Gas welding Aluminum

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Any of you seasoned folks know how to gas weld aluminum? Any info would be nice.ThanksThink posted this in the wrong area, sorry.Melt-n-Metal
Reply:Yes what sort of info you looking for? I use a Henrob torch and small regulators. Something similar will work as well just want to control your flame.Special lens for your eyes, Clean very well with stainless steel brush.Have a chemical brush and a jar for mixing your cleaning flux paste use what you need and reseal for next time. If you check out Ron Fournier on the web under Fournier Enterprises the guy can gas weld aluminum!!Miller 250DX HTP 221 DV AC/DCHenrob O-A Miller 180 MigMiller 150 Inverter   Hobart 10,000 Welder-Generator   Have a good day!!!
Reply:I used to do it way back when. The main problem with it is that you cannot see the aluminum melt into a puddle. There was a flux that was blue in color and powdered. You mixed it with water and painted it on the joint, then used the torch to dry it. When you started to weld, as the heat got within a few drgrees of the aluminum melting, the flux would melt and you could see it puddle. Feed rod and move along. The flux kept from getting the aluminum from falling away when you get it to hot. I usually used it to fix cracks in boats.
Reply:Originally Posted by powerYes what sort of info you looking for? I use a Henrob torch and small regulators. Something similar will work as well just want to control your flame.Special lens for your eyes, Clean very well with stainless steel brush.Have a chemical brush and a jar for mixing your cleaning flux paste use what you need and reseal for next time. If you check out Ron Fournier on the web under Fournier Enterprises the guy can gas weld aluminum!!
Reply:Kent White over at tinman tech has several online articles available.Aluminum Welding: Using Oxy-Fuel Welding on Aircraft Aluminum Sheet http://www.tinmantech.com/html/alumi...ng_article.phpWelding Aluminum Body Sheethttp://www.tinmantech.com/html/weldi...body_sheet.phpVideo of Kent brazing an aluminum wheel pant.http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=RRWmpSE-hXkI currently use a MECO torch for gas welding aluminum and in the past have used my trusty old Smiths Aircrafter.  Gas welding aluminum is a skill the weldor learns and is not in the torch.Makoman will be along soon to set us all straight.  RogerOld, Tired, and GRUMPYSalesman will call, Batteries not included, Assembly is required, and FREE ADVICE IS WORTH EXACTLY WHAT YOU PAY FOR IT!Dial Arc 250HFThunderbolt 225 AC/DCAssorted A/O torches
Reply:I just got a torch and am trying to learn aluminum also.  I bought all the kent white stuff (dvd's, googles, flux, wire, etc.  He sells a kit with everything on his site) and was able to get the basics down on the first try.  My welds aren't pretty but I got pentration and a bead.  Its going to take alot of pratice for me to get good but I know that its very possible with my setup now.  Everyone I talked to told me either it was impossible to weld aluminum with gas or it was so hard that I would only blow holes until I sold the torch and bought a TIG.  This is my test piece after 2 hours praticing the first time using the torch on aluminum.  The hardest part was I was using too small of a tip at first and tried a bigger tip 2 hours in and it became alot easier.If your serious I would recommend getting these to try out.googles for aluminum weldinghttps://www.tinmantech.com/html/tm2000.phpaluminum fluxhttps://www.tinmantech.com/html/alum...supplies.php#3kent white dvdhttps://www.tinmantech.com/html/vid_..._weld_alum.phpI actually got his aluminum serious kit that came with other stuff as well.  But these are the must have's to weld aluminum.  Without the special googles and flux you can't gas weld aluminum.  And the DVD is very good for the basics (regular pressures, types of alum to weld, flux, butt weld, different thinkness of sheet metals, fixing holes, welding vertical).  Has really good close up's of the puddles so you can see what's going on.Hope this helps and post how you are coming along.  I am only like 2 hours ahead of you as I haven't touched the torch since that test piece.  I am hoping to try somemore this weekend.  And let me know if you find any helpful tips as info on gas welding is very hard to come by.
Reply:You can weld w/o his goggles and flux, it is just a whole lot easier with them.Ed Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge
Reply:I just got the Kent White stuff too...but I am teaching myself OxyFuel welding on steel first...before I move on to practicing with aluminum...Kevin / Machine_Punk from The Aerodrome Studio - Lincoln PowerMIG 210 MP - Meco N Midget w/custom welding station - Vintage Victor 100Current Projects: The Aerodrome Studio
Reply:Originally Posted by Machine_Punk...but I am teaching myself OxyFuel welding on steel first...before I move on to practicing with aluminum...
Reply:Originally Posted by dubl_tNot criticizing, but would you learn to ski before learning to snowboard?Just go grab some scrap aluminum and get after it   i can gas weld steel at a professional level, but can't melt 2 pieces of Al together with O/A. even if they were in a smelter and all's I had to make was a glob.Just remember, the guy's that say gas welding Al "can't" be done already knew how to weld steel
Reply:Learning steel first is a double edge sword. Yes you get familiar with the torch and its use becomes second nature, but there are habits to unlearn. Torch motions and angles are different for all materials, the transition  from steel to aluminum requiring the most "un-learning". That being said millions have learned steel first without issue, just keep an open mind and be willing to do exactly as the masters of the art say.
