Stick weld Alum w /flux core wire?

[jtcnj]

In a pinch, not expecting pretty: could I get decent strength welds for some aluminum tubing. Not structural, no life safety. I'm making some fishing rod holders that are roughly T shaped for trolling.

So, can I get away with using Alum flux core wire with a stick welder?
I know this sounds ridiculous but I'm just thinking outside the box.

[kolot]

Heavy stuff maybe, anything light to medium very tricky. Show the pictures of your parts. Are the stick electrodes flux core or are the fluxed on the outside.
You don't propose to put a MIG wire into a stick holder do you, that would sound a little crazy. I don't think I have heard of an "Alumicore" Ha Ha.

[jtcnj]

Thats exactly what I'm proposing. I don't know if Alum Flux cored wire was available. So anyway, can I get AL stick electrodes commonly in small quantities? I did read it in Modern Welding text book, but I never hear anyone talk about it. Probably because Tig or Mig is the generally accepted process. Since I only have a stick welder, I am kicking it around.
Could I use alum Mig wire and spray some spray can propellant, like from a sports horn? I wonder what they use in those things, or like the canned Dust -Off for computers?

Ya I know its a half-azz Mcguyver but I gottta be me.

[Scott Young]

Just do a search on here and see the failure! You can weld thick aluminumwith proper procedure which no one has ever denied, but stick welding aluminum simply isn't for the home hobbiest.

[hp246]

I was ahead of the curve in my welding class, I had a couple of hours to play around. I asked the instructor if I could try to gas weld aluminum. I got the go ahead. The gave me aluminum sticks coated with flux. It worked. Not well, as there was way to much flux from the welding rod, but it did work.

I would much rather stick with my spool gun.

[welds4d]

Sorry jc, but I've got to...... SHEESH!!! (palm to forehead)

[davido30093]

For your application, you might want to give this a shot:

http://durafix.com/

[Bistineau]

Yes, you can get aluminum stick rods at most LWS, but you will most likely end up with puddles of aluminum. You can try aluminum MIG wire but it is going to basicaly vaporize as soon as you try to strike an arc. Just get some thin wall steel tubing to make what you were talking about, and let it go at that. How important is it to you to have them made out of Al? There's not that big of a weight difference in the smaller pieces your making anyway. The last time I priced any AL. stick rods they were $27.50 a pound and that was over 12 years ago.

[CosmicRambler]

That Durafix stuff should work, but that website is a mite pricey.

It comes under different names. Can search for various ones.

http://www.alumiweld.com/

Must follow the instructions exactly. Must be clean, never try to heat the rod itself. I've done the wood stove trick and put the parts to be fixed on a hot stove, then heated more with a propane torch. Can rig that trick up various ways to add heat to the surrounding area. Big metal plate, etc with some other heat source or put in something that helps contain the heat.

I've used it to fill and redrill stripped out threads, aluminum ladder repair, small stuff that broke, etc. Got a bunch at a yard sale.

You can look on EBay, trick might be getting enough at the right price. It does make a decent repair or something like you want.

[CosmicRambler]

A check of Ebay shows lots of that aluminum repair rod is available. All sorts of names used.

Some is sort of deceptive in description, the photo shows a lot more than you will get.

Also know the rod length can vary. Apparently like from 9" up to 18". The longer length is more desirable. That might be the better source for a few rods. If you check around local, might also find some. Just the shipping usually jacks up the price on such things. All of them seemed to have fixed prices.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...All-Categories

This guy might be the best deal if those are actually 18" rods. Probably have to ask, he doesn't seem to say. About two bucks a rod.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Alumaloy-Rod...26839463463659

[kolot]

From what I understand of aluminum stick weld you need to be pretty competent with and arc welder and you need to move along very fast. Travel speed and speed your pushing that rod into the puddle. The guys who have done it some say it comes out pretty good, but once again I think on a heavy weldment. Don't know how many you have to do , but this one might be better left to someone who has a TIG. Where are you located, might be able to find a WW member in your area that may help out.

[Bistineau]

Yeah it burns up QUICK, way faster than ANY steel rod I've used. That's why I said he'd end up with puddles of Aluminum. If he's never used these kind of rods and doesn't have anyone to show him how to use it, not worth TRYING. I had an experienced iron worker show me how to use it, and it's still a steep learning curve. That's why I suggested making it with steel tubing for the rod holders he wants. The welds I made then, are still holding and in use, and these are on gates that swing daily. But that was on thicker metal than the tubing I think he's talking about. I don't know why it is important to have it made from AL when he could do it in steel tubing and get better results in the long run. If a good fish gets on the line and puts a strain on the pole and the rod holder breaks and the fish as well as the rod and reel is lost what is the point of using Al. when the steel ones might have held up better?

[CosmicRambler]

It will be entirely no fun if you change the materials. Anybody can do it out of steel. No war stories to tell, lots of rust streaks down the side of them fishing boats.

Anywho why stop at steel, we could use crapalloy. Where crapalloy = tungsten coated cowhide. Part of any good project is making it damn near impossible to accomplish but you finally pull it off. Got to have some bragging stories for beer drinking. Something to point too when everybody is drunk and wants to call you bluff.

[jtcnj]

Originally Posted by kolot

From what I understand of aluminum stick weld you need to be pretty competent with and arc welder and you need to move along very fast. Travel speed and speed your pushing that rod into the puddle. The guys who have done it some say it comes out pretty good, but once again I think on a heavy weldment. Don't know how many you have to do , but this one might be better left to someone who has a TIG. Where are you located, might be able to find a WW member in your area that may help out.

