aluminum mig weld

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i work at a place that manufactures dump trailers mainly aluminum sometimes steel anyways i decided to take a picture of one of my aluminum mig welds today. weld was 14in long so i zoomed in some so you can see the detail.   3/8 6061, .062 4043 wire, miller cp-300 w/ xr air cooled feeder, push pull gun.
Reply:Looks good! So many aluminum MIG welds are just down right scary looking... That isn't one of them!
Reply:awesome! I miss the days when we did lots of aluminum in shop. they bought a couple COBRA-MATICS (push-pull) after seeing us fiddling around with old spool-guns. miss that taste/ soundbosses stuff:trailblazer 325maxstar 200my stuff:sa 200fronius transpocket 180100 amp Lincoln w/f97 f350 DITKevin
Reply:Looks a whole lot better than some of the stuff I have seen first hand at a medium sized fab shop I worked at part time. some of their work was class A and others not so much....Ranger 250 thick stuffHobart Handler 140 not thick stuffthe pane and oxy setup
Reply:My mig gun and i need to have a serious talk after looking at your welds puty.I gave up on it for a long time but you have just rekindled my fire for the torch.
Reply:looks nice puty72, is that a lap weld with the plate lapped onto a tube or channel? Best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:That is very nice, almost looks like it was Tig welded! Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:on good days I can get the spoolgun looking like tig lol. nice jobR.T. Welding LLCOn Site ServiceColumbus, NJ
Reply:Really nice... does look like tig.  I assume you were moving pretty fast? that's my problem, I have the shakes... can't stay in a straight line...Lincoln Weldanpower AC/DCLincoln LN-25Miller WC-115a Miller Spoolmatic 30aCheck out my youtube TV Channel
Reply:what were your voltage and wire speed settings? push or pull?Tiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:Looks like a typical back-step technique.  Nice even ripples and parallel sides there, puty. Now how about some pics of your starts and stops?  That's what really makes, or literally breaks, an aluminum weld.
Reply:I must be a back-step method hater - I don't see any wetting in at the edges and just see a bunch of cold laps??Not trying to bust your chops to be a jerk, maybe the camera shot is fooling me.I'll return to my dark corner now Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:ill have to get some pics of my starts and stops   that was just a quick picture i snapped when the bosses weren't around. and yes MinnesotaDave the edges are wetted in good with good penetration and no cold laps . i stay in the puddle when i back step  basically like running a 6010 rod except your pushing not pulling. they have us run these machines at 30 volts and on my gun i run the wirefeed at 3.5 so with that heat there is no chance of cold lap  if you dont go fast enough youll leave suck marks threw the back side on anything thinner than 1/4  .all spray once and awhile you get a little crackling if theres some dirt but if it too dirty you have to wipe it with thinner otherwise weld it as it is.   is it right  no but it pays the bills so i do what they want.
Reply:Very nice work bud! Minus what I see on highway trucks that is one hell of a spoolgun weld, most don't impress me one bit. Yours did tho, very nice! I fn hate spoolguns too, I know they serve a purpose, and I personally own one and have one at work but I just don't care for them. We don't get along to say the least!  Great job! I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Good love Alu welding looks nice here one of mine  1/8 mat with 047 5356 wire Attached Images
Reply:That looks great! Definitely goes in the column under professional.Just out of curiosity, how close to that appearance can a spoolgun get to that look?Keep posting pics...Just don't get in trouble.Sent from my XT1080 using TapatalkTxDoc's Photos Lincoln SP175 PlusLincoln Power Mig 256Lincoln 250 LX Spool Gun Lincoln Precision Tig 225 Hypertherm 600 KMG 2x72 Belt GrinderBaldor 812RE Grinder
Reply:thanks everybody for the compliments    ill try to get some more pictures during the next week of some vertical , horizontal, and overhead and on thinner material like .190 and .160
Reply:here is a vertical up spoolgun with .035 4043 off my TB. taken a few months ago I got more consistant with my ripples. 1/4' material I thinkR.T. Welding LLCOn Site ServiceColumbus, NJ
Reply:RichT - Do you make a pattern on that vertical, like inverted v, etc.  If you could descibe it a bit, i would appreciate it.  Also, was it still in spray and do you change ypur setting much from flat?
Reply:going uphill I do a forward and back just like I do flat kind of like a 6010 "whip". yes that's spray transfer, you notice a huge difference from short circuit AL to spray transfer. I don't touch the settings much. 23V on my trailblazer and 3 on the wire speed on gun handle. also, I only run the Lincoln superglaze aluminum wire I find it to run the smoothest for meLast edited by richT; 01-11-2014 at 08:39 PM.R.T. Welding LLCOn Site ServiceColumbus, NJ
Reply:Thanks for the help!  I am always in spray transfer on alumiumm but haven't tried vertical with it yet. I have been running 24V on 1/4" 5052 on the flat.  May try turning it down to 23V and playing with the wire speed a bit.
Reply:it def takes some time to get the hang of and as you get further along gotta go faster and faster as the piece heats up quick, unless of course its a large truck body etc. If I go long periods of time without doing it I get a little rusty lolR.T. Welding LLCOn Site ServiceColumbus, NJ