TIG Welding? Knowlegable Venerables, answer up here!

[thudpucker]

I've been pretty good at Stick and Gas welding in the past.
Now a buddy is interested in TIG welding for aluminum. I think he's headed toward rebuilding an Aluminum Fishing boat. :wink:

On CL and Ebay I looked up TIG and got lots of job offers. About 958 in fact.
The 'For sale' Units are expensive but nobody takes the time to explain what they are selling.

If you had an Electric welder (Lincoln etc) what would it take to get that thing to weld Aluminum?

What welder would you buy to weld on our light Aluminum Skiffs?

I realize I may be asking simple questions that reqire a book or two for answers, but give it a try in short sentences.
Lets educate the whole forum.
Dick

 

[rick50]

You could try going to the miller weld site they have some pretty good info...

I have a miller syncrowave 180 sd ,it went under water during a hurricane and is still welding, tough little welder. I use it for welding aluminum boats.

Some advantages to using a tig machine are: control the heat better, weld thinner material, no sparks.no splatter, its just a cleaner weld.

Some disadvantages are: more expensive to operate, a little slower than mig , you need argon, and you have three things happening at once you are operating the torch . feeding wire and you have to control your heat either by a foot control or finger tip control.

 

[thudpucker]

Thanks Rick.
You are in big demand everywhere. I went on CL to look for info and discovered 956 Hits. Most were looking for a TIG welder. All 50 states.

I envisioned a Single guy or with a willing escort, a big Truck, with the Welding stuff in the Back, a Boat on behind that, just traveling with the warm weather looking for adventure and the Welder paying the way.
Is it too late for you? :LOL2:

PS: If any of you guys that search CL dont know this yet, you can go to craiglook.com and search the whole data base just like you do on Ebay.

 

[bassboy1]

One thing to point out here, is for TIG welding aluminum, AC welding capabilities are an absolute must. Only under certain high amperage conditions, using real thick metal, will aluminum cooperate with DC weld current.

TIG is excellent for the thinner stuff. These days, the world is changing over to inverter technology. The machine is lighter, more power efficient, and most importantly for aluminum, much more adjustable. AC frequency is adjustable, alternating between wave types is adjustable etc. I personally feel that if you want to weld aluminum, and be real serious about it, the extra adjustment capabilities of the inverter machine is essential. I am personally looking into getting a Thermal Arc 185 the very day my boat sells. The 300 amp machine is awesome, but it is very costly.

For thicker stuff, say 1/8 inch and larger, especially doing the quantity of welds on a boat, a MIG is likely the better choice. However, spoolgun, or push/pull is essential. While aluminum can be welded with a smaller machine, I personally wouldn't go under a 210 class machine (that is the point at which Miller and Lincoln switch from consumer grade to a much better industrial grade machine). I am personally getting a Millermatic 252 with Spoolmatic 30A spoolgun fairly soon after the TIG.

You can stick weld aluminum, but it isn't exactly ideal. If you are proficient at Oxy-A welding, TIG shouldn't be hard to pick up. The concept and hand movement is very similar.

I envisioned a Single guy or with a willing escort, a big Truck, with the Welding stuff in the Back, a Boat on behind that, just traveling with the warm weather looking for adventure and the Welder paying the way.

That is somewhat where I want to be in a few years. I don't want to be limited to the boats, however. I'm seeing myself in one to two man fab shop, MIG, TIG, stick, plasma etc capable, with benders, bandsaws, etc, to cover the whole fabrication end, not merely welding jobs. Also, I see myself with a truck with engine driven setup (think Lincoln Ranger 250 GXT, or Miller Trailblazer, both of which are stick capable, and can have a "backpack" wire feed setup attachment. Also, the 11,000 watt AC power output would allow TIG and plasma capabilities on the truck. Be set up with portabands, compressor etc, to be fully fab and repair capable on the road. Sure, to achieve this at the age I want to achieve this by, I am likely going to have to scrap the idea of the 20 ft. plate boat, at least until a later date, but it is likely the wiser choice for me.

I currently do a number of small steel fab jobs on the side, and once I get the Thermal Arc, and have a few more capabilities because of it, I plan on setting up a little website, and doing a little advertising. At this point, all of my jobs have walked right up to me, without me advertising in any way, other than people seeing my own work in various places.

 

[crazymanme2]

I've been welding for 30 + years.I have my own tig welder & paid $400 for it back in 1985.My welder is old school,very simple, with copper coils instead of aluminum like today.To weld aluminum you need high frequency, on continuous, & the flow meter for the argon at about 15 unless your purging something than you need to about double it.Welding aluminum is easy as long as its clean.It takes practice & coordination to be good at welding .I've welded everything from tin boats to helicopters.I've welded on a syncrowave & they are nice but I like things simple,less things to go wrong.To date all I have done to my welder is keep it clean of dust,just like a computer & adjust the points in the high freq.