tig welding aluminum

WZ JUNK · February 06, 2025, 12:12:29 PM

I have a very expensive Lincoln 225 tig welder. I have been teaching myself to weld aluminum for some time. I am not the teacher I once was. Sometimes I can do a pretty good job if it is on the bench in front of me. The machine I have far exceeds my capabilities and it has so many adjustments that in the hands of a skilled welder I am sure it could do great things. However, the complexity of the machine is making the self taught experience more difficult. I am thinking that I might sell this welder and buy a simple mig welder with a spool gun. I am looking at a Yes brand welder on Amazon. I am needing some thoughts or inputs to help me decide. I can buy a new Yes pro welder and spool gun for less than $500 on Amazon. My Lincoln 225 tig machine sells new for over $5,000. I should be able to sell my lightly used machine and have considerable money left over.

chris spokes · February 06, 2025, 01:18:55 PM

when trying to learn a welding machine i go here https://www.millerwelds.com/resources/weld-setting-calculators

kb426 · February 06, 2025, 01:33:39 PM

A mig gun on thin material is a test of seeing and reaction. For thicker materials, it's relatively easy if you are adept with a mig gun. Both with struggle with any contamination on the material. The old idealarc 300 had no adjustments for balance of the frequency of the current. I was able to weld most anything with very good results. My current Primeweld has plenty of adjustments. I haven't taken the time to get a grasp on everything I can change so the results aren't near as good as the old days. I'm also out of practice with alum and it sure shows. My vote is to see if you can find a youtuber using the same machine and see what their settings are.

WZ JUNK · February 06, 2025, 02:52:08 PM

That is an excellent source for set up of the welder. Thanks. I am bookmarking that one. I see one of my potential problems is that I was using to big a tungsten.

I watched some video of the Yes Welder 250 Pro the model that I may purchase. It looks good to me. It will actually feed the aluminum wire through the gun like a mig. That would make it easier to get into tight spots. You can also add a spool gun.

chimp koose · February 06, 2025, 05:33:51 PM

I vote for trying you tube . There are some good demonstrators there

WZ JUNK · February 06, 2025, 09:27:23 PM

Decision is made. New welder arrives on Saturday. I have a Lincoln 225 square wave for sale at less than half of new price.

Crosley.In.AZ · February 06, 2025, 09:42:41 PM

I used a spool gun on my aluminum car trailer to repair a few areas where there is diamond pattern aluminum plate that had cracked out.

I had the gun attached to my Miller 210 mig machine with argon hooked to the gun hoses. I had no control for the argon with the gun. I did not have the "full hook up" for the gun. Argon was "on" or "off" via the bottle valve and pressure regulator .

That welding was a mental workout. I had never used a spool gun on anything. Aluminum kept disappearing as I tried to weld up cracks. I finally figured out the adjustments needed, got tyhe trailer repaired as the argon was running out

WZ JUNK · February 09, 2025, 01:38:49 PM

I did my first welding with the new machine today. I think it is possibly the best money I ever spent on a tool. It is simply amazing. The very first bead was better than anything I have done with the other welder. I set it up to weld aluminum with it feeding the wire just like a conventional mig machine. I will try the spool gun later but for now I will dial in this set up.

Crosley.In.AZ · February 09, 2025, 07:19:25 PM

John , sounds good. You found your answer. Will be intersting on the spool gun performance...

Back in the late 1980s the trans shop I was at , the owner bought a Snap On mig welder setup for aluminum welding. Shop owner wanted to repair cracked transmission cases. He never had good results , so the machine ended up in a corner of a shop bay. WIth his permission I re-set the mig machine to steel. I used the machine on my at the time project 1957 Chevy truck. I installed a front suspension clip from the 1970 Chevelle that I had converted to front wheel drive with Toronado front clip.

WZ JUNK · February 09, 2025, 07:47:13 PM

I wanted to try the conventional set up first for two reasons. The mig torch allows me to get in to tighter spaces and without the spool gun blocking my view. Secondly the spool gun is heavier. I intend to spend some time practicing over the next few days before I start welding on my project.

I plan to set up my welding work on a rotisserie so that I can do most of my welds horizontally