welding aluminum is very possible, but it does take the right equipment... just cant go at it with a torch.
Shipbuilder-- Did you TIG or Heliarc your stand? What does your company use?
Im looking at a Tig Welder to buy for work here. Currently for aluminum I have a MIG that a change the spool/gas on.. What a PITA! plus, I dont think the weld is as strong.
Shipbuilder-- Did you TIG or Heliarc your stand? What does your company use?
Im looking at a Tig Welder to buy for work here. Currently for aluminum I have a MIG that a change the spool/gas on.. What a PITA! plus, I dont think the weld is as strong.
Used MIG with a spool gun. We have both at our shipyard but use mig with 16lb spools for production welding. TIG is only used for welding small items that need a better finished look, things like handrails (TIG is more labor intensive than MIG). Both methods can be made stronger than the parent material. All of our welders need to pass tests
for Coast Guard certification. Welds are made butting 2 plates together then cut into 3" wide strips across the weld. These plates are then x-ray inspected then bent 180degrees on the weld. Most failures are caused by porosity in the weld from various types of contamination.....dirt basically. Always keep welding wire stored in a clean box and keep the wrapper on the spool until loading in the gun. Blow the gun out with air before re-spooling. NEVER use any type of sanding/ grinding wax when prepping the weld area. Always use a stainless steel wire brush on the weld area just before welding. Never drag the gun like a caulking tube, go the opposite way...pushing the gun but still hold it like a caulking gun. You get better shielding from the gas this way.
Never just stop a weld always back it up like 1/2" while still holding the trigger. This stops "crater cracks" Follow these simple tips and you should be ok. Oh and it helps to have the amperage set in accordance to the thickness of what you are welding.
Titanium....very expensive! but that stuff is light, super strong, and corrosion proof.
for Coast Guard certification. Welds are made butting 2 plates together then cut into 3" wide strips across the weld. These plates are then x-ray inspected then bent 180degrees on the weld. Most failures are caused by porosity in the weld from various types of contamination.....dirt basically. Always keep welding wire stored in a clean box and keep the wrapper on the spool until loading in the gun. Blow the gun out with air before re-spooling. NEVER use any type of sanding/ grinding wax when prepping the weld area. Always use a stainless steel wire brush on the weld area just before welding. Never drag the gun like a caulking tube, go the opposite way...pushing the gun but still hold it like a caulking gun. You get better shielding from the gas this way.
Never just stop a weld always back it up like 1/2" while still holding the trigger. This stops "crater cracks" Follow these simple tips and you should be ok. Oh and it helps to have the amperage set in accordance to the thickness of what you are welding.
Titanium....very expensive! but that stuff is light, super strong, and corrosion proof.
please ignore all the crap under and behind the stand. we are remodeling the den of our 1908 historic district house. because the house is not on a slab the stand legs go thru the floor down to the ground resting on cement pads.
stand frame is 3"x1/4" alum. I-beam, legs are alum. 3"x3"x1/4" square tubing. I will be closing up the stand between the legs with Cypress taken from the wall between the den and kitchen....cut 1/2 the wall out and added a bar.
tank filled with water for testing/setteling, shimming of those cement pads.
With my luck the pictures above will not post so just go to the links below
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/ind...MyToken=2ae247e0-915f-4831-ba2d-86ae3d475485 http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/ind...&MyToken=2ae247e0-915f-4831-ba2d-86ae3d475485
<link edited by 7E>
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