Spool gun stack o dimes

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Hi there.  First post.  I searched past posts and couldn’t find what I needed. I’m new to mig welding aluminum with a spool gun.  My main issue is that I’m unable to get a stack of dimes appearance with my weld.  My stack looks all blended together.  I’m guessing the pool was too hot and didn’t cool before forming the “dime” so it just melted together.  Obviously I adjusted wire speed, amps, gas flow and tried different techniques (whip pause, among others)My welds are strong.  (Outside corner weld bent open using a sledgehammer without shearing)Since I’m new to spool, I’m asking if it’s necessary to have the “stack” , but also why can’t I come close to making a nice looking stack of dimes?3/16 6061 aluminum bar.030 4043 wireArgon 25cfmAmp ~ 20-21Speed ~ 400-500Thanks
Reply:Dont worry about the stack of dimes appearance because it's not going to happen anytime soon. It is very hard to get that look with a basic machine with a basic spool gun, and have a good weld. Running 030 wire is awful small, so your likely using a smaller machine. I run 035 or 3/64 depending on jobs.  To get the stack of dimes look, you will need to manipulate the gun with different settings. Those settings are probably out of the range of your machine.
Reply:The "Stack of Dimes" does not happen on it's own. Each dime is created by you. Try a backstep next time and you'll see what I mean. Spool Gun is a marginal way to put down a good aluminum bead. Good Luck.Thermal Arc 320SP ( Lorch )Cobra PythonsThermal Arc 300 AC/DC  ( Sanrex )ESAB 301i AC/DC  ( Lorch )Thermal Arc 161STL  ( WTL )Thermal Arc 190S  ( Sanrex )Cut Master 82, 42. Cut45 ( WTL )Victor Gas Apps.Boxes and boxes of welding crap.
Reply:You need bigger wire, with the high wire speed the arc easily gets more erratic. Keep your gun pointed forward as close to vertical while still maintaining gas coverage. As you make a small move forward, back up about half that distance , then step ahead a similar amount as previously moving forward. With that being said, it's aluminum mig not aluminum tig, so if you want tig appearance, use tig.
Reply:Check out the thread "Mig like Tig". ZTFab was the best at that ever.
Reply:Wow.  Thanks for the response. Forgot to add that I’m using a 2 phase harbor freight 170 mig with the hf spool gun. I’m going to pick up some .035 wire tomorrow and see if that helps. I understand there are limitations with mig when trying to weld aluminum.  I’ve watched the YouTube videos with my setup and it appears as if it’s quite easy to get it looking good. Maybe that’s why I don’t have my own channel.  Thanks again.  I’ll let you know how it works
Reply:

Originally Posted by Chappy

Wow.  Thanks for the response. Forgot to add that I’m using a 2 phase harbor freight 170 mig with the hf spool gun. I’m going to pick up some .035 wire tomorrow and see if that helps. I understand there are limitations with mig when trying to weld aluminum.  I’ve watched the YouTube videos with my setup and it appears as if it’s quite easy to get it looking good. Maybe that’s why I don’t have my own channel.  Thanks again.  I’ll let you know how it works