Welding aluminum-stick or mig??

Im not sure on Mig or Stick, Id guess MIG as long as its really MIG and not flux core, and has good adjustablity..

I welded some Beer ( errr COKE) cans together at work using a TIG, stuck them into a water tank to see if I had any voids, and MAN did they bubble! ( lots of VOIDS CRACKS HOLES!!)


that stuff smeels like Beaver piss too, and puts a funky white dust over everything

awsome idea for a trailer though!!, now ive really got a project idea!!!




OzarkJeep
NW Arkansas, need a CJ rear seat

You really need to know what alloy of aluminum you have before a decision on welding can be made. Your welding shop can tell you what process will work best with the aluminum you are planning on using. I have welded aluminum with: oxy-acetylene, mig, tig and stick, IMHO choosing the correct alloy is more important than the process you use, mig is the fastest and the most aggravating due to wire feed problems, if you already know how to gas or tig weld these are my favorites because they give the best appearing welds, tig has a slight advantage given the cleaning action of the high frequency. Stick welding is also perfectly acceptable given the correct aluminum alloy and the correct rod, but it takes a little more than beginner skills. Overall my best advice is get the correct alloy, remove all grease and oil!!, use only stainless steel wire brushes, don't contaminate the weld area with abrasive, use a chemical aluminum cleaner, make cuts with a bandsaw, vee welds with a die grinder using carbide burrs, think clean clean clean and be patient.
good luck, jjc

There were a couple of site I found last year when I was trying to decide which welder to buy.
The first site is a good reference for all of the processes.
The next two are by a couple of aluminum boat builders, not exactly Jeep stuff but I found it interesting.

http://www.twi.co.uk/bestprac/jobknol/jobknol.html

http://www.frontiernet.net/~adriaan/welder.htm
This site has an interesting email by Bruce Cope, one of the pro boat builder here on the Island.
I've been out in his boats and they're nothing like the riveted stuff.

http://malvm1.mala.bc.ca/~bigras/o7/o7.htx
Another Islander, have a look at some of his log pages
("Construction Log and Photos")
and you'll see a lot of pictures of his welding.
(not recommended if you have a slow link)