Rock STew/

[aw12345]

Spool guns at work we use normal polarity. they are wired to both welders permanently. They are setup for dual use with 2 tanks, 2 guns. All we do is unplug the trigger plug for the mig gun, plug in the spool gun trigger plug and we are in business.

[inVERt'D]

So does that mean I need to switch the cables on my welder when I'm changing from spool gun AL to mig mild steel welding. That could be what's wrong. I didn't change the polarity. I will double check but I believe the I have it set up to run DCEP and you're saying for welding mild steel I need DCEN which means the - goes to the gun and + goes to clamp is how I understand it.. bare with me I'm in 4low

Yep, DCEN means '-' goes to the gun, and '+' goes to the clamp. DCEP is needed on AL to blow the oxide RAT was talking about away. It starts coming back immediately after you clean it, and the melting point is almost 3x as high. Sure wouldn't hurt to check .

[Toolman]

Thanks. Nice stuff, but looked more unusual to me from the other angle. After all that, I was expecting your welds to look worse than those. AL will find flaws though. DCEP is correct for AL and most gasless flux core stuff, but DCEN is what you want for MIG'ing steel.

So does that mean I need to switch the cables on my welder when I'm changing from spool gun AL to mig mild steel welding. That could be what's wrong. I didn't change the polarity. I will double check but I believe the I have it set up to run DCEP and you're saying for welding mild steel I need DCEN which means the - goes to the gun and + goes to clamp is how I understand it.. bare with me I'm in 4low

Thanks for the design credit, on the rack. I'll add it to my resume.

I see you finally made a decission on your fenders. Looks good.

Its' all yours, thanks on the fenders, they will probably end up looking like the beer can I'm using for parking brake under my tool box after 1 trip then they'll just be AL inner fenders and eventually package them nicely behind some DOM maybe aloooominiummm

[Tumbleweed13]

Thanks for the design credit, on the rack. I'll add it to my resume.

I see you finally made a decission on your fenders. Looks good.

[inVERt'D]

here ya go

Thanks. Nice stuff, but looked more unusual to me from the other angle. After all that, I was expecting your welds to look worse than those. AL will find flaws though. DCEP is correct for AL and most gasless flux core stuff, but DCEN is what you want for MIG'ing steel.

[Toolman]

I think most of us can sympathize. I'm just curious what that expanded AL looks like. Looks interesting.

here ya go

expanded or extruded?

Was that a spool gun? That sounds like a MIG gun problem. Pushing AL wire through a long leader makes for a mess. Either that or the polarity was wrong.

It's a spool gun, the polarity is set the same for steel. (+gun & - clamp) My understanding is that the only time you change the polarity is if and when your using a flux core wire for the mig, however I could easily be mistaken. I hope that's all it is.

[RAT]

The problem I was having was the tip of the aluminum would get hot as it was coming out of the gun and fall short almost like it was dripping out of the gun, it would bend and break off and or land on a completely different spot from where I had the tip aiming.

Was that a spool gun? That sounds like a MIG gun problem. Pushing AL wire through a long leader makes for a mess. Either that or the polarity was wrong.

[inVERt'D]

If they can extrude aluminum like that I'd like to see how they do it.

[aw12345]

expanded or extruded?

[inVERt'D]

ok , but I am just too darn proud to show off how bad these welds are.

I think most of us can sympathize. I'm just curious what that expanded AL looks like. Looks interesting.

[Toolman]

I thought I did that but it just wasn't consistent. I should also mention that a portion of the design for the rack was directly ripped off from Tumbleweed.

[aw12345]

Like Kurt said, lots of amps and wire speed does the trick. Practising to get the settings dialed before you start your weld project is the ticket

[Toolman]

You can impose any time Aluminum welding takes a lot of amperage. The welder I'm using just barely has enough for 1/4 inch material. Aluminum oxidizes horribly and needs to be thoroughly cleaned with a stainless steel brush that is only used for aluminum. If you use a SS brush that you just cleaned spark plugs with, forget about it. There is a chemical called Alumibrite that works well to remove really stubborn oxidation and other contaminants. Spool gun welding lends itself to all position welds really well but the ideal position is flat. High amps, high feed speed, and slow drag speed. Also the angle of the torch to the work is important. The arc blows a massive hole in the work and you have to linger long enough to back fill it with wire. If you have lifting at the margins of the weld either the drag speed is too fast of the amperage isn't high enough. Lots of spatter means drag is too fast, wrong angle, or contamination. You don't want to weave the wire at first like you can with steel wire. It works but you have to be able to fill the hole fast and weaving blows bigger holes in the work.
I welded aluminum tankers at a truck line so I got lots of practice. If you can find scrap aluminum to practice on, just run one bead next to another until you cover the whole workpiece, overlapping them as you go. Adjust all the parameters one at a time until you get a pretty stack of dimes look. Penetration should be complete but not have icicles on the back side.

Thank you Sir, I actually understand most of it. I just need to practice and get the machine dialed in (reminds me of when I started welding mild steel but way worse) The problem I was having was the tip of the aluminum would get hot as it was coming out of the gun and fall short almost like it was dripping out of the gun, it would bend and break off and or land on a completely different spot from where I had the tip aiming.
I kept messing with it until it got way too hot, then I burned myself....... but good.

[daniel_buck]

Daniel, if you want to get some aluminum spool gun time in stop by. I'll let you take a crack at it.

I may do that! May also get you opinion on some of the body and control arm mounts on my TJ while I'm there :-D

[RAT]

So can I impose on you for some tips Kurt. it seems I need to get my spool gun set up right and I'm sure you can help.
I've been watching youtube videos on it but it has only gotten me into trouble.

You can impose any time Aluminum welding takes a lot of amperage. The welder I'm using just barely has enough for 1/4 inch material. Aluminum oxidizes horribly and needs to be thoroughly cleaned with a stainless steel brush that is only used for aluminum. If you use a SS brush that you just cleaned spark plugs with, forget about it. There is a chemical called Alumibrite that works well to remove really stubborn oxidation and other contaminants. Spool gun welding lends itself to all position welds really well but the ideal position is flat. High amps, high feed speed, and slow drag speed. Also the angle of the torch to the work is important. The arc blows a massive hole in the work and you have to linger long enough to back fill it with wire. If you have lifting at the margins of the weld either the drag speed is too fast of the amperage isn't high enough. Lots of spatter means drag is too fast, wrong angle, or contamination. You don't want to weave the wire at first like you can with steel wire. It works but you have to be able to fill the hole fast and weaving blows bigger holes in the work.
I welded aluminum tankers at a truck line so I got lots of practice. If you can find scrap aluminum to practice on, just run one bead next to another until you cover the whole workpiece, overlapping them as you go. Adjust all the parameters one at a time until you get a pretty stack of dimes look. Penetration should be complete but not have icicles on the back side.