Aluminum MIG vs TIG Welding

[@georgebuck2269]

Rules for TIG or MIG welding Aluminum. It's the only common metal that has to be free of all oil, grease, paint, gum from labels and any anodize coating. When you file, grind or use a carbide burr, you also remove the oxide layer which lowers the melt temperature which lessens the chance of burning thru the metal. Most welders also clean it with acetone. Most medium to large welding shops that do military/Federal spec aluminum welding are required to have chemical tanks to etch the aluminum which removes the oxide layer. All metals are TIG weldable except zinc which is the plating used on galvanized steel. The short list: steel, aluminum, stainless, copper, brass and titanium. And you can only use Argon or a mix of Argon/Helium for TIG welding, and that rule also applies to MIG Aluminum. Argon/CO2 is only for MIG steel or rough stainless work.

[@1Fine69c]

I work in a fab shop that only does military equipment, mostly furniture, consoles, stuff like that, and I've never once seen our welders clean anything before welding. Most the time they dont even bevel the material first lol

[@georgebuck2269]

@@1Fine69c The aluminum is probably sent out to a shop which etches off the oxide layer with a mild acid. It's a Federal specification for any TIG welding done on aluminum.

[@1Fine69c]

@@georgebuck2269 it’s not

[@1Fine69c]

@@georgebuck2269 our aluminum isn’t anodized either. That’s not something that happens until it’s finished but we rarely do that anyway. Most of it gets powder coated.

[@1Fine69c]

@@georgebuck2269 perhaps whenever it gets cut in the laser or punch and it leaves burs, the sheet metal guy grinds all the edges before bending it up. But it will sit for months sometimes before getting welded.

[@gearhead181]

The slope down feature on the revolution and pp220 is a game changer for the craters I absolutely love the features of these machines and how smooth they are and I’m really glad guys like you and others are doing more videos with them because it’s helping me figure out how to use the machines features better I always say the machine is smarter than I am

[@melgross]

Hi Tim. This has nothing to do with the points of this video, but I thought it would possibly be helpful. As you know, I have the same table. I use 1/4” thick copper plates under small weldinds I’m doing and often use a spatter shield spray. A couple of weeks ago I was doing that and had some odd problems with the welds. The welds were fine, but somehow the metal looked like it sputtered all the weld shmutz off and it looked very bright. I was welding some A-36 with 309L wire with 100% argon. I’ve done that in the past with no problems. Sometimes I prefer that to 75/25 as I can’t get other mixes in the 80 cu bottles. When I finished and removed the copper, I noticed that some of the black surface had come off the table in odd patterns. It was, fortunately, a small area. I found that small particles had worked themselves under the copper and between the copper and the work and the areas right around them apparently had taken a heavy dose of amperage due to poor contact and lifted some of the blackening off. I’ve never had that happen before, but I thought it would be interesting.

[@josiahutah3712]

Nice Tim! I can’t believe one volt made that much difference

[@RichardSmith-ms6hh]

0.6V can be the entire range between "too cold" and "too hot". ie the entire operable range. One reason you need a good solid reliable welding power-unit - you want stability, where a 1% change is really noticeable and the sort of range you trim within. You can sometimes see the effect of 01V.

[@johnjelinek-g7b]

A great tutorial on the differences between the two Tim . :)

[@RichardSmith-ms6hh]

Hi Tim - amazing first time seeing someone else use CV (constant voltage) (and constant current in physical reality) Aluminum GMAW/MIG and constant smooth weld progression. Here in UK insistence is * Pulse MIG even at high powers where could "spray" * must be stepped progression producing ripples When result is more than 90% of welds *do not* meet specification you'd expect a re-think - but no. I hadn't yet found how to macro-etch marine-grade aluminum when last did CV Ali MIG (hot "drain unblocker" (certainly an alkali - likely based on sodium hydroxide)). Would love to know what the weld was like inside. Thing is with CV and smooth progression - see that consistent electro-etch cleaning action around the weld - near the arc - and you do not mess around with the weld pool If you disturb it least, you will surely get most float-out of gas and oxides. Wish could do a test fillet weld, saw it so you have a flat sample containing the weld, and take it to be radiographed. Despite crippling rejection rates using Pulse&manip., no-one interested in doing tests here. Would prepare a Pulse&manip. weld the same and get that radiographed too - get honest good information. Anyway, thanks for showing. By the way - setting CV Ali MIG solely on welder's judgement, you end up within a few Amps and closer than a volt to the recommended conditions in the Lincoln Foundation "The Procedure Handbook of Arc Welding". Which is CV. Could have knocked me over with a feather that day when I got home and found this to be the case with a weld I had just developed and had accepted that day. The rule I know is: for 1.2mm wire (47thou) with wires like 5356 is * >= 10m/min - spray at about 24-ish volts * < 10m/min - pulse [10m/min==394ipm] You can spray at a bit lower, but to be honest, being pragmatic, pulse simply gets easier at less than 10m/min with 1.2mm ali. wire - then you get to where the metal is too thin to "spray" at all. But yes it seems you get everything you want going CV with spray transfer for ali MIG, yet have only once been permitted to do that here - on a high-value job.

