Welding Tips and Tricks

MIG aluminum
Most of you-all have been using more of the aluminum MIG wilding methods then I . if you were going to take on some aluminum projects like a light weight jet boat hull,or an enclosed aluminum trailer light and strong !! Say welding 1/8 to 1/4” or less. Need a bigger MIG any way !! what would you go for An older transformer type machine, a newer transformer machine like the (miller 252), or go to a pulse MIG like the (Miller 350P), or maybe go to an inverter type machine with pulse or with out!!
what do you-all think??
Thanks Rider
PS trying to stay around 4 grand!!LOL Also open to other brands of welders as long as they are dependable!!!

Rider, where you located? I'm doing the same thing! I have a miller 211 with spool gun
And just got a everlast Tig, I mess with aluminum jet boats all the time! Pretty much all outboard jets
So far but that may change soon! I just want to be able to fix stuff and add decks and such' I'm not to far from Atlanta Ga

Entry level I would stick with a spool gun. Yeah 1 lb spools such but with a $4k budget you are out of range for a push pull gun. You certainly don't need 350 amps either for 1/8-1/4". What do you have now for a base machine? I'm a lincoln fan but they are made right up the road in Cleveland so I'm biased. You may also be able to find a good ebay deal on a spool gun setup if you do the research. As far as pulsed mig I find it highly overrated at least for most applications. I'm sure it has its place but it ain't in my shop.

I've owned several machines with Spoolgun's, the 350p is so nice compared to the other machines I've owned with Spoolguns. But new you are looking about $6k plus. I am going to see about covering my 30a Spoolgun into a push pull gun too. 30a can be found used for around $500. You want at least ba 250 amp machine for ¼ inch aluminum. Esp if you are dealing in big sections of it.

nickn372 wrote:Entry level I would stick with a spool gun. Yeah 1 lb spools such but with a $4k budget you are out of range for a push pull gun. You certainly don't need 350 amps either for 1/8-1/4". What do you have now for a base machine? I'm a lincoln fan but they are made right up the road in Cleveland so I'm biased. You may also be able to find a good ebay deal on a spool gun setup if you do the research. As far as pulsed mig I find it highly overrated at least for most applications. I'm sure it has its place but it ain't in my shop.

Talking about pulsed mig, think most every aluminum custom boat builder is using it now?
Those 20' welds are hard!

Well I'm not an aluminum boat manufacturer either. I'm a small repair/fab shop that does aluminum work as about 15-20% of my business. I need portability and simplicity because anything I do in the shop has to go on the service truck too. I suppose if I'm in such things as boat hulls or semi trailers it would have merit. It's just my opinion after all. Take it for what it's worth. It's free here lol.

Let me tell you, I'm no MIG welder, but that Fronius machine at Jonathan's shop is one bad bitch. That was the first time I had ever played with a pulsed MIG, let alone some of the other stuff. It was actually quite interesting, albeit confusing

Also, at $25k retail, it is 6x over budget for you

The dollars sure Mount up then you start buying top end stuff.

Rider,
I will give you my opinion. I have not ran spray alum for quite a few years and in that time have done a fair amount of pulse and pulse-on-pulse alum with the Lincoln 350MP and got a little spoiled. There are advantages to pulse, some of which are bead appearance that is just awesome once dialed in, less heat input (in some cases) and your real advantage, less burn through on light gauge. I assume since you mentioed boats you would not want the burn through. I welded quite a bit of .100 3003 alum and was able to dial it in for a VERY nice weld with little to no burn through running pulse and pulse-on-pulse. I was even able to dial it in for vertical up corners. Keep in mind, this was with 3/64" (.045) 4043 wire.

I mention this quickly because I personally feel it is better to save up a little more and get a machine with pulse, Lincoln or Miller because it can help you not only welding your alum. For around $6500-$7000 you can have the machine and the push pull gun and be set for anything that comes your way. To many times we rush into a purchase wanting to get a job done and wish we had the additional features later.
Just some thoughts.
-Jonathan

messed up

I agree with superior welding !!

