I know, I know... I should get a TIG and do it right. But the aluminum kit for the Linc 175 Plus was ONLY $55 and I already have an extra tank I can exchange for Argon. So I just have to try it for myself.

Did a search and only found this: https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1377706
Can anyone direct me to a chart or guide for metal sizes and machine settings???

Thanks

 

Big shout out to my off-line friend who sent me this online welding calculator from the Miller site (even though I'm a Lincoln man...): http://www.millerwelds.com/edu...r.php

Thanks Mano.

 

What is "short circuit transfer" and "spray transfer"?

 

Different arc styles of mig based on what gas and setting you are using.

 

short circuit is what is normally done spray transfer is for flat work it doesn't work out of position works good for production pretty neat the wire comes out of the tip and cones down to a tip and then fans out allot of heat and fast deposit rate

 

I bought the conversion kit for my mig a long time ago and never got around to installing it. It was a just teflon liner tho, my feed is already recessed. I have a little Hobart MIG, it has Aluminum settings right on the chasis.

Post some pics, I want some feedback on this.

 

Keep the lead as straight as possible, always push the puddle, flat and up hill is best. I believe youll have to change polarity when welding with your welder.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by WREKONIZE V8 KLR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Keep the lead as straight as possible, always push the puddle, flat and up hill is best. I believe youll have to change polarity when welding with your welder.</TD></TR></TABLE>

yup, your gonna need AC

 

I've migged Al with a Lincoln 255 w/ Prince spoolgun - I'd recommend that as being the only way to go. As far as shitty welds are concerned, call it operator error. Yes it looks dirty at first with the black and white MgO powder everywhere, but that wipes off leaving it looking like any other mig weld but with a bit more spatter. Also, with Al mig, minute voltage changes make a big difference as well as how much heat builds up in the material you're welding. If you want some pics, I'll see if I can get some taken

 

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=959440

 

too many red x's in that link, although your tigs look nice

 

Well, here's my first attempt with the Lincoln 175 Plus and the Aluminum feed kit. Pretty sure the base metal was 6XXX-series stuff with the 4XXX-series wire everyone says is the easiest to use. Gas was 100% Argon. Amp and feed settings are pretty touchy. The sample shown has only one setting change after the first complete bead at the top of the photo. The rest of the variation is from weld speed and base metal temperature (on .075ish plate) which seems to vary greatly.

It's definately not TIG quality, but it's not as bad as I thought it would be. Just got to find the issues with consistancy. And then, you know, try joining two pieces together at some point...

 

What size wire did you use? the .035? I am wanting to try this and maybe learn a little bit.

Subscribed.

 

.035" 4043 wire...

 

i didnt want to bring up another thread on MIG but i was wondering if anyone had any shots of MIG welds they did on 16g tubing. I am going to be buying a mig soon and I would like to use thinwall tubing instead of sched. 40...

mig on thinwall... how does it look and how well does it hold up?

thanks and sorry if this seems like a hijack, just seems like related topic.

 

Can we assume you're talking about 16g ALUMINUM tubing?

 

apologies, i was talking stainless but the aluminum question has been answered

 

Thawley - those pics aren't all that bad, considering. The top and bottom are too hot, because of all the heat built up from all of the beads - you gotta let the metal cool before you start a second bead. I personally used multiple business card sized pieces so you could switch after every bead to keep that consistency. Also, on lap joints, pushing the gun at ~75-80 degrees to the bead helps a bit, too.

any pics of the backside to see how much penetration? any lap or T welds? Tip for the T joints: push the gun at a 45-55 degree angle for nice consistencey and concavity

don't forget to vent when you get you're first birdnest

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thawley &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">.035" 4043 wire...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Did you have any feed issues at all?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DohcVtecCrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Did you have any feed issues at all?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yeah, a couple. Everything is set up very loose. Since it's a known problem, I'm doing everything I can to avoid it. The drive rollers are super loose, the spool drag is really light and I'm keeping the gun cable as straight as possible. A couple of times it jammed I was able to just straighten the kink out (between the drive rollers and the cable entrance) and run it on thru. Another couple of times I had to pull all the wire back out and start over. Not that big a deal, but it does waste a lot of wire...

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I'll run some more beads later in the weeek and post more photos (with the requested views and joints).

Thawley -- those 1 lb. spools sure go fast

 

heat up the aluminum with a torch. once you have the aluminum hot then use the mig.

 

I tried that with a heat gun. How hot does it need to be?

 

I work at an Aluminum Trailer manufactorer as a designer where we mig almost everything. I will try to find some pics, and processes on how the guys do it! We put out some nice welds and some of the most top of the line trailers.

 

You use spoolguns i assume?

 

That would be great. Info on preheat, aluminum type & thickness, wire type & size, shield gas, settings, etc. I'm sure I'll have to find most of the settings for light-gage stuff myself, but I do have some 1/8 to 1/4" work to do. The trailer info would be really helpful. Thanks in advance.