How to Weld Aluminum With a Spoolgun
MIG welding uses a continuous spool of wire to create a weld bead on metal. The soft nature of aluminum wire causes a MIG welder to jam when the wire travels through the lead of the MIG welder to the MIG gun. To reduce the distance the aluminum wire has to travel, you need to use a spool gun. A spool gun is a self-contained MIG welder that holds a small one pound spool of aluminum wire in the gun, rather than remotely in a MIG welder.
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Things You'll Need
- Two pieces of scrap aluminum
- Welding table
- Safety glasses
- Welding gloves
- Face shield
- 4 inch flapper wheel
- 4 inch angle grinder
- Welding machine with spool gun
- Welding hood
Instructions
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1
Place the two pieces of scrap aluminum flat on top of the welding table.
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2
Put on your safety glasses, welding gloves and face shield.
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3
Attach the 4 inch flapper wheel to the 4 inch angle grinder and lower your face shield.
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4
Slide one piece of aluminum until one side of the aluminum overhangs the welding table by 2 inches and lower your face shield.
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5
Hold the scrap piece of aluminum firmly to the welding table with one hand and pull the trigger of the 4 inch angle grinder to place a 15 degree bevel on the edge of the piece of aluminum. Repeat the process to bevel one side of the other piece of aluminum.
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6
Remove your face shield, put on your welding hood and slide the two beveled sides of the aluminum pieces together.
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7
Turn on the welding machine and set the voltage and wire speed of the spool gun as specified by the welding chart attached to the welding machine.
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8
Align the wire protruding from the tip of the spool gun with the weld joint created when you slid the beveled sides of the aluminum sheet together and lower your welding hood.
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9
Pull and hold the trigger of the spool gun for 2 seconds to place a tack weld on the weld joint. Repeat the process to place a tack weld every 2 inches along the weld joint.
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10
Move the tip of the spool gun to one end of the weld joint and pull the trigger of the spool gun to start welding the weld joint.
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11
Push the weld puddle 1/4 inch and hold for 1 second. Repeat the movement along the weld joint to weld the aluminum with the spool gun. Moving the weld puddle 1/4 inch will eliminate heat building up and blowing through the soft aluminum as you weld.
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12
Allow the weld joint to cool for 30 minutes before handling to avoid becoming severely burned.
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References
- Photo Credit Digital Vision./Digital Vision/Getty Images
