Thread: MIG Welding Aluminium

i turned the dial down and thought i would give 1.6mm sheet a go, started welding and it went ok untill i hit a small gap between the two pieces i was welding together and it blew a hole, the 1.6mm sheet has to much penetration but it welded ok this weld is around 100mm long

Good progress there Gazza. The welds are probably still what I would consider a bit cold. A good move at this point would be to break one of your outside corner joints to see how well it is fusing into the parent metal and to generally have a bit of a check on quality.
The 1.6mm looks fairly good and as you have found, gaps will not be tolerated. Accurate fabrication and cutting will be the key to success at that thickness. In all probability, you will have leak issues on tank corners using mig, so be aware of this. From an appearance perspective, a wipe with a rag to remove smoke will probably look better on actual jobs rather than a wire brush as brushing leaves scratches in the job.
Keep practicing, you are going well.

i cut the 1.6mm aluminium sheet with a circular saw what a nightmare chunks of hot aluminium flying everywhere burning my arms, one piece flew up and hit the inside of my eye lid and burnt like buggery

karl thanks for telling me to try the outside open corner weld if thats what its called, i like the look of the finish weld it looks rounded and tidy

i have the shed locked up but ill be sure to test the 6mm alloy weld in a few days, as for building my live bait tank, boat fuel tank and bait board i was thinking of buying a 6mm sheet the overall cost of the sheet ($300) will cover the cost of me having a tank made alone and i get to enjoy building and welding it but was thinking 6mm is over kill and the next smallest size is 3mm the perfect size i'd like is 4mm is this size made in 1200x2400 sheets?

Originally Posted by gazza2009au

i cut the 1.6mm aluminium sheet with a circular saw what a nightmare

Dunno if you're aware, but when using a saw like that you want to set the depth shallow so the teeth are only just cutting all the way through the thickness of the sheet.

Originally Posted by RustyArc

Dunno if you're aware, but when using a saw like that you want to set the depth shallow so the teeth are only just cutting all the way through the thickness of the sheet.

yeah mate i had it set shallow but not as shallow as 1.6mm had the blade around 30mm sticking out

4mm material is available in 2400X1200 sheets.
If you want to make a tank, then I definitely suggest that you restrict yourself to the bait tank for the moment. Deciding to build a fuel tank is a massive leap from where you are at present. Every weld on a fuel tank must be 100% sound and there are a lot of welds. Baffles, carcase, mounts and fittings all need welding and in service failures are hard to address if they should occur, due to the explosive nature of the tank once filled for the first time. Mig welding a leak free tank is not quite as easy as it appears either. There are a few tips and tricks for you to learn first. Let's take a step back, break open a couple of those outside corner welds and take a look at what lies within first.
I would suggest two forms of eye protection be worn when sawing ally. Safety glasses and a full face visor, some use a welding shield with only the clear lens, but this does restrict your peripheral vision and most clear lenses are not impact rated anyway.
Rusty Arc raises an interesting point as regards depth of cut. I too subscribe to the method outlined by Rusty, but I note that Austsaw, manufacturers of "Rotary hacksaw" blades and Makita in their metal cutting saw instructions stipulate using the saw at full depth only. I believe their reasons relate to cooling/heat build up. Are you using a blade designed for cutting ally?

i welded a couple new pieces together than used a 4lb sledge hammer to break it a part

took a video the other day of welding the 1.6mm sheet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJnM5tew6Jk

took a video today of breaking a part the 6mm plates https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2i3ehc7zHE

welding aluminium with the spool gun is a piece of cake, i feel very comfortable welding now

Nice one Gazza. We might just make a welder out of you yet.
The weld you broke open has fused pretty well, with only a couple of spot I could see where fusion dropped off momentarily. I'd like to see you crank your power right up and try some 6mm at some stage. I reckon you would be pleased with the result if you did.
The 1.6mm was a good effort too. I would caution you about the amount of cardboard and plastic hanging around on your welding bench. Spatter loves to land in stuff like that and start fires - not always while you are present either.
With a few tweaks and refinements along the way, I reckon you will have some good success in your efforts.

Originally Posted by Karl Robbers

Nice one Gazza. We might just make a welder out of you yet.
The weld you broke open has fused pretty well, with only a couple of spot I could see where fusion dropped off momentarily. I'd like to see you crank your power right up and try some 6mm at some stage. I reckon you would be pleased with the result if you did.
The 1.6mm was a good effort too. I would caution you about the amount of cardboard and plastic hanging around on your welding bench. Spatter loves to land in stuff like that and start fires - not always while you are present either.
With a few tweaks and refinements along the way, I reckon you will have some good success in your efforts.

thanks karl, i have a small shed, a whole load of crap and no where for it to all fit lol, when u say crank up the power do u mean the voltage? there isnt much more power i can go its only a 175amp machine but i think its rated to 130amps from what it says on the front of the machine

just checked the picture i have on my comp and it says 130amps so this machine is probably maxed out as it is doing 6mm material but that is fine im very happy with the welds

the other day i tried bending the 1.6mm sample and the sheet bent without the weld snapping

now i just have to wait to get some pocket change and ill buy a sheet of 4mm aluminium to start some projects ideally i think i'll start with a bait board

Good work Gazza.
Was very sceptical of the machine at first but all is going well.
I would think 6mm would be its limit though. Doing a bait board in 4mm should be fine. Just posted up my bait board I recently finished- its made from 5mm, 6mm and 3mm....pretty solid unit.
Looking forward to seeing some of your projects.

Cheers
Craig.

Originally Posted by cwcarter

Good work Gazza.
Was very sceptical of the machine at first but all is going well.
I would think 6mm would be its limit though. Doing a bait board in 4mm should be fine. Just posted up my bait board I recently finished- its made from 5mm, 6mm and 3mm....pretty solid unit.
Looking forward to seeing some of your projects.

Cheers
Craig.

your bait board looks awesome, i was only planning on something simple but your giving me ideas

heres the boat im currently building its a plywood composite design (plywood core glassed over)

Cool!!! What size are we looking at?
Are you posting anywhere for the build?
I like looking at pics gives me ideas that's why I post up.

Cheers
Craig

shes 4.87m im doing the build on the BMD forum here http://bowdidgemarinedesigns.com/