lincoln 175 - plus mig welder

Date 01-24-2003 23:35

I need to weld some aluminum exaust and some aluminum intakes. I am considering buying a tig welder, but first I want to try it with one of the welders I already own. (lincoln 175 - plus mig melder) This would obviously save me a small fortune for the time being... Has anyone used this machine to weld aluminum? I hear you are supposed to get the special gun with the spool inside the gun... BUT is it possable to use the gun that came with this welder for aluminum? (the spool is inside the welder, and is pushed through to the gun) the exaust systems, and intake systems are pretty thin, what size and tipe wire should I use? would a thinner or thicker wire be better with the standard gun? How will the weld look as compared to High Frequency Tig that I am familiar with?

By mcwelding (**)

Date 01-25-2003 12:41

hey mike,
the 175 will weld alum. a stiffer wire such as 5356 will feed better than a softer such as 4043. the drive rolls need to be radius type. not knurled or v type. make sure the corners of the u shape and the o.d. of the rolls are smooth. use a new contact tip and run a reamer thru it and be sure there are no burrs. use no larger than .035 wire, reverse polarity (+), argon gas and tilt the gun in the direction of travel (push) with no weaving. make sure everything is totally clean with no shavings and get a teflon liner so you dont have any arcing or wearing inside. the biggest problem is feeding using this type of feeder. dont kink the gun, and try to keep a straight line from gun to welder. also make sure you use a quality wire such as alcotec. they have a great site www.alcotec.com
for welding aluminum. clean the drive rolls with alcohol and make sure your material is properly cleaned. i cant think af anymore to ramble about. good luck, let us know howya make out.
rich

By welder_guy2001 (***)

Date 01-25-2003 19:57

for thin aluminum, I prefer a TIG welder for its controling ability. I'd want a MIG for thicker aluminum because of the deposition rate. and you have to move faster that you would w/ steel of the same thickness w/ a MIG, which would make it kinda hard to move in a circle on thin material without burning through. with a TIG I could just take my time all the way around. have fun!