G'day Mate's

[vanda]

Well that's my last bit of ozzie slang. I'm from Bunbury in Western Australia.

I'm a self taught stick (approx 20years) and mig welder (approx 11 years) but only mild steel with a very small amount of stainless. I want to have ago at aluminium welding using the mig, so have been searching and studying this forum for a little while as a guest and I must say it's fantastic.
I have a little WIA 150s mig welder that I hope to adapt to aluminium, wanting to weld 3mm box and approx 2mm sheet. From what I've read it should work but s'pose I'm after a bit of conformation from those that have done it in the past.

I understand all the gas, teflon liner, u rollers and oversize tip requirements, is there anything I have missed before I go out and buy the bits and pieces and give this a go? Will my machine be big enough?

Cheers to all, it's great to see others helping those in need.

Vanda

 

[Rich.C]

Hi Vanda and welcome. What are you going to be making from aluminium?

 

[vanda]

Thanks RichC,
Will be just playing to start with. Have some repairs to do to the bull bar and side steps on my 4x4 ute. But later would like to tackle a canopy for camping for the back of it. Depends on how my welding skills go. But aluminium is something I've wanted to have a go at for a couple of years now, Just something about the challenge.

Have an old fella here in Bunbury that does aluminium mig welding on boats that I've just met so he's going to guide me.

Vanda

 

[weldequip]

Sure I've been to Bunbury ...name rings a bell, but I was too young (& probably p*ssed ) to remember! How far down the west coast is it, in relation to say Darwin (I know that's "Top-End" but travelling down), Broome & Perth?
Thanks.
weldequip

 

[shenion]

If you use 5356 wire, you can omit the Teflon liner an U-rollers. It will feed nicely through most MIG's. Forget 0.8mm 4043 wire unless you have a spool gun. 0.9mm 4043 is stiff enough to feed on most MIGs.

There are some threads on welding MIG aluminum. Some good info there. I have done it and took a lot of fiddling to get the settings and technique, but it worked.

 

[vanda]

Hi weldequip and shenion,

Bunbury is a 2hr drive south of Perth, Quite a nice little corner of oz.
I take it you've been over here before weldequip?

Met the guy last night and had a play with his set up, Works well and reasonably easy to use. But time will tell as I'm setting mine up. Have decided to go out and spend a few dollars and get a bigger mig, say a 250amp + teflon liner, u rollers etc and run a 5356 1.2mm wire, simular to what I was playing with last night. and that way I'll have 2 migs, one for steel and 1 for aluminium.........

Vanda