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Thread: Aluminium + Oxy Welding, Need some help.

  1. #1
    www.malicious.com.au Automotive Encyclopaedia ReQuieM's Avatar
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    Default Aluminium + Oxy Welding, Need some help.

    Hey guys need to get some help from someone with a good amount of experience welding aluminium with an oxy. I'm having some problems welding piping onto a cast aluminium piece and could do with some advice.

    Or even if there is someone in melb that could come around and help me that would be better! I can give you some soughta payment for your help.

    Sorry if this is the wrong section.
    Malicious

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    Junior Member Carport Converter JBs's Avatar
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    Default Re: Aluminium + Oxy Welding, Need some help.

    I didn't know you could actually do proper aluminium welding with oxy, wouldn't the oxy acetylene put too much crap into the weld?? What I do know for sure, aluminium is usually welded with TIG using straight argon as the shielding gas. You can also do it with MIG using either argon, or some form of alushield depending on the thickness. But be careful whichever way you do weld it because aluminium is very picky with oxidisation getting into the weld and screwing it up.
    Cheers
    Taken completely out of context:
    Quote Originally Posted by ROTFL-ACT
    JB's quite funny

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    www.malicious.com.au Automotive Encyclopaedia ReQuieM's Avatar
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    Default Re: Aluminium + Oxy Welding, Need some help.

    Yeah worked out the oxidisation shit today. Just wasted the whole FKN day basicaly destroy some decent aluminium.

    Yeah you can definatly weld aluminium with an oxy, just proving to be more of a bitch today then I thought. I've had a good success with welding lips on my FMIC piping but when I went to join a piece of piping to the cast alminium it all went to shit.
    Malicious

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    Junior Member Carport Converter JBs's Avatar
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    Default Re: Aluminium + Oxy Welding, Need some help.

    Fair enough mate good luck.
    Cheers
    Taken completely out of context:
    Quote Originally Posted by ROTFL-ACT
    JB's quite funny

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    Normally Aspirated Domestic Engineer RT104GT's Avatar
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    Default Re: Aluminium + Oxy Welding, Need some help.

    Quote Originally Posted by ReQuieM
    Yeah worked out the oxidisation shit today. Just wasted the whole FKN day basicaly destroy some decent aluminium.

    Yeah you can definatly weld aluminium with an oxy, just proving to be more of a bitch today then I thought. I've had a good success with welding lips on my FMIC piping but when I went to join a piece of piping to the cast alminium it all went to shit.

    I do aircraft work, the only way to weld AL is to use MIG if you dont want to damage it 2c.
    1968 RT40S Corona 1600S series II (restore in progress)
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    what? Automotive Encyclopaedia EVOSTi's Avatar
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    Default Re: Aluminium + Oxy Welding, Need some help.

    just take it to a welder, prob cost you <$20 and that way you'll have a good looking weld and not damage any more alloy.

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    Junior Member Domestic Engineer Alex's Avatar
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    Default Re: Aluminium + Oxy Welding, Need some help.

    You can weld aluminium with oxy, i've done it a few times with 0.8mm sheet, it's a pain is the arse, thicker would be easier, and it has to be extremly clean.

    I've taken an inlet manifold to a guy who builds race engines to get a few mods done that required welding and he charged peanuts and did an exellent job.

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    tilting at windmills Carport Converter Ben Wilson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Aluminium + Oxy Welding, Need some help.

    There are a couple of tricks to it. I'm assuming you have the right flux?

    The big problem with aluminium is trying to get the heat right. One trick is to run a low oxygen flame over the work to get a layer of soot on it, once the soot burns off you're at around the right temperature.

    Hold the flame a lot more horizontal than you do for steel or you won't be able to get the weld to travel.

    Don't try to run a continous bead for too long, I've found that welding for a while then pulling back to let the material cool, then starting again give the best results.

