What would be the outcome if I don't use gas?

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Besides the issue of "Contaminants" in the weld material, what will happen to an aluminium weld if it is done on my Lincoln 180 using the Ally wire but without the gas?  I'm asking as the price of argon gas isn't cheap for me and given the much lower occurence with which I would be doing ally welding I thought I may as well use the Ally wire on some scrap aluminium for learning value or bits and bods made of Ally which would have little or no real stress related demands placed on them, eg say repairing an old ally chair, or making a rod holder from ally for my 4WD to fit on the bull bar.Does the weld fail altogether?  Would it hold for a few years or would it just be weak but forever?  In low stress joints (say like the rod holder) would there be any issues?This is a lazy way of me finding out first as I don't have any scrap ally yet and my feeder is nicely set up for all the steel welding I do from time to time on my dirt bikes, trailer and household odds and sods - and I don't have the gun yet.Thanks all and sundryPaul
Reply:Nothing much really.....it just wont hold very well.only thing worse than an ugly woman is an ugly weld
Reply:oxidation...Unit in my fab shop dept:my good hand and team that trust me...A lone welder make art... a village full of welder make Miracles...
Reply:It will not work, period.GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding), a.k.a. MIG welding, has 'Gas' first in it's name for a reason. Be it steel or aluminum, we don't use shielding gas simply because it makes the welds better, we use it because it makes the welds possible.(Before anyone starts rambling about flux-core welding not needing gas, the above was explicitly referring to GMAW not FCAW.)If you were to attempt gasless GMAW with aluminum you would pretty much end up with a "weld" that has little to no strength that is a horrendous, black, sin-against-humanity that looks a lot like dried, petrified, ferret droppings, only uglier. On thicker aluminum these ferret droppings will simply sit on top of the material, on thinner you will literally burn through (not just melt through) and make a mess regardless of how low you turn the machine down. The best thing you can do with a gasless aluminum GMA weld is to drag it out to the woods, shoot it, and bury it in a shallow grave as a mercy killing to end it's miserable and, hopefully, short existence.You say that argon is not cheap where you live, how much are you talking? My 180 Cu.Ft. tank cost me almost $200 when I bought the tank, but a refill of argon (technically they just swap the tank) is only around $23. If you think argon is expensive try pricing aluminum SMAW (stick) electrodes or, if you can even find it, self-shielded aluminum fluxcore wire.Visit Tensaiteki.com
Reply:Tensaiteki is correct.  You would realistically get a better joint if you just chew some gum for about an hour, and smear it in the joint.  It will hold just as well, but at least it will look nice.
Reply:Tensaiteki is exactly right.I welded aluminum with mig in a production shop for years and not only does not having the gas at all completely ruin the weld, even just not having enough gas can ruin the weld.  It's not  worth wasting the wire or the scrap metal to even try to practice welding aluminum without the gas.  Go get the gas and then you can have fun welding aluminum.I hear ya on the price, my 250 or 300 cf argon bottle (I forget the number) cost about $90 to fill, but there is no way around it, with both tig and mig, the gas is a must, not an option.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Originally Posted by SupeTensaiteki is correct.  You would realistically get a better joint if you just chew some gum for about an hour, and smear it in the joint.  It will hold just as well, but at least it will look nice.
Reply:you  no doubt have gotten a picture..but there aint nothin like the real thing..get  set up, shut the valve and strike an arc...
Reply:Originally Posted by weldbeadyou  no doubt have gotten a picture..but there aint nothin like the real thing..get  set up, shut the valve and strike an arc...
Reply:straight argon  also,   i  know this because  when i was in welding class  we ran out of argon the last day  so we tried 25/75 mix  and  it didnt work.
Reply:On top of what Tensateiki said, You would be actually burning the aluminum in the arc. No inert gas would mean basically you have a consumption weld....it's on fire electrically, and burning away. You will get nothing-not even a good learning experience from this. When you feel Argon is expensive, start monkeying with helium. It makes argon look cheap by comparison.And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.