Looking for a TIG welder for aluminum

[spndncash]

Ambush is correct. go TIG, its more versatile for material thicknesses and the torch is easier to manage. TIG is superior quality - I simply cannot contort my body to TIG upside down anymore. for you starting out go pure Argon. Argon will be easier to learn with but for welding heavy material there is a distinct advantage to argon/helium mix
The advantage of the helium(in your argon) is it increases weld penetration and allows higher heat. it has high heat conductivity which is an advantage moving heat to your casting - Helium is harder to start the arc and it is not as good at cleaning as 100% argon. Argon is pretty poor at heat transfer so you will have to preheat the casting for sure.
Helium has gotten a bit pricey in the last ten years as well.
I would like to add that you'll need an aluminum wire brush as well, a steel wire brush will contaminate the aluminum.
220 is the only way to go. I doubt you can generate the heat required for castings with 110v - if it is not in your shop you should run it - compressor, mig, tig, plasma all are best on 220.

[Oak]

Thanks guys.

Well after I did a bunch or research, I ordered a machine. I would have loved to get a Miller, Lincoln or Esab but the cheapest I could find was the Lincoln at $2300. There are a bunch of AC/DC machines priced from $600 to $850, all of which come from China....just like my awesome Esab did.

It was a hard decision and here was what I narrowed it down to.

YesWelder -- not too bad for $624 shipped to your door but I would have to order a foot pedal and gas regulator. 3 year warranty
https://yeswelder.com/products/tig250p-acdc

Everlast -- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AWU739O...2b_a_p-20&th=1

Eastwood -- Best warranty that I have seen but not many options for adjustments.
https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-ti...dc-welder.html

Harbor Freight -- The absolute worst warranty I have seen and priced higher than all the other China crap.
https://www.harborfreight.com/weldin...put-56254.html

I ended up ordering the PrimeWelder. It has a lot of great reveiews and comes with everything needed.
https://primeweld.com/products/tig-2...hoCGPcQAvD_BwE

It should be here on Tuesday so I'll keep you all posted on how it does. Thanks again.

[Ambush]

Well Oak, that looks like a pretty impressive machine for the price after watching the review vid seeing the customer ratings.

Once you learn to not contaminate the tungsten, you'll be having fun.

I would go to a welding store and pick up a couple of things. Two or three small stainless steel wire brushes and a couple for you drill. A few different size and shape aluminum burrs if you have a die grinder. Or ones that fit your Dremel. You can also buy a bottle of liquid chemical cleaner that works well.

This goes for all welding but, use a small propane torch to sweat the moisture out of the material just before welding. This also prevents "cold start" spots with stick and mig. This allows less initial heat input and more puddle control.

But the mantra with aluminum is "clean, clean, clean!"

Practice on stuff you have laying around. Cast and structural will act differently. Sometimes you'll have a surface scale you can't seem to break through and that's the time to lightly skim a bit off with the burr. Eventually you'll float enough of the contaminants to the top and burr them away.

Youtube is your friend since a video is worth about a hundred thousand words.

You just opened up another world of opportunities and probably get a few new friends. Congratulations.

[ol'George]

I'll badmouth cheap china products just as much as the next guy.
That said, you do get what you pay for.
If one purchases quality, you get quality, just like most everything.
China will build most anything one wants, to the specifications you specify.
I just hate to see the jobs and profits leave the USA.
Tig welding aluminum is very satisfying, much like painting a high dollar restoration project.
And I have to explain that, one would not understand.

[Oak]

I couldn't agree more George. This rant isn't towards you, it's just my thoughts on what I did.

I had a few choices,
(1) pay someone to do it. Why? I do this stuff to learn new things.
(2) spend over $2,400 on a Lincoln or $2700 for a Miller (I'm pretty sure neither is 100% American made and I'm pretty sure no inverter welder is either)
(3) buy and entry level machine and learn on it.

If for some reason I quit my day job and get into welding then I'll look at the pretty blue & red machines and sell this POS to someone wanting to learn like me. From what I have seen and heard, this machine is pretty good for $800.

[ol'George]

Somewhere about 20 years ago I wanted a 10" 3 jaw chuck for my old 1918 south bend flat belt lathe, as the chuck on it was worn quite a bit and precision was just a word while using it.
Not only were the jaws worn, but so was the scroll.
so I purchased a chuck made in china I can't remember where or what I paid but it was inexpensive compared to a quality Buck chuck.
Seems like like it was under $200
Well 20 years later it is still within .001 tolerance and I have used it and abused it.

You might well like the welder you purchased.
I was spoiled using the best like Hobart, Miller, etc. and the like, that Ford purchased for their tool/die operations as well as maintenance gangs.

I think with practice it will beat the hell out of JB weld any day Ha,LOL!

Argon, as mentioned is your friend and sometimes oil impregnated Alum.just will not weld worth a chit no matter how you clean it/heat it or beat it.
it will bubble and porosity is a fact of life.
But for the most part, that is the exception rather than the rule.
A good die cast part rather than sand cast will always weld better.
We used to use heated trichloroethylene as a cleaner till we found out it was bad for the human body, and removed it from the work environment.
Aw well, too much babbling, have fun learning and burning holes in yer clothes

[Dart1917]

Have you had a chance to play with the new toy yet? Been kinda waiting to see what you thought of it.

[Oak]

I have not had a chance yet to use it but I hope to today.

It shipped to my door in 3 days and was packaged very well. I have been watching a lot of Youtube vids on tig and there is a good FB page for the PrimeWeld owners/users.

[Oak]

I finally played around with my new welder. WOW, TIG is a lot harder than stick or MIG.

My right hand runs the torch but if you lift it off of the sweet spot it messes up the weld and if you dip the rod it contaminates it and you should stop and clean the tungsten. All this while your left hand is dabbing in filler metal at the correct time and speed while your foot is controlling the amperage output by the foot pedal control. All I had were some old fan blades off of an A/C unit to run some tests. This was pretty thin at 0.040" and easy to burn through not knowing what you are doing.
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I didn't get a before pic on this piece but this axle tube had a chunk busted out of it from the rear bolts being loose. This repair wasn't needed but I wanted to try out welding cast aluminum before I try the broken tab on the transmission.
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I ran out of daylight and it was getting cold + dinner was ready so I stopped. I still need to fill in some area's file it to shape and drill the bolt hole out a little. Like everything else it was getting a little easier as I went.

[Oak]

OH, I did pick up a China welding cart for the new China welder too.
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Here is a good coupon that saved me about $80. Take a pic of it with your phone and they will scan it at the register.
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