Spool gun question...

[r00n]

Good day all...

I'm considering adding the 3035 spool gun to my new 212 so I can tinker with some aluminum welding...

I've never dealt in anyway with a spool gun so I have what I hope is not a totally stupid question... Do you have to purchase the reels pre wound, or can you refill them off a larger roll ???

Thanks

r00n

[DSW]

I guess if you were into self torture or bored out of your mind you could rewind a small spool from a large one. You would have to be sure to keep it neat and not cross the wire so it would bind. You would also need to keep tension on the large spool so it wouldn't birds nest on you. I have never seen a tool to wind a small mig spool like they have for winding fishing reels from a bulk spool.

If you try, be sure and have someone take picts of you while you do this. I think the look on your face after a bit would be priceless.

The time it would take to load a small spool would cost you more than just buying the small spool.

[lanceman73]

Agree W/DSW

Yeah, don't do it! The price of wire is per pound, or in your case maybe, per kilo.

[StillBoostin]

Spool gun is great to add to your collection. You have to buy the small one pound roll. You need 100% Argon to weld Aluminum. You must prep the Aluminum with a SS hand held wire brush (get many different sizes), and some Al cleaner from your LWS is a must. Keep your Al stuff separate from your Steel stuff. Chop saw and grinder wheels included. It is very fast and hard at first, to keep up with the spool gun.

James

[DSW]

You will find that you will have to set your power up near max to weld alum with the spool gun. Also your wire speed will be about 2X what it is for steel at that heat setting, also close to max. The cleaning with the bursh is also very important as you need to get to raw alum since the oxides melt at a much higher temp than the raw alum.

[aametalmaster]

Anything is possible. Yes you can wind your own. I do it all the time with steel, alum and silicon bronze. It takes a few minutes using my lathe to wind a roll. I only do it if i can get the large roll cheap or for free. You can also use a drill press or any other means to turn the roll but you need complete control over the operation so you don't get caught in the wire winding operation...Bob