Aluminum Stick welding

[Shield Arc]

Picked up some 1/8-inch Lincoln Aluminweld 43 rod the other day. Did some playing around with it this morning. I've had this 1/4-inch aluminum plate for at least 30-years laying in the junk pile. Took a stainless steel wire wheel and cleaned it up, and tacked up some lap joints. I played with the arc force, but it seemed to work best at 0.0 on the arc force, and 125-amps. I ran it with a back and forth whip motion, (like 6010) with a lot of rod angle trying to force the slag behind the puddle. This stuff burns fast, you have to make sure your hands are not in any kind of a bind, because you won't have time to adjust. You also have to hold a very close arc, I found it ran best when I just jammed the rod right into the puddle! This weld is 4 3/4-inches long, one rod! She don't go very far.

 

[ericher69]

Tried it years ago and did not like the results. I only ran a few rods but I guess I didn't really give it a chance

 

[Shield Arc]

I don't like the results either! I need to spend more time with it. Next time I think I'll do a side to side weave instead of a back and forth whip. It burns up so fast, and there is such a heavy slag, you have to really search for the puddle through the slag.

 

[undercut]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm just starting out so my first purchase is going to be a straightforward inverter stick welder. Welding aluminum is not in the cards for me except for possibly using this process so I'm keen on finding out the "scoop" on what it is like and what the potential applications might be. I'm not too concerned about the look of the weld ... at least not at this juncture. This is quite informative. Thank-you!

 

[Shield Arc]

my first purchase is going to be a straightforward inverter stick welder.

What brand of inverter are you thinking about buying?

I've never done much aluminum work, (and not very good at it)! But when I do, Tig is my go to process, then Mig is second.

 

[mrmikey]

We call them gull$hit rods because the weld usually looks like seagull *****

I must say tho, those welds aren't too bad looking for a stick rod.....Mike

 

[Shield Arc]

Thanks!
Might look better if I didn't have to beat the crap out of the weld with a chipping hammer.

 

[ericher69]

Thanks!
Might look better if I didn't have to beat the crap out of the weld with a chipping hammer.

Are the welds strong with good penetration. Have you tried cutting your lap joint? Or could you severe the weld so that we can see how much penetration you got

 

[dex3361]

I had to do some welding with aluminum stick rods about 20 years ago and I remember it was like time was sped up about 5 times. I really botched up the test runs till I got a handle on the speed. I had to run it cold to be able to control the puddle.

 

[rankrank1]

Is Stick welding aluminum the best looking weld in appearance - probably not but your welds do look better than most.

Is stick welding aluminum the ideal process- again probably not but as you have shown it will work in a pinch and your welds look more than adequate for most backyard applications.

Regardless this is by far the cheapest way to weld aluminum since you do not need any special gas or other special accessories and a repairman like me does not necessarily get caught up in looks as I am interested only in if it will work and if it is structurally sound....

Long story short - looks great to me based upon per dollar invested to achieve this result.