[@rjbath5041]

Very well presented. Thanks for keeping the solution understandable and simple.

[@jamesyates5191]

Your welding courses are great. Well worth the money.

[@TimWelds]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it.

[@tedbastwock3810]

Great comparison. For the projects Ive done so far, the actual welding time is a surprisingly small proportion of the total project time. This, among other things, has led me to want to buy a TIG machine. Admittedly, I have only done a few small to medium projects using a small flux core machine so far, but it has helped me learn where I want to go next. Thanks, Tim.

[@stefanblack3909]

Great videos. I would have mentioned or shown how it's possible to taper off at the end of a weld with TIG, whereas a MIG weld tends to be and abrupt, less than ideal ending to your weld bead.

[@ZILAwelds]

Very good demonstration !

[@ypure3859]

Beautifully clear and well paced vids. I am new and want to learn to weld. Really enjoy you vids. I have subscribed

[@donaldhalls2189]

Every time I watch I work out where I'm going wrong 😂, aspecialy with heat on a lot I would turn it up, hoter the better rite 😂😅 haven't started tig yet ,but mine is lift tig no pedal, bought,it before I started watching, 😢 but it performs a lot better than my Telwin 😂😅 not even produced anywhere, only mig, thanks for sharing, being very instructive, great to follow, all the best to you and your loved ones

[@andyb7754]

Very good information Tim, thank you.

[@behemothinferno]

The arc can be very erratic on AC TIG so I find myself using MIG for aluminium more often than TIG as I seem to be getting a more consistent bead.

[@gholdsfishing3144]

Would you mig .080 aluminum or is it too thin. I have a project i need to join 1/4” angle to .080 plate. Figured id be ok if i just focus my puddle on the thicker material

[@DodgyBrothersEngineering]

When looking through the camera, your TIG filler rod looks a lot lower angle then when you are shooting the same shot from further back. I'm currently doing a TIG course, and what you demonstrating is in line with what I have been taught.

[@patrickmuhwheeney6518]

Hi! I have been binge watching your channel, and wanted to : 1. Thank you for the content, and 2. Try to mooch some information. I was gifted an S7 Tig Welder, HF TIG/Stick/Arc Welders,200 Amp 110/220V welding unit, and I am super keen to try to learn at least a little about this art. The unit, however, came with a very sparse and difficult to read translated (sort of) Chinese manual. It has an amperage knob, which I understand, and then a knob which goes from 0.1S to 6S. I thought originally this was a welding wire speed adjustment, but the unit has no spooler or motor, so I was a bit confused. (I ignorantly bought a spooler motor and two types of wire before I realized my mistake). The welder also has two toggle switches, one for Arc-Tig and the other says 2T and 4T.... What do these switches do? I've scoured the web to find out, but it's amazingly difficult to get answers. I realize you have a lot of subs, and therefore not a lot of time, but any help you could offer would help greatly. Thanks

[@TimWelds]

The knob is probably post flow, the amount of time when you’re TIG welding that gas will keep flowing after you stop the arc. This allows the argon gas to continue to protect your electrode and your weld while it cools down so it doesn’t get contaminated by the oxygen in the air. I’d just leave it turned all the way up at 6 seconds. 2T means that the welder will be on when the trigger is pressed and turn off when it is released. 4T means you press and release the trigger to start the arc and it will be on until you press and release it again. All of those will only apply to TIG welding in the TIG mode. When you’re in ARC mode, it will be on all the time for stick welding.

[@patrickmuhwheeney6518]

Thanks for replying, you're kind to do so!

[@johnmacmillan627]

Greetings Tim. Thx for the video. I do have a question. Many sites I visit state that mig welding aluminum requires spray transfer period. These sites claim that you need at least 200 plus amps and 24 plus volts to obtain this type of transfer. I notice in your aluminum welding course that you obtain spray transfer using much less amps and volts. I seem to be able to hetthat nice hissing sound with my 180 amp mig welder with lower amps and lower voltage. So are these sites wrong? Thx for responding. Have followed your videos for quite some time and enjoyed them all

[@gyulakiss420]

Hello ! Why MIG/MAG maschine good to alu weld and TIG DC no? Please write me

[@lagunafishing]

Wow I didn't know you could tig without filler!

[@BonaRasmey]

❤how do you minimise the bead width and height when mig weld Aluminium 😊

[@jainniepalacio6760]

How to weld aluminum using the blowtorch sir?

[@ROBOROBOROBOROBO]

Hi Tim, I will buy all your courses and get into the world of metal working and welding. Is there a welding machine that you recommend? That hopefully can weld using different technologies to start your courses? I already have built a CNC plasma cutter and I will buy a sheet metal bender soon to make all sorts of DIZ projects. Thanks for inspiring me.

