Learn MIG welding - Aluminium Welding

Aluminium is a very reactive metal, and bare aluminium will form an

oxide layer in minutes. (Fortunately the oxide layer protects the
aluminium from further corrosion and that's why it lasts so well). But
the reactivity of aluminium poses a safety concern. Aluminium dust
and shavings left over from cutting or filing can catch fire especially if
mixed with steel dust when the mix is known as thermite.
You'll probably need to set up your welder for aluminium wire
before trying a weld.
Aluminium welding of thin material is much easy with AC TIG even for
a beginner. It's a struggle with MIG, though reasonable results are
possible with the effort described below.
Removing the Oxide
The oxide layer needs to be
removed from the aluminium
immediately before welding. A
stainless steel wire brush is
sufficient to remove the oxide and
leave a clean surface. The edges of
the aluminuim should be cleaned
with a file.
It's best to use a new wire brush
that hasn't been used on steel, and
to brush in a single direction so the
oxide isn't rubbed into the
aluminium.

Aluminium Welding
Aluminium welding is trickier than
steel welding. There is a fine line
between no penetration and
blowing holes. This is due to the
wonderful combination of a low
melting point and high heat
conductivity.
I've found that using a power
setting similar to the equivalent
steel setting, and roughly double
the steel wire speed, then moving
the gun very quickly seem to do
the trick. Using thicker would
reduce the chance of crumpling up
and reduce the wire speed.
The problem with moving the gun
very quickly is the weld doesn't
end up TIG weld neat. Took a lot of
practice to get this far.

More Oxide Removal

The weld to the left is the reverse
side of an aluminium weld where
the edge of the metal was not
cleaned before welding. The oxide
layer on the edge prevented the
two sheets from mixing and has
left a crack in the weld. The oxide
has twice the melting temperature
of plain aluminium, so it doesn't
melt during the weld process.
The weld to the right is the reverse
side of a weld where the oxide
later was removed from the edge
of a sheet using a rasp file. There
is a smooth join between the two
sheets of aluminium.

Using a Brass Heat Sink

Brass has a much higher melting
point than aluminium and it is also
quite inert which makes it an ideal
material to use as a heat sink.
The brass heat sink is effective
when clamped immediately behind
the aluminium to be welded. Here
I've clamped two off-cuts of brass
bar approximately 20mm thick to
the rear of the aluminium sheet.

Finally a Nice Weld

The heat sink takes a great deal of
heat from the weld, so the welding
motion can be much slower and
hence neater. The slower weld also
reduces the build up of aluminium
so there is less weld to file off for a
flat finish.
aluminium with a heat sink can be
welded with much the same
technique as you'd use for steel.
I've settled on the technique I use
for thin steel - short bursts.

And Nice Penetration

The reverse of the weld is flat
where the molten aluminium
contacted the heat sink. The weld
is strong and there is very little
aluminium to file away.

Push, Don't Pull

For aluminium welding it is best to
hold the torch nearly vertical and
weld away from yourself (push
rather than pull). This ensures that
you weld into the shielding gas
rather than away from it.
The weld to the left was made
using a pull technique, and the
weld to the right using a push
technique. The right hand weld
looks much cleaner, presumably
due to a better coverage of
shielding gas. Arguably a slightly
higher gas flow rate would have
improved the weld still further.
Cutting and Finishing
An ordinary steel angle grinding disc would become clogged when cutting or grinding
aluminium. Special grinding discs are available for aluminium, and I'm told stone cutting
and grinding discs work well. Alternatively aluminium is quite soft and can be cut using a
metal blade on a jig saw.
If a flat surface is required then the aluminium should be filed. An ordinary metal file
would be clogged, but a rasp file (with sharp teeth spaced around 1mm apart) is very
effective. A similar rotating file is available for air grinders for those difficult to reach
parts.
Some More Thoughts about Alu MIG Welding
Aluminium welding seems to be the preserve of experts. There is not a lot of reading
material, and if you use the same equipment and techniques as steel welding then you'll
come up against some frustrating failures.
Having said all that, it's not all that bad. It's trickier than steel, so if you need to learn
welding then steel is by far the best place to start. Once you can do a passable steel
weld, you should be able to do an aluminium weld either by welding at supersonic speed
or by using a brass backer to take the heat out.
Having managed my first passable aluminium welds I can understand why TIG is used for
anything that needs to be neat. You can weld aluminium foil with TIG! Sadly, a cheap AC
TIG welder costs 5 times as much as a reasonable MIG.
Aluminium Alloys

It's almost impossible to buy plain aluminium - it tends to be supplied as an alloy (a good
thing as mixing the aluminium with other things makes it a more useful material). The
alloys have a 4 digit identification number. I've been using a sheet of 5125 ("got some
stiffness to it" according to the aluminium shop). 5000 series alloys contain a bit of
Magnesium. The welding wire you buy will tend to be a 4000 series alloy (containing a
little Silicon).
Aluminium TIG Welding - The Easier Way to Weld Aluminium
Since writing this page I've
decided that using a MIG welder
for aluminium is a pain. Though
this page should help the DIY MIG
welder who doesn't fancy
spending money on a TIG. That's
where I was when I wrote the
page but I caved in.
The photo shows my first attempt
at TIG welding aluminium. I've
found it much easier than MIG
welding aluminium, or even TIG
welding any other metal. The TIG
welder needs to have the option
of AC current rather than just DC
which prices it towards the 1000
mark. It doesn't require a
heatsink, and a model without a
foot pedal will work fine though
it's nice to have the option to add
one later (I didn't use a foot pedal
for the work in the photo).