I used Aluminum Conduit,....... 2",... 1",...and some 1/2"......<br />Along with a couple of pieces of Railroad Crossing Bars,+ Hospital Bed Parts..........
<br /><br />I welded it with a MIG machine,....A little "Redi-Weld II",... I Love It........<br /><br />The 90* bends I got from a Hand Railing job,... couple of "Left-overs",..... the rear corners,.. I cut,+ fit for welding.......<br /><br />BTW,.... Anodized Aluminum is No Good,.... You have to Grind the finish Off to Weld It........<br />The Anodize Stops the Flow of Electricty..........<br /><br />The Sand Thing works Good to stop the crimping,+ kinking on the inside of the bends,.......<br /><br />Actually,... On the top in My avatar,... There's only 1 Bend in it,.. other than the 2 front corners I welded in..........<br />Everything is Cut, Fit,+ Welded.......<br /><br />Here's a couple of shots of it,.............<br /><br />
Bondo,if you ever come here to Louisiana,you would fall right in with us coonassesOriginally posted by Bondo:<br />I used Aluminum Conduit,....... 2",... 1",...and some 1/2"......<br />Along with a couple of pieces of Railroad Crossing Bars,+ Hospital Bed Parts..........<br /><br />
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<br /><br />Reverse Polarity Is Required,.....<br /><br />For Shielding Gas,... I'm using 100% Argon......<br /><br />And,....... You Gotta Keep Moving,...... Really Fast,......... Speed Welding at it's Finest........<br />Don't Worry about "Pretty" beads,....... Lay them down,+ Grind them off to get to the "Pretty" stage..........<br /><br />Jason,....If you want to set your 110V machine up to weld Aluminum,.... You'll need to have Reverse Polarity,+ replace the Liner,+ tip with parts that Haven't been used on Steel..... There'll be Carbon Contamination....... I'm not exactly Sure how it'll run,... My 110V machine is dedicated to Steel,.. Flux-cored welding.... I keep my Redi-welder dedicated to Aluminum......<br /><br />Cleaning the base metal is the Single Biggest issue with welding Aluminum,...........<br />The metal Must be polished Clean with a SSteel wire brush,..... If you clean a joint Today,... You'll need to Reclean it just before you weld it Tomorrow.... Aluminum Oxidizes Very Quickly....... A Steel Brush will leave Carbon,+ Contaminate the weld.........<br /><br />Again,........ Anodized metal is NOT what you want to Build With,...........<br />If you want an Anodized Top,.... It's Got to be plated AFTER the Assembley.........<br />Anodized Aluminum Can't be Welded,.....And,.. After you Grind the Anodized coating Off to weld it,.... You Can't Re-Anodize the welded joints,+ have it Match the rest of the tubing,...........<br /><br />Mine is used in a Freshwater environment,.. Yes,...... <br />I painted mine with a Rustolium Clear Coat,........<br />Still looking Good after 3 years.............<br /><br /><br />Next Question,..........???.........
If you've got a MIG that has the spool in the Box,... get some ER5356,... it's Stiffer,+ Harder,.....It'll Push a little better,+ Help with the Jams you're Going to have......<br />If you've got a Spool in Gun,... Go with the ER4043,.... It's Softer,+ Flows like Butter........<br /><br />Also,.... Go to a contact Tip that's .005 Larger than the wire you're running,.... It'll help with the Flow,+ reduce the number of Jams that you're Going to have..............
<br /><br />I'd start with a .030 Wire,+ .035 Tips........
Well,.....<br />As I said,...... Anodized metal Can't be Welded,..... With ANY welding process.......<br />If you want an Anodized tower,.... It's Got to be Anodized AFTER it's Built...............<br />
Aaaahhh,..... Tig Welded,....????<br />Or it Could be Migged......<br />
Heliarc Was a term used back when Helium was used as a shielding gas,............That's No Longer the Case........<br />It can be Tigged,.... Or Migged........ There is No Heliarc anymore......<br />It's Either Tigged with Argon shielding gas,.....<br />Or Migged with Argon shielding gas.........<br />Helium is No Longer Used.........<br /><br />If you want to Build it Yourself,......<br />You can set-up a Mig Welder for a Few Hundred Dollar$...........<br />Or,... You can set-up a Tig Welder for Several Thousand Dollar$............<br /><br />Your Choice.............