[@TimWelds]

Thanks for the comment! That plasma table project sounds awesome! The machine I used in this video, HTP Revolution 2500 (linked in description), is the best all around machine on the market right now in my opinion. That being said, picking the right machine depends on the specific work you want to do with it and your budget. Send me an email at the email address on my channel about page with some info about the specific work you want to do and your budget and I can give some specific recommendations for your situation.

[@Jasson13rd]

What type of wire did you run when welding with mig gun? Also on the spool-gun, please you’ll be making me a huge favor🙏🏻 and thank you, you actually did a great job, hopefully this can help me to finally fix my car, but I don’t know which type of wire I should use, im not sure how I would work on it. I’ll appreciate your guys help if anyone else knows

[@TimWelds]

.035” 4043 is what I usually use. You can also run 5356 filler on a lot of alloys, which generally runs a bit colder and is dirtier but can help on thin aluminum.

[@TimWelds]

.035” 4043 is what I usually use. You can also run 5356 filler on a lot of alloys, which generally runs a bit colder and is dirtier but can help on thin aluminum.

[@Jasson13rd]

@@TimWelds thank you so much Tim!!! you’re a life saver and a really great guy. I own you one

[@ZILAwelds]

@@Jasson13rdI doubt that you can fix your car with a spool gun …. MiG aluminum is always a spray arc …. That means with a spool gun and without pulse you are limited to material thicknesses of .100” and thicker …. Auto motive stuff is typically less than half that thickness…

[@Jasson13rd]

@@ZILAwelds in my case what would you recommend me to try to weld my car with? I’m still not sure, and I was already looking for spool gun on the market place

[@ahbushnell1]

De Walt stool is great.

[@LinLoManny006]

" I think this guy isz a MAGNET ! ~ ? "

[@rorydottin7143]

Good info.. can you reveal the aluminum mig torch brand and part number if possible???

[@ZILAwelds]

26080 that is the partnumber

[@rorydottin7143]

Thanks much.. keep up the great info... ​@@ZILAwelds

[@nightheron714]

Seems like TIG has considerably less smoke and sparks, compared to MIG as well.

[@TimWelds]

Definitely. Aluminum MIG makes a fair amount of fume.

[@BeckyBess]

Nice work

[@georgesmathers6056]

Thanks

[@michaelnoyes4817]

did you change the liner when going from alloy to steel?

[@TimWelds]

Yeah, it’s a graphite line used just for aluminum. I actually keep a second gun setup for it.

[@driftinso]

What brand is your welding rig? I see it says made in Italy.

[@TimWelds]

It’s from HTP. They’re great machines.

[@Stefan_Van_pellicom]

Is the MIG welding done on DC or AC?

[@TimWelds]

DC Electrode Positive. 👍

[@Stefan_Van_pellicom]

@@TimWelds Thanks, I should give that a try then …

[@ramirogalvez6392]

What’s the mig gun you use for aluminum Tim?

[@TimWelds]

It’s a 26 series gun with a graphite liner from HTP usaweld. They have some compatibility info on their website or you can call and ask them.

[@ramirogalvez6392]

@@TimWelds thanks man

[@RichardDunn-r9b]

Grant Manors

[@himanshu99871]

Is it Aluminum or Aluminium ?

[@TimWelds]

Depends on where you live.

[@georgebuck2269]

In the US the spelling is "Aluminum." In Great Britain it's spelled "Aluminium" and pronounced differently GB: al lou mini um.

[@rorydottin7143]

Hi Tim.. can the 26080 aluminum mig gun work on the Miller Multimatic 215 mig gun port connections? Are they the same connectors?

[@TimWelds]

This gun has a euro connector, which is different than the 215. Usaweld does have a gun that will fit and a liner for it or you can get a teflon or graphite liner for your stock gun and change that out. Just make sure the liner you get is compatible with the collet on the gun you’re going to use it with.

[@rorydottin7143]

Thanks for the great info Tim.

[@edwicks66]

I turned my hat backwards there , for sure !

[@HumeNeil-y5b]

Yundt Mountain

[@mendyourhome]

I cant take it seriously 😅 aluminum 😂 PotassIUM, MagnesIUM, LithIUM, aluminIUM. don't be silly look at the periodic table why would it suddenly be missing the 'i' when the other elements ends in 'ium' . America 😅

[@TapRackStovepipe]

Why do you spell specter with the r in the wrong spot? Come on not America 😅

[@diggernash1]

Do you speak German? Hmmmm...why not?

[@mfx1]

Why does your welder have a huge US flag logo on the side and why does HTP (USAweld) market it as an American product when it clearly says "Made in Italy" on the front?

[@TimWelds]

I don’t know why they chose those graphics, but it works great and they’re very clear about where it’s made.

[@machinis]

Dual citizenship.

[@TREVORHOLMES-f4g]

Boring . Get on with it

[@claytonanning8906]

Lol dude doesn't know he's doing mag not MiG lmfao

[@TimWelds]

It's really a trivial distinction, but this truly is MIG and not MAG because with aluminum the shielding gas is straight argon.