Techo Weld / Durafix Aluminium Welding Rod - any good?

[sssgtr]

Higher on my priority list than a TIG is a new mill.

lol, that's what I thought too, TIG came first then the mill came 10 months after that

ATM I use the TIG more than the mill, trust me when I say the mill is a cunt to tool up, I want to pick up a rotary table with a 3 jaw chuck and indexing plates...can't get anything decent for under $500. (my lathe is at my inlaws an hour away :knock

[sware]

Ok, ive gone and looked anyway, what do people think of this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/200AMP-AC-DC-...item3efe1e0755

I don't think that takes a foot pedal (only has a two prong connector for the remote), which I found pretty important with aluminium - like someone else mentioned in the thread, my aluminium welding improved ten fold when I started using the pedal. It's missing a bunch of other nice to haves too.

This is the style I have - http://cgi.ebay.com.au/WSE200P-AC-DC...item3c9cc675d0

I probably wouldn't buy that one since shipping is $280 straight from China. If you keep an eye out on there, you'll find some that have a 2 or 3 year warranty on them from local sellers, and lots of the auctions end at about $800. It took me about a month to find one, I think I paid $850 delivered.

[gerry]

takai , can you set your mig up for ali welding? teflon liner and a small roll of ali wire shouldnt cost much if you just want it for tacking shit up.

however. I fully agree with buying a AC/DC tig as they are a great welder for most aplications even mild steel welding.

[takai]

Yeah, ive wondered about getting soem Alu wire and a mini Argon bottle.
Do you have to use the Teflon liner though?

[gerry]

probably not for just tacking but I bet you would end up with one after fixing the 1000th birds nest of wire at the rollers.

I had fogotten about the argon . Can you get disposable bottles of argon? I suppose you would need another bottle of gas if you bought a tig any way.

being a shithouse self taught tig welder , I would use one over a mig making brackets ect because the fillet size can be kept small while getting good penetration and a neat weld.If you bought one I bet you would use it a lot doing the sort of projects that you do.the also are a lot quieter than a mig , so better for not pissing off the neighbors at 1am.

[HoonBoy]

Yeah, ive wondered about getting soem Alu wire and a mini Argon bottle.
Do you have to use the Teflon liner though?

been thinking of this for a long time.

[takai]

probably not for just tacking but I bet you would end up with one after fixing the 1000th birds nest of wire at the rollers.

I had fogotten about the argon . Can you get disposable bottles of argon? I suppose you would need another bottle of gas if you bought a tig any way.

being a shithouse self taught tig welder , I would use one over a mig making brackets ect because the fillet size can be kept small while getting good penetration and a neat weld.If you bought one I bet you would use it a lot doing the sort of projects that you do.the also are a lot quieter than a mig , so better for not pissing off the neighbors at 1am.

No neighbours on my side of the garage to annoy, and yeah you can get disposable Argon bottles, and i already have a little argon reg anyway. Might do that for now, and then see how i go.

[gxxr]

Another method, I've never tried....post weld forming interesting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF1Srs_e1Aw

requires expensive lens (and probably quick reflexes to avoid a molten puddle in your lap). I'd dearly love a little torch like the one he has though.

[gerry]

www.amweld.com.au

a mate of mine swears by one of these, says it will weld ally

[oldcorollas]

Would this stuff be strong enough to hold a throttle body on to a manifold in an NA application?

it would be effectively like solder.. the actual solder material tho is pretty much cast zinc..

it might work, if it was piled on enough, but vibration can be pretty harsh, so i'd go with a "no" unless it was no problem if it fell off one day... the fatigue of the zinc bit might be pretty poor compared to the alloy around it..

[takai]

Another method, I've never tried....post weld forming interesting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF1Srs_e1Aw

requires expensive lens (and probably quick reflexes to avoid a molten puddle in your lap). I'd dearly love a little torch like the one he has though.

So was he using a brush on flux? If so what kind?

Tempted to get some Alu MIG wire and give that sort of thing a go. I cant see it contaminating the weld overly much.

[gxxr]

He sells his own particular flux, not sure it was BOC or Blackwoods where I've seen it listed locally in a catalogue some time ago. Looks like you can't use your $10 oxy goggles and you'd need very small tips on a regular torch as well if you wanted to succeed.

https://www.tinmantech.com/html/eye_protection.php