Thanks. I'm in Coastal Central New Jersey, which I no longer call the Jersey Shore since those Morons hijacked the term.

I've got about 5 weeks left of VOTEC, my 3rd semester. They offer a Basic and an Advanced, I took the Advanced class again just to continue my skill progression. I'm just getting started with a 220v stick machine at home, and I'm not set up yet. I'm going to use the remaining shop time at school to get aquainted with the basics of TIG. I'm was thinking ahead. If I have time and can get the parts made up I'll TIG them, but I'm not going to focus my hood time on that project. I'm focusing on learning the skill.

I may make up some steel ones, which is leading me towards SS instead of AL. I'm basically copying a store bought one I have, which is AL.

Originally Posted by welds4d

Sorry jc, but I've got to...... SHEESH!!! (palm to forehead)

A.K.A:


I may make this my avatar so you all know right away what your dealing with.

[welds4d]

Glad you didn't take offense.....none meant!

[SundownIII]

Oftentimes there's a reason why we need to "stay in the box" when we need to get work done.

[welds4d]

BTW, jt..."Barackalypse Now"...I love that!

[CosmicRambler]

One thing you can try to get and play around with is a carbon arc torch. Probably considered long obselete but it was actually used and taught in both the welding course I took and later in an auto body course. Tells you how long ago that was but in them dazes you could get very good quality ones.

I haven't used it for a long time. The pix sort of shows what they looked like, mine is even better. You can heat with it, braze and some types of welding. Sears used to sell the carbon rods. Today tougher to get them, maybe why I haven't used it. Two types of carbon rods, welding and gouging.

I used it mostly for heating and bending metals, was great to do mufflers / pipes, good for rusted bolts, etc.

Using those aluminum rods you probably can do aluminum jobs.

The old votec schools apparently started the kids with them. I have all the books, etc somewhere. Worked fairly well once you got the hang of it, did an attachment to your welder, ran it on AC. Big part was figuring out how to keep it lubed up so it moved easy. Going to have to find a source for the copper coated welding rods again. Looked on EBay, nothing offered in the USA, couple overseas. The torches do show up on Ebay and there are some sites showing how to make your own.

Something maybe I will think about trying again. Hey, Aluminum fishing rod holders no sweat.

[Rick V]

jtcnj and all,

"So, can I get away with using Alum flux core wire with a stick welder?"
To the best of my knowledge, there is no "Alum flux core wire" available.
Why? It has something to do with the flux absorbing moisture from the air and then aggressively attacking the aluminum wire. Shelve life of such a product would be limited.
Also, solid aluminum wire is difficult enough to feed through a mig gun; making the aluminum wire hollow would increase that difficulty.

I watched this thread develop wondering if something novel and new might come out.
20% into the posts, Scott Young suggested, "Just do a search on here...".
Apparently, no one took Scott's advice. It's important to search before you ask questions.
Saves a lot of time if at least one person in the discussion takes a moment to do a search.

Here are some search results that apply to jtcnj's original quest, "could I get decent strength welds for some aluminum tubing. Not structural, no life safety. I'm making some fishing rod holders that are roughly T shaped for trolling."

Aluminum Brazing - Options
http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=46803

Stick Welding Aluminum - My Experience
http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=45197

Comparison of Stick Electrodes for Arc Welding Aluminum - Part 1
http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=58440

Comparison of Stick Electrodes for Arc Welding Aluminum - Part 2
http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=58760

"Search and you shall find." - JC

[soutthpaw]

Yep Rick is the resident Aluminum SMAW Nerd around here. yep you can use Aluminum Stick welding electrodes designed for that purpose. (no such thing as Flux cored anything for Stick welding)

Looks like the US forge ones are still available from Ace outlet store. $10 is a great price for these. u get about 16 rods in a pack. I would order a few as the AL rods take some practice to get the hang of them. U need a DC stick welder and be sure its a quality machine as the machine makes a lot of difference in how well these rods work. range is 80 to 120 for the 1/8th so your buzz box should be able to handle it. however being a tapped machine it will be a bit more challenging. don't expect to weld anything under 1/8 inch thick with these though
http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/pro...?SKU=998002745

[Donald Branscom]

Originally Posted by welds4d

BTW, jt..."Barackalypse Now"...I love that!

Not all welders are Republicans.

[Donald Branscom]

Originally Posted by jtcnj

In a pinch, not expecting pretty: could I get decent strength welds for some aluminum tubing. Not structural, no life safety. I'm making some fishing rod holders that are roughly T shaped for trolling.

So, can I get away with using Alum flux core wire with a stick welder?
I know this sounds ridiculous but I'm just thinking outside the box.

There are Stick welding electrodes available for aluminum.
They have a learning curve.
They are expensive. Like $60.00 or more per one pound can.
They must be kept sealed at all times.
If you leave a rod out over night, the next morning
all the flux will have absorbed moisture and fallen off of the rod.
If you leave the can open over night you will have lost $60. Not kidding.

[Firefighter615]

If you didnt know it, CarQuest Autoparts Stores have started to carry welding items, and yes they do have Alum Sticks in a small quanity.

[Rick V]

Originally Posted by Firefighter615

If you didnt know it, CarQuest Autoparts Stores have started to carry welding items, and yes they do have Alum Sticks in a small quanity.

NAPA Autoparts stores have or can get Thermadyne 'FirePower' brand overnight - at a decent price.

[Kelvin]

Originally Posted by Donald Branscom

There are Stick welding electrodes available for aluminum.

Yep, and they're an unmitigated disaster, even in the hands of experts.

Has anyone here (or at least, anyone here "who knows better") ever actually seen an acceptable weld done with aluminum stick welding rods?