stick welding cast aluminum

[tsalagi]

i don't do aluminum, i hate aluminum, now, i have to do aluminum.

i owe someone a big favor and this is what they ask of me. oh well. anyway, my machine is a miller shopmate multi-process. good machine but, it's only dc. as much as i don't like it, i have been known to tig aluminum but, not with my machine. the one i used in the past is shorting out somewhere and you can't keep an arc.
i tried brazing it with a tig rod and that didn't work. my boss thinks that i didn' have it hot enough. now, someone said that you can stick weld aluminum with DCEP.

there is my problem, now here is my question. can anyone give me some helpful pointers doing it either way? if i try brazing it again, do i need flux? if i stick weld it, do i run 90 amps or115? do i drag the rod or work it? what kind of angle on the rod? should i pre-heat, post-heat, or both? with it being cast it is verry pourous ,will that help me or hurt me?

[abprt]

stick welding alumimun

i don't do aluminum, i hate aluminum, now, i have to do aluminum.

i owe someone a big favor and this is what they ask of me. oh well. anyway, my machine is a miller shopmate multi-process. good machine but, it's only dc. as much as i don't like it, i have been known to tig aluminum but, not with my machine. the one i used in the past is shorting out somewhere and you can't keep an arc.
i tried brazing it with a tig rod and that didn't work. my boss thinks that i didn' have it hot enough. now, someone said that you can stick weld aluminum with DCEP.

there is my problem, now here is my question. can anyone give me some helpful pointers doing it either way? if i try brazing it again, do i need flux? if i stick weld it, do i run 90 amps or115? do i drag the rod or work it? what kind of angle on the rod? should i pre-heat, post-heat, or both? with it being cast it is verry pourous ,will that help me or hurt me?

It is possible to stick weld alumimun but you do need to preheat the base metal after cleaning it really good. You amps depends on what size of rod you will use and the thickness. Be careful not to burn through since we are talking about alumimun. Use DC reverse polarity. If you don't get the base metal hot enough, the weld bead will be lumpy and seem cold. When it is the correct temp, the weld will look milky but will look good after you cleam the molten flux off that will cover your weld. Hopefully you aren't talking about cast alumimun, (pot metal). That stuff is junk and most people stay away from that but I've heard it can be welded. I haven't had much success but have tried several types of rods for that stuff. Since you have already tried brazing with a tig rod and it didn't hold, you really need to clean that mess up first. It's been a long time since I've welded alumimun with a stick rod and have heard that there are new types of rods nowadays too and have ordered some but still, it would be better to either use a tig or a spoolmatic on most alumimun. Good luck.

[HMW]

Man, sucks to be you I'd find a TIG to borrow or tell him you don't have the equipment. I tried it along time ago,[stick alum] didn't come out to well, although it may have been me and not the process

[Laiky]

from what i understand your best bet for cast alluminum is tin man tech flux and oxyacetylene

[abprt]

stick welding alumimun

i don't do aluminum, i hate aluminum, now, i have to do aluminum.

i owe someone a big favor and this is what they ask of me. oh well. anyway, my machine is a miller shopmate multi-process. good machine but, it's only dc. as much as i don't like it, i have been known to tig aluminum but, not with my machine. the one i used in the past is shorting out somewhere and you can't keep an arc.
i tried brazing it with a tig rod and that didn't work. my boss thinks that i didn' have it hot enough. now, someone said that you can stick weld aluminum with DCEP.

there is my problem, now here is my question. can anyone give me some helpful pointers doing it either way? if i try brazing it again, do i need flux? if i stick weld it, do i run 90 amps or115? do i drag the rod or work it? what kind of angle on the rod? should i pre-heat, post-heat, or both? with it being cast it is verry pourous ,will that help me or hurt me?

Contact Maintenance Tech. at 1(800) 272-9353 and ask them about their Addifix 420 Alum stick rod. These were the last ones that I ordered but haven't tried them yet. I have used others years ago with good success so the rods of today should be better. They also offer some specialty rods that I use all the time such as extractor rods and their nickel 99 rods for cast iron. Just welded a cast crankshaft this morning for an aircompressor on an 1 inch shaft and remachined it to specs. Things went really good and these rods aren't cheap but cheaper than the competitors.