Reply:Hi Looking, Just come across your thread. Maybe my video for DIYers might help you with your gas welding of aluminium. I'm in UK and this is not a commercial advert, it is a video of how I make a motorcycle ally tank. Just a spin-off from my drag racing. Hope it helps. Cheers Pete. :-
Reply:Just saw a new post checking it out now that is interesting on the motorcycles.  What I have been using now is a rod from a place in Houston since it is closer to me & having good luck with it so far.  They have video instructions online & best way to buy from them is online.  Have bought some from LWS for twice as much but it wasn't the same stuff & didn't work well.  I've done mostly cast aluminum with it so far but I didn't take any pics as went along.  Main thing as always is getting it super clean.http://www.aluminumrepair.com/Last edited by Fixalinc; 05-15-2013 at 02:35 PM.Reason: forgot the link
Reply:I hope the video on ally welding/making of m/cycle petrol/gas tanks was of use. I have also welded cast aluminium on oxy-acetylene but if it is a large casting, you need one hell of a large flame, as aluminium conducts heat rapidly but when it starts to melt you have to work quickly, maybe even taking the flame away momentarily. When welding a good quality aluminium casting, I use an aluminium/5%silicon filler rod but I believe that rods for welding with gas are not exactly the same as those used for TIG, so specify you are gas-welding when ordering your filler rods. I have found some of the Japanese bike castings a bit 'iffy' to weld sometimes, as they seem to have a lot of impurities in the castings. If you end up with it cracking, then clean it out and try an aluminium rod with 5% magnesium, this often works. I usually pre-heat a Triumph cylinder-head or crankcase in my oven, weld it, then cover it to stop cold air getting at it, as sudden cooling can cause cracks, let it cool slowly in the oven, which also helps minimize distortion. On ally sheet (I use 1050A H14) for making tanks (16swg---1.6mm---1/16th inch) and I use a 99%pure ally rod, or strips off the sheet if a good colour match is required, or a neat weld bead. If looks don't matter, the 5% silicon rod is easier to use, cos it melts at a slightly lower temperature than the metal and runs in easily and gives good penetration but it's not easy to get a nice bead with it unless you use TIG apparently. Although I would say that I have never used TIG myself, I do all my welding on gas. Always clean immediately before welding, as aluminium starts to get an oxide on its surface after about 1 hour. Needless to say, you need an aluminium welding flux. This can be washed off with boiling water after the weld has cooled. But I wouldn't tackle anything that was of a high quality aircraft alloy as it will end up too soft. Hope this helps a bit, Cheers, Pete.
Reply:Originally Posted by Pete WilliamsHi Looking, Just come across your thread. Maybe my video for DIYers might help you with your gas welding of aluminium. I'm in UK and this is not a commercial advert, it is a video of how I make a motorcycle ally tank. Just a spin-off from my drag racing. Hope it helps. Cheers Pete. :-
Reply:Hi, I've found that with ally you need a fast high heat zone and no prolonged pointed heating or you'll end up with a claggy weld residue and that never melts.It almost appears as if the "watery" content in the ally evaporates and leaves an insoluble unmeltable claggy residue, similar to silver solder when you heat it and the silver content boils away and the joint won't wet.I had great success with the Dillon-Henrob torch (with flux) as this is advertised as having a complete combustion zone at the torch tip, but it also has a very pointed heat source that melts the ally right at the point of the weld and fast too.You can melt ally with a simple propane torch, but you can't weld per se due to the zone being so huge it just falls down covered in an oxide layer that resists forming a bead.That is probably why Tig is the answer to ally welding, but provided you don't hang about and "burn" the metal in the weld area, so that it resists forming a puddle.I would almost go so far as to say that it appears alluminium has a time frame that you have access to, and if you don't get in quick, do your business but overstay the time you won't get the joint and filler to combine, probably from the "magic" ingredient evaporating....LOL, but that's my excuse.Ian.
Reply:Great video
Reply:Thanks for the comments guys and glad the video was of some interest. Cheers, Pete.
Reply:Originally Posted by Pete WilliamsHi Looking, Just come across your thread. Maybe my video for DIYers might help you with your gas welding of aluminium. I'm in UK and this is not a commercial advert, it is a video of how I make a motorcycle ally tank. Just a spin-off from my drag racing. Hope it helps. Cheers Pete. :-
Reply:Hi Brent878, thanks for your comments. No I don't normally anneal the ally for ordinary bends, it becomes too soft and you can easily wrinkle it where you don't want to. The only time I would anneal an area, is if I needed to put a recess in it, like where recessed/flush/aero-type filler-caps go, where you have a circular recessed area. I would normally anneal that and then make a wooden former into which I would hammer the recess with another piece of suitable shaped timber on top with a piece of metal on top of that, so the wood doesn't split when I hit it with a large hammer. I would do this first, whilst the sheet is still flat before doing the side folds etc. I also did the small recess in my Hayabusa tank near the front of it, to replicate a similar shape there to the original. This shape can be seen near the end of my video. Be careful though, as it is easy to melt the metal once it is hot, play the flame around, don't linger in one spot too long.The tinsnips I use are called Gilbow.  The handle parts are about 10 inches long and are angled upwards slightly so that you don't catch your fingers as you are cutting the sheet. Most of the shapes that have to be cut wouldn't be able to be done on a guillotine (they usually only cut straight sections) and I don't have one anyway, so I use tinsnips. Maybe a plasma cutter might work but don't have one and don't know if this would soften the metal where it is cut.You can see these tinsnips quite clearly later on in the video. I have left-handed ones and right-handed ones, because for some cuts in opposite directions in awkward places, you may need both. I prefer to do it this way, as generally, the cuts are not of massive length, so doing it with snips isn't a problem on 16 swg aluminium sheet, although it's a bit of a struggle on thicker stuff which I rarely use. If I have to cut thick stuff and the job is small enough, I can do it on my bandsaw. If it's bigger, I would use my hand-held jig-saw. The normal type of snips seem to be fairly thin and completely straight along their length and are more awkward to use. Hope this info is of some help. Cheers for now, Pete.