Mig welding aluminum tube

[joe_dejesus]

Question, is Mig welding aluminum only for non structural applications?


I am thinking of welding a minichopper (non street legal) frame out of 1" tube thats approx .130 wall thickness but soneone suggested mig welding should not be used for structual applications like a frame?

I have made frames out of steel tube with no problems, I was just looking into making one out of aluminum... I was planning on using my MM210 and 3035 spool gun (100% argon)


Thanks
Joe

[Teeps]

you may want to mention what alloy of aluminum tubing you plan to use, what kind of weight machine your talking as well....?

[joe_dejesus]

Opps sorry... i was thinking of 6061-T6...

the bike will be small, 80cc 4 stroke motor...

but the rider is a heavy weight(hehehe) 220lb...

[SoCalTA]

Andy and a bunch of the teams he deals with mig welds their roll cages so I can't understand why using a mig would be so bad unless it's because it AL and not steal.

[ASKANDY]

1" tube is pretty small. The thickness is no problem for mig but because mig aluminum is a much faster process, you may have some control issues going around that small of tube. Would be nice to try it first on someones machine to see if you can handle the faster pace.

Good luck

Andy

[joe_dejesus]

I was more concerned about the mig aluminum weld holding up in a structural application (frame)..

I might have to try on scrap tube... because we do not have a frame (yet) that is the purpose of this question...

[ASKANDY]

Joe,
Mig aluminum will be fine on that structure if the operator can control the weld properly. I built a bunch of alum fishing carts but the tube was larger and easier to weld around.
If that same job came into my shop, I'd TIG it because with that small tube, it's just as fast to tig it once than have to go over it a couple times with mig if you miss the joint or blow a whole into it.

Good luck!

Andy

[joe_dejesus]

OK... Thank You!

I might as well give it a try... I was more concerned with the weld not holding up.. (gluing and not welding)

Thanks Again..

[pejenkins]

ANDY -
What are aluminum fishing carts ?

[SoCalTA]

I thought NASCAR paid well .... Is it for his night job at the fish market???

[ASKANDY]

An aluminum fishing cart is a cart that holds a lot of ocean fishing gear. Think of it as an aluminum 'lil red wagon with verticle tubes for heavy rods, boxes for tools and large deck for cooler full of King mac. Because you carry lots of gear, the alum cart makes it easier to get it out of the truck and the salt spray won't rust it away.

A-

[Swift]

Not trying ti hijack this thread but hear's a picture of a fishing cart that I made

Chris