My Dad used to stick weld aluminium. The best I saw was when he did a 360 degree complete weld on a Ferguson tractor which broke in half from hitting a stump with a plough. This was welded in situ. ( didn't disassemble ) He ground out cleaned up , realigned and completely welded while still on the trailer. Didn't leak, didn't break. He was a self taught country engineer/mechanic. Old school. Proud of my Dad.

@general5104

3 жыл бұрын

It's amazing how smart our dads are...the older we get!

@dustinandtarynwolfe5540

2 жыл бұрын

What kind of tractor Implement is made out of aluminum?

@rydershane6126

2 жыл бұрын

instablaster

@gazzaa9341

2 жыл бұрын

Love a Ferguson

@Unexpectedperspectivesnow

2 жыл бұрын

What was the component that broke?

This is the Hickok45 of welding

@yurimodin7333

4 жыл бұрын

I was thinking more like the Bob Ross of welding

@danielsan4847

4 жыл бұрын

Tomas Valdez l

@WoodenWeaponry

4 жыл бұрын

@@yurimodin7333 Well to be fair hickok45 is the bob ross of guns

@cmennenger

4 жыл бұрын

Thought the same. The welds look good.

@downhilldaddy9346

4 жыл бұрын

Tomas Valdez 😂 pretty much

Your aluminium welds look better then my steel ones.

@Jayrod1020

4 жыл бұрын

Haha his welds look better than my mig welds lol

@juhopeltola2561

4 жыл бұрын

Its good if it holds. Looks don't matter much imho.

@Taiwandragon0828

4 жыл бұрын

then you can't weld, I did upright and overhead and passed bother with butter legs and passed both.

@Taiwandragon0828

4 жыл бұрын

So I was top of 2 in my class to weld bridges.

@xtune5731

4 жыл бұрын

Sean John cool story I guess, no one really cares all that much though.

Well I learned something new. I had no idea that you can stick weld aluminum. Seen it done in the shop at a fence company long ago with a MIG machine with a separate box on top and dude was moving fast

Somehow I managed to pass a weld test with this exact same process back in the 1980s.it was quite possibly the most horrific test piece that I have ever turned in . I just about through the thing in the trash and walked out but I decided to give it to the wi he told me it looked great I started in that plant Monday and never welded a piece of aluminum again.

@jamesrush5367

2 жыл бұрын

Aluminum isn't meant to be welded, it is the devil's alloy

@accelwell7018

2 жыл бұрын

@@jamesrush5367 yes sir

@daveamies5031

2 жыл бұрын

Sometimes a test like this is to sort out who can from those that sort of can, because it's so difficult only those who are good welders pass the test, I work in IT and have had several interviews where I was the only candidate that passed the coding test in the interview for a senior role where programming daily is required. It's amazing how many people say they can do something yet have never even attempted it.

@accelwell7018

2 жыл бұрын

@@daveamies5031 it was one of those scenarios where after I pulled it off I remember looking at the man who hired me thinking get the fuck out of here. There's no possible way you're going to pay me 45 an hour for doing something that I don't know how to do and you will never ask me to do. Some days it's just some strange goings-on out here. Two of the closest people to me in this life are in I.T. one isn't mainframes the other is an independent contractor

@Shaker626

11 ай бұрын

The aluminum test is the most harrowing for entry welders. Very easy to get porosity

As a HT in the Navy on a big sub tender I and my shop friend was ordered to climb the tallest mast (about 100 plus feet straight up a little ladder attached to the mast to this little platform) we had to weld a aluminum bracket to the aluminum mast, neither of us had been that high up and nobody in the repair shop had ever stick welded aluminum. So here we are both practicing in the shop with rod given to us by the ship yard people (no clue what the rod was) we were able to do it in the shop now to climb up and do it out in the open in the real world, imagine two 19 year old scared shitless sailors humping welding cables and tools free hand straight up, the most dangerous welding job I had ever done without safety gear in my life, we did it, we got the bracket welded on, prep work was a complete bitch and the weld wasn't much better but we both felt confident it would hold, we didn't want to go back and do that again. that experience broke me of my fear of heights, which served me well later in life. Think of the welders hanging iron on bridges, buildings ect everyday, it ain't a job it's an adventure 😉👍

@notyouraveragegoldenpotato

17 күн бұрын

Was a steel erector for years (ironworker if you will) lemme tell ya. Walking beams all day isn't an adventure. It gets to the point you feel like you're just rolling the dice- theres NO shortage of sketchy operations to be completed, that's a standard operation. Is today the day to fall or get maimed by beams that weigh several thousand pounds swinging in the wind you're trying to grab and bolt in/weld? Over time it not only is BRUTAL on your body, but it grinds on your mind until you realize, this shit isn't worth it🤣 give me some air-conditioning and a chair, I'll draft the plans be done by 5 every day no weekends and make 8x as much money with full benefits🤣

Thanks for the demonstration. G,day from Sydney Australia. The key points; * Flame soot cover 200°c * Heat 400°c Specific Aluminium welding rod (remove flux from end). 🌏🇦🇺