[Synchroman]

from what i understand your best bet for cast alluminum is tin man tech flux and oxyacetylene

I agree. Assuming you haven't ot a TIG machine, I would gas weld it with flux and aluminum rod and preheat. I've done several vintage Harley motor mounts that way. Got to be cautious however, since too much heat and your part will melt. Alminum doesn't change color as everyone knows.

[sam_porter]

I agree. Assuming you haven't ot a TIG machine, I would gas weld it with flux and aluminum rod and preheat. I've done several vintage Harley motor mounts that way. Got to be cautious however, since too much heat and your part will melt. Alminum doesn't change color as everyone knows.

I also agree. The bigger the part tho, the harder it is because the aluminum wicks the heat away faster. Being clean is very important, if you have access to it, wash with nitric acid just before welding. Just be careful not to get it on your skin, or breath the vapors.
If you do the research, you can short cut on some things. I get brazing flux from the laundry and rx. section of wal-mart.

[safetydave]

stick welding cast

Hi tsalagi,
Just reading your post and no I haven't stick welded any cast but I do alot of tig welding with cast so if this helps you then great and if not then maybe ti will some one else.

Yes make sure it is very clean (paint or other welding done) & yes it will have pinholes in it as well from the casting part,but if you pre heat it very slowly and tig it a little at a time depending on how much you have to weld on it once you have a good filler layer of weld on it you can heat it up more and get the puddle to flow or blend it better on hard to reach areas if needed, then you can grind or pad sand it down to finish product. I did some welding for a guy at work who collects train horns from all over the world and he had one that the one side of the bolt pattern was broke off and wanted to know if I could weld it back as close as possibale to what it was and stuff so after I did this job for him he now wants me to do some other friends of his work for them becuase the other guy that was doing it didn't do as good of a job I LIKE MORE MONEY!! Just wanted to share that with you.

[tsalagi]

thamx guys but, i did the usual thing and dove in head first.
i bought some aluminum rods, turned the machine up to about 115 and blew a big honkin' hole. great! i turned it down to about 105. jammed the rod deep in the puddle and it all came out fine. filed and sanded it to match the rest of the piece and all is good.

[shooter]

It is possible to stick weld alumimun but you do need to preheat the base metal after cleaning it really good. You amps depends on what size of rod you will use and the thickness. Be careful not to burn through since we are talking about alumimun. Use DC reverse polarity. If you don't get the base metal hot enough, the weld bead will be lumpy and seem cold. When it is the correct temp, the weld will look milky but will look good after you cleam the molten flux off that will cover your weld. Hopefully you aren't talking about cast alumimun, (pot metal). That stuff is junk and most people stay away from that but I've heard it can be welded. I haven't had much success but have tried several types of rods for that stuff. Since you have already tried brazing with a tig rod and it didn't hold, you really need to clean that mess up first. It's been a long time since I've welded alumimun with a stick rod and have heard that there are new types of rods nowadays too and have ordered some but still, it would be better to either use a tig or a spoolmatic on most alumimun. Good luck.

I have a patio bar set from Coleman that is cast aluminum and it is welded, so it can be done. Easy to see that each piece is cast then welded together. I don't know how hard it could be however since the joints are not too pretty. Since they are so easy to detect it was either unskilled labor or very hard to do. Any pics with your update tsalagi?

[davinder]

Welding around a trailer hinge

My buddy has a 5 tonne, and needs a crack around a hinge welded. I said I would do it, but the issue is that it is aluminum. I have a trailblazer 302 in my truck. I bought some aluminum 1/8 sticks and played around. I forgot how aluminum melts really quick. As for the rods, the burn up really fast. I have been playing around with the amperage. I am not looking forward to this little job, but hey its "practice".

[kcstott]

i don't do aluminum, i hate aluminum, now, i have to do aluminum.

That's why I say never let anything beat you. I was frustrated as all **** learning to weld aluminum. But with time I got it.
I know this is late in the game but you never did say how thick the base metal was. Thats a big deal in alum welding
Anyway glad it turned out good for ya