beads down

im not really sure what equipment you could get for your money, i use a murex Transtig AC/DC, but i know it was alot more than 1500 quid

what do you call "thin" material?

Mr Whippy

If its only for thin/small stuff, why not get a pull type handle and MIG it??

Twellsie

iTrader: (1)

Martin

Try this place

Rock Welding Supplies Ltd
Coventry Road
Princes Drive Industrial Estate
Kenilworth
CV8 2FD
Warwickshire

we have a Kemmpi 1600 that runs from a 240 socket, depends what thickness of alum you are looking to weld though as it is pretty good on 16 swg and thicker, but much thinner without runoff tabs it will blow through on strike up. so would need a plant with a proper power source.

ian sibbert

Tig welding ally is quite tricky Martin.....all AC sets are fickle b**tards....lol

You need lots of power for ally so buy a three phase machine with decent controls.....square wave, Hf start, good slope control etc.

Miller do some good machines for handy money..

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/...ty_200_series/

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/tig/dynasty_350/

I have the cebora tig star 160, single phase, its an ok machine but if I had chance again i'd probably try and get a miller......

HTH

Ian

Paul Eggleton

Tig is the way forward, I picked it up a few years ago but it does take practice. I haven't done any since so I imagine it would end up like swiss cheese if I tried now

Mr Whippy

Looks like my MIG suggestion was a stupid idea then

andrewg

i have fronius 2200 magic wave ac/dc highfrequency inverter tig its one of the best

its portable so we take it to races and can weld steel ally and stainless with it

Micky The Finn

martin,if you have not any alloy welding experience and traffic is the problem then buy a scooter or motorbike to get to the usual place faster.

ian sibbert

http://www.fronius.com/cps/rde/xchg/...5_ENG_HTML.htm

Now that is a nice machine Andrew.....

GARETH T

my advice is also, you really need to be taught how to use a ac tig set properly, as there is a few things you wouldnt just be able to "pick up"

ive been to college,,, had a friend teach me,, and read a few books,, and im still crap at it LOL

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Welders-Hand...6242860&sr=8-7

thats an OK read, if you like,, i can always post my book up to you!

Big Will_

Personally i much prefer foot pedal operated TIG sets - i find much more control in feeding the power out towards the end of the welds as heatsoak raises the temps.

Welding steel is a LOT easier than ally, its more predictable and doesn't 'fall through' a second before you expect it to

Might be worth speaking to a few local welder/fabricators and seeing what their recommendations are

Also, sad as it sounds... Night school for learning how to I learnt when i was at college and to be honest, i think understanding the science behind the weld allowed me to know when a bad weld was starting and how to recover it

andrewg

think this is mine


http://www.fronius.com/cps/rde/xchg/...5_ENG_HTML.htm

GARETH T

anyone tried one of the cheap ones from china?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AC-DC-200-TIG-...QQcmdZViewItem

they look cracking for the money

ian sibbert

I pressed the wrong link....

Charlie Chalk

iTrader: (1)

I can TIG better than MIG welding, I normally put holes in stuff when I've MIG'd before

Seem to do ok with TIG for some reason

foreigneRS

i can braze ally brilliantly, ang mig weld pretty well. but tig is more difficult and i would also suggest doing a course

Luca

iTrader: (2)

The inverter Fusions are the ones i think that are suited to you, give the guys a call below they are extremely helpful and will match a machine to your needs

http://www.migtigarc.co.uk/TIG_Welder/tig_welder.html

02392 295612

WD Pro

What he said - C&G at night school is cheap and will give you the mechanics behind what you are doing The fives tests also include vertical. The pieces are tested untill fracture and have to prove full penetration.

I still have some spare test pieces in my desk - Look good but I bet I cant do it now I had some work done only last night on the fuel tank for my Dax, the guys set looked like a nasa launch station and I am sure I heard him mention either 3 or 7K

simon170

Give Danny B a bell, his ally welding is amazing.

leecavturbo

its quite expensive martin to be able to weld
ally, as the welders have to have different
ac/dc technology but steels only ac or dc which
ever way round it is.

Porkie

iTrader: (1)

try reading the thread!

simon170

I did, Dannys work is ace, so whatever kit he uses must do the business and it might be worth finding out what he uses.

Chill fella.....

glancy2081

have you tried mig welding alloy martin

foreigneRS

as we say in english "a miss is as good as a mile"

Danny B

I can give lessons Martin also I have a good contact for tig stuff who currently sorting me out a few new things, PM or call me if you want his details.

The Youth.

iTrader: (1)

think porkie deserves one of these...






steve

wayneclayden

We use single phase sets.. all foot pedal controlled and square wave.
the important thing for welding alloy is AC and HF start (you can not really use scratch start) .
We use the lincoln 205 water cooled sets for nearly all of our work, 200 amp.
They will weld anything up to sumps and bell housings.. probably not heads though- you would need a little more power for that!
They were about £2700 with the watercooler unit..
We also have a Cemont single phase unit, 150 amp, foot control and square wave,+ hf start. This is ok for rads, intercoolers tanks etc.. will do a sump but just!
That was about £1400+ vat
wayne @ proalloy

GARETH T

i havent been on my tig set in work for ages,, and i had to fire it up tonight for a job

baker p

Ive just got my hands on a Migatronic PI 250... 3 phase ...ac/dc. I Should have my hands on another 1 or 2 soon hopefully.
If you want one them PM me mate . They are between £2500/2800 new.
I want a grand a piece for them. Only a few weeks old .

Fiecos Dan

DC tig welding, i find Some people can pick it up, some cant.

But Alloy wleding isn't something most people can just pick up.

Also its the quality of the welds thats the hardess part.



You best get a 200 amp AC/DC inverter tig set, with torch switch and pedal controll. pedal controll is needed for Alloy, (a must really for thin gauge)
seen some cheap ones on ebay for £300 - 500, but not used one myself.



i use a 'Stel' 200 ac/dc 240v inverter at home, which is about £2k, but is by no way near as good as the Miller 250 3 phase set's i use at work.

baker p

All you need is a load of scrap ally to play with and and a few spare days.... plus someone in the know....
Dont let anyone tell you its rocket since .....ive welded......
st/st.....carbon.....incolnel... hasteloy....cromoly... duplex....superduplex........errrr.... plus others .... but all to class 1 and 2 spec...... utrasonic or xray ndt.
Dont know you ... you could be a part time gimp for all i care but judging by you motors your good with your hands so all you need is time.
I taught an apprentice how to do basic pipe welding on stainless with tig and stick in a week...... although twas a bit rough
NOW BUY MY WELDER

gingeRS

yeah but you dont need to file a 'near mile' report at work

Daveesaunders

When I was learing MIG welding there were a couple of guys learning TIG, they were started on OXY as you have to be able to heat both pieces evenly, they master that very quickly but once they were on the TIG machine they found it really difficult and kept blowing holes in the piece towards the end of the course they had stopped blowing holes but the welds didn't look neat.