    Once you've got it mastered, grab a TIG and you'll never look back
    Strange things are afoot at the circle K

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    Junior Member 1st year Apprentice
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    Default Re: Aluminium + Oxy Welding, Need some help.

    it may be that you are trying to weld to cast. Cast ali has a tendancy to be slightly porosity and can trap contaminats and oxide build ups, I have had issues welding cast with tig and mig, the best thing is to file a layer off cast, don't use an iron grinding wheel as this adds impurities to parent metal.
    ou may try preheating cast also as may burn out impurities and also allows even heat distribution to avoid cracking. Post heat is a good idea to reduce cracking.
    Good luck

  10. #10
    tilting at windmills Carport Converter Ben Wilson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Aluminium + Oxy Welding, Need some help.

    Yeah - I can remember welding a 4AG water pump, the impurities in that were amazing...
    Strange things are afoot at the circle K

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    www.malicious.com.au Automotive Encyclopaedia ReQuieM's Avatar
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    Default Re: Aluminium + Oxy Welding, Need some help.

    Yeah right flux and rod. Like I said I've welded beads onto my FMIC piping (Aluminium) with good results. Not pretty but it all gets filed down anyway. Heres my procedure:

    Cut, test fit etc.
    Stainless steel wire brush the area being welded.
    Wipe down with acetone.
    smear on flux paste with wooden chopstick, I've been putting a decent 'toast spread' amount, is that too much maybe?
    Heat by waving the torch over both pieces. I generaly keep doing this untill most of the flux 'melts' away.
    Concentrate flame on the two edges, when they start to look to soften I add the filler rod.

    I've quite a few really good runs of bead doing this but at the same time I worry that they're not binding right, so I go over them again. I all so noticed that I dont seam to be getting the weld to penetrait right the way through. I can still see a clean edge on the inside of the piping. I've had the pipes lines up in vices horizontaly, and I notice that most of the time that when it starts to 'pool' it also sags so I'm tring to ad filler as soon as the pieces soften. Is this too early? should I be getting some steel piping or something to re-enforce and heat sink the aluminium as I weld? Or even stand them up verticaly and attempt to get a larger pool?
    Malicious

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    RIP James Nicol (ViPeR_NiPPleX)...

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    Chookhouse Chooning Automotive Encyclopaedia Hen's Avatar
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    Default Re: Aluminium + Oxy Welding, Need some help.

    Welding to cast alloy parts is a pain. I've always used TIG. Sometimes it all goes nicely, other times I can work for hours to get a good bead on the same piece.

    Taking it to a pro is suprisingly cheap and can save plenty of swearing.

    Hen

  13. #13
    www.malicious.com.au Automotive Encyclopaedia ReQuieM's Avatar
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    Default Re: Aluminium + Oxy Welding, Need some help.

    Yeah after the amount of swearing I did yesterday I think thats gonna be my next action.

    Who would you recommend? I'm in the southern subs so closer is always better I guess!

    Also, Would it be best that I do alot of the resizing, cutting and prep before taking it there? or just rock up with the two bits, markings where to join and ask can you whack these together and let him prep it the way he needs to?
    Malicious

    Illustration, Design, etc... www.malicious.com.au

    RIP James Nicol (ViPeR_NiPPleX)...

  14. #14
    Chookhouse Chooning Automotive Encyclopaedia Hen's Avatar
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    Default Re: Aluminium + Oxy Welding, Need some help.

    Yes, do all the setup and marking you can. Make it foolproof. I've had stuff welded wrongly before even though it was clearly marked.

    Unsure of anyone down south. Try looking in the phone book or going for a wander around your local industrial area. If people aren't busy they're usually up for a chat and should be able to put you onto someone nearby.

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    Gobble, Gobble! Automotive Encyclopaedia mrshin's Avatar
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    Default Re: Aluminium + Oxy Welding, Need some help.

    You live anywhere near Dandenong? The guy at Race Radiators has always done some pretty good things as far as I'm concerned. He also seems to be able to make good welds with bad metal (cast etc.)

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