MikeSharp01 Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 Hi all. I need to create two frames from 2"x3" 10SWG hollow section aluminium (6082 T6). Am thinking I should weld them so I need to buy the kit to do it - need to update my 45 year old arc welder as well. I know the @Onoffspeaks well of this model which with associated TIG kit sounds like a working solution for under £300. Any other recommendations or thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 It's only D.C. - welding Aluminium needs A.C. otherwise you get poor welds. Find a local welder who can do it - shouldn't cost much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeSharp01 Posted July 5, 2017 Author Share Posted July 5, 2017 Yes I can get my brother to do it but I thought I could buy the kit and have it for other work around the place. How about this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sherman-TIG-201-AC-DC-200Amp-Welder-Aluminium-Inverter-MMA-for-Garages-Workshops-/222087632380?_trksid=p2349526.m2548.l4275 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Construction Channel Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 You just want a new toy don't you??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeSharp01 Posted July 5, 2017 Author Share Posted July 5, 2017 Well in a way yes, but I have been hankering after a new welder for a long time and this looked like the excuse to buy one - not so sure now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Construction Channel Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 Is your old welder dangerous? I rekon it is.... it would be safer if you had a nice new one. AND you need it to weld up your frames. Seems like a sensible idea to me. As for which model I'm afraid I can't help but if you need encouragement to buy tools, I'm your man ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeSharp01 Posted July 5, 2017 Author Share Posted July 5, 2017 No old Welder is fine, still going strong but only stick welds possible and current control awful but I like your thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 (edited) @MikeSharp01 - I posted your question over on the welding forum, after all I wouldn't go on there and ask about MVHR systems! The first response from one of the mods: "Easy job with the right kit, but £300 isn't going to buy it, you will need an ac tig welder, pure argon gas, filler rods, and then learn how to use it, ally is not as easy to learn as steel or stainless for most people.I knocked these four frames up on Monday, just a few hours work, for a one of job it would be best to just get some who knows how to do it." & "find a local welder and ask for a price to weld your frames certainly the cheapest route" I can point you at a fabricators in Hoo who do excellent TIG and have done so for me for 30 years btw. I do understand though the desire to DIY! Then again...this is ali welded with an EWM Phoenix MIG welding machine. Welds look good to me: http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/mig-like-tig-or-almost-anyway.74184/#post-1017595 Seems it's super controllable for pulse duration, voltage etc. I do have a Clarke 130TE mig machine. You can get 0.8mm ali wire for it. Would need a 0.9mm (1.0mm?) tip also (expansion of the wire) and a bottle of argon. All the bits are available from MachineMart for <£30. You'd be quite welcome to borrow my mig to have a play if you wanted to get the ali bits. Think its advised to pre heat ali? I am however planning taking my daily off the road shortly for major sill surgery though so it'd have to be a quick lend! Edited July 6, 2017 by Onoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijay Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 If it's just this one off job, why not use ali welding rods? I've used them with success on ali albeit it's a slower process as you need to heat the ali up first to melt the rod onto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell griffiths Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 I do a lot of mig on mild steel, but always sway away from Ali as having to get different gas with the cost of the bottle and other bits unless you have at least a project a month lined up the initial outlay is just to high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell griffiths Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 What are these frames for. Screening? Why not get the main frame welded by someone else and then fit them out yourself. I have been looking at industrial type pop rivets for fitting ally planking on a frame. That is a tool I could find a use for very regularly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 I'm reasonably handy with TIG on steel, but even after a lot of practice (using a big commercial TIG set) I'm not great at welding aluminium, particularly architectural type alloys like 6063. I'd just get someone else to weld these up, if welding it the only way to go, bearing in mind that most architectural or structural alloys will be supplied to T6 temper (or an equivalent) and that the heat affected zone around the weld will be reduced to T0, and will take a couple of years or more to age harden back to something like T6 If you can use mechanical fastenings, then that would be a lot easier. I tend to use stainless pop rivets to fasten aluminium structures, as they are strong and reliable. Dip the rivets in chromate paste before inserting them if you want Rolls Royce corrosion resistance, but even if you don't the joint will probably outlast you. The aluminium alloy framed boat I made a few years ago is still fine, and that's just pop riveted together, without chromate paste: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 22 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said: What are these frames for. Screening? Why not get the main frame welded by someone else and then fit them out yourself. I have been looking at industrial type pop rivets for fitting ally planking on a frame. That is a tool I could find a use for very regularly. Are you talking a rivnut / nutsert type tool? Magic bit of kit! Used to add an earth point in a back box (original fooked): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeSharp01 Posted July 6, 2017 Author Share Posted July 6, 2017 Thanks all. I agree Ali is hard to weld and although I took a course is was 35 years ago! Thanks @Onoff for your offer I will PM you for the people in Hoo as I have go past every day. I need the frames to allow me to repurpose the windows of the old house in the garden room. They are only double glazed but are of goof quality they just don't open so the frame is to allow me to add a hinge etc and provide strength. I think that I may look at mechanical fixing, thanks @JSHarris for the insights there. In the end, when I get back to locomotive building, I will need a new welder but perhaps I should put it off until then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 Another comment: "£1500 is a realistic figure for the gear to slap that together. An AC/DC tig welder, cylinder of argon, reg, filler, tungstens and front end consumables will see that wither away with enough change for a pint. This is fine if you have the time to learn to use it before getting fired in to paying work and if you intend to carry on using it after the job. For a one off, pass it on to someone who has the gear and skill. Save your self a few quid by doing the cutting, prep work and a decent drawing. I'd happily quote to do it but as you can see from my location Kent isn't that local and he would need to deliver and collect." (Richard, the writer is in Herts btw). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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