Brother, if you can afford to buy a $25000 MIG welder to learn how to properly use pulse welding, by all means do it. But as Jonathan and I discussed, you can get a 350mp with STT with a digital wire feeder for $12000 and accomplish pretty much the same thing. The only problem is that I don't know how all the settings work, Jonathan doesn't and he's been demoing one for weeks now, and I know that you don't just from the conversation we're having, no offense intended. If you have a local welding rep for Miller or Lincoln or someone that can show you how to use one, and how it can benefit you, ask them if you can demo one. Make sure they actually know how to use it, and aren't just a salesman. Anyone can baffle you with bullshit and sell you a machine, but do not, and I repeat do not buy a machine that expensive without having tried one, and at least playing with the settings until you can use it proficiently and navigate all the menus without error.

Jonathan ! Great point! As I have said I'm not much of a welder yet but have been looking at a bunch of aluminum boat hills
That are from smaller custom shops and love the way there welding looks!!!!! 20 foot bead that is very nice looking as well as a good weld! As for me I love great equipment! And have had many lessons about buy once and be done! Been thinking about this even for the small use I will probably give one! I just saw three miller 350p welders only a couple months old for $3500 ea
Standard mig gun only. May have to sell my new Tig. And my 211
So far my Attempt at Tig is not so good. Anyway good luck!

Messed,up

So, GreinTime you like that Fronius pulse MIG machine is bad ass is it??? I been looking and watching the guys using the pulse MIG machines and some of the welds are down right pretty ! But, do understand they have there place!! Just like a suitcase has its!!

@GreinTime,
No offense taken at all. There is a lot to learn on that machine and in the 6 months we are supposed to have it I hope to master most.

I don't want you guys to take my post earlier the wrong way, we (as welders) were welding alum in spray transfer long before pulse became main stream. It can be done with a smaller entry level machine, or even a Miller 252 with a spool gun just like it can be don't with this Fronius. Sometimes I think we (me) are so spoiled by all this new technology we for get how to weld without it.

Let us know what you ultimately decide on!
-Jonathan

@Superiorwelding

I was actually referencing the OP, not you. We had agreed at the shop that you didn't know how to use all of the features lol. I'm so confused now that he went through and edited all of his posts though.

@Greintime,
Upon re-read I see that now. Oops.
Yeah the editing has confused me too. What's up with all the edits Rider?
-Jonathan

Hey sorry guys I did not mean to Confused or mess with anybody!!!
I wrote some stuff put it in more then once and did like the way it read, ( cause I was half out of it, when I wrote it ( sleep wise) so took it out!! when I agreed with superiorwelding I thought he was talking about a lincoln 350MP or Milller 350P!!! Cause Im not spending 25,000 on a Mig I’d be lucky to get the miller or Lincoln!! When I wrote to Greintime about the machine that he had a chance to use I was just referring to the pulse part!! cause I think pulse can help me!!!! and thats what I thought you were saying when you said it was kick ass!! thats all!! As, far as welding aluminum with out pulse I know people have and still do and do it very well!!! I look at pulse as another tool in the box thats all!!!
Again sorry did not mean to offend anybody!! just trying to learn and get some Info on the newer machine from the people who are using them!!
Rider

You're alright man. We weren't offended, Jonathan just read my post wrong, and that is where the most of the confusion came from. I'm not a MIG welder by any means Rider, and don't claim to be even decent at it I do however see how using Pulse MIG would be advantageous in certain situations.

Do I think we needed it while welding a single pass lap on 1/2 plate just to mess around with, no, but it made for an awesome looking bead, which I definitely think would help push someone building something like a boat above the others a little just because of how the bead looks. Mind you, this was steel, no aluminum. I'm not sure how it would end up looking.

I asked Jonathan who Fronius markets those machines to, and his response consisted of VW, Audi, and all of their factories, among other manufacturers and different specialist alloy shops. The average person cannot feasibly afford a Fronius machine like that, with the digital wire feeder and synergic power supply with all of the other options to play with.