One day one of my shop hands and I had to weld a broken piece back onto a 32inch diameter by 1 inch thick cast aluminum plate. We were going to use the mini spool gun but the tank had been left on and it was empty. No worries, get a new tank. Spin one in, go to clear the valve....nothing! Great! The supplier stiffed us with an empty tank! We looked at each other and said now what? The plate was needed yesterday.....in my cabinet from a previous shop supervisor was aluminum arc welding rods. I asked my hand if he had ever used it before and in his 30 plus years of welding said no. I hadn't either, so I got on the computer and looked it up. Mostly worried about shelf life, it was fine as long as kept dry. So we screwed up our courage and gave it a shot. I had some high helix rotary files that really got. A workout. We spent a lot of time digging out our mistakes but in the end made a passable repair and put the part back into production. Over our welding table we had a very large exhaust fan so through extensive air quality tests our underwriters determined that we did not need respirators, in fact the fan was a pain when using shielding gas as it would pull it off the welds. We kept the fan on as the rod was real smoky. Danged if the next day the floor crew broke another disk so we went at it again. The next day I felt like crap! Hard breathing, nausea and headache. My hand called in sick. Several weeks later we had another one come in and our minigun was already in use. We reluctantly got that rod a nd wen t for it again. The next day we were both sick but both of us made it to work. We started comparing notes and realized we both had the same symptoms and had been doing the same thing and got sick before. I looked at him and told him we weren't going to use that stuff again as long as I ran the shop. I put in a request for a second mini and welder that day. From that I must say if you are e going to use aluminum arc rod make sure you have valid MSDS and know what you need to protect your health. This rod we used was likely around before the data was even thought of. Thinking back on it it was stupid we even thought of using it, it could have cost us our lives. Please be careful out there. We both were very experienced welders.......but not with that. Be safe and have fun! Terry from South Carolina

With the little bit of experience I have with stick welding aluminum, we had great success by having a second person applying heat with a torch. Having them heat the piece before the weld starts, during the Weld and for a little bit after the weld. We also found a lot easier start by heating the rod with the torch also.

@drewgormley6933

2 жыл бұрын

Preheating aluminum is necessary, yes, and it's very hard to get it right. I'd advise a digital thermometer gun nearby to keep you in the sweetspot.

@dergeneralist7106

2 жыл бұрын

I had preheated the aluminum but not the rod, cause my rod wasn't able to start an arc at all for longer than 0.5 sec.

@chrissample3047

6 ай бұрын

Nice heat work piece n rod

Dudes all like had a bit of a rough start..lol.. holy crap that is the first time i have ever seen that crap go in and remotely look like a weld... you sir are a damn ninja, good on ya

@douglasalan7786

7 жыл бұрын

You got that right.That's the best beads I've ever seen with that garbage. I messed with heaps of those about 20 years back on all different kinda machines. I'd almost rather have a kidney stone. ALMOST.

@paulsabo1720

6 жыл бұрын

Heating it up with oxy/acet is good, but you talked enough to let it cool off ( as you know, alum cools off FAST) If it was hot enough when you actually got to welding, you'd find out the start of the weld would be better quality.

@elvisalberto5766

5 жыл бұрын

Can I control the rough start

@YOURFISHINGCHANNEL

5 жыл бұрын

i was so surprised with the outcome. great.

@jeremymatthews5169

5 жыл бұрын

@@elvisalberto5766 yeah, dont stand there and talk for 5 minutes after your preheat. get right in there and get started.

Awesome explanation! Iv always learned when an elder much more experienced... time in and out explains something to me... I just shut my mouth and listen.

I went to Ark City Cowley College in 2017-2018, was in the Automotive Program so I saw Bob quite a bit! Great welder, he is smart!

I never thought you could stick weld aluminum. Learning so much valuable stuff from you guys...

@richardsmuin7665

2 жыл бұрын

It takes hours and hours to weld it properly

i usually have to stick weld aluminum once or twice a month on car trailers and roll backs, someone is always rough and breaking our equipment and I have to run wherever the equipment is and "fix" it to get it home I learned how to weld aluminum this way when I was about nine years old and I like doing it my welds rarely fail and it's just easier for me to make field repairs although not as pretty as tig I can make consistent good looking and structurally sound weld beads but that's only because I've been doing it so long.. I was also taught by my mentors growing up to use carburizing flame to coat sheet aluminum and burn it off before hand forming the aluminum to make air cleaners, fenders, racing seat backs and buckets or just about anything else I've made. it works great to anneal the metal, please forgive my spelling.. don't get me wrong tig can be gorgeous and spool guns are lightening fast and very pretty I can do all I just prefer the quick n dirty and lack of all the extra equipment the other methods require when I gotta load up with tools and run n gun

@cliffweatherbee6914

4 жыл бұрын

Stick welding is always a life saver in the field. Lol

@paradiselost9946

Ай бұрын

learn how to do it with a stick on a cheap buzzbox, and you can weld ANYTHING... every other technique is just a simplified version from that point. they all have their aspects, but seriously, if you can do good stick welds, you can make the switch with no trouble... *still tends to pull the TIG torch away, unable to get over the first five years of oxy-welding habits...*

Would have loved to see bend test on that piece. Bob is one of the best welders living today !!! He can weld a snuff can to a piece of railroad track and it will hold water !!!!

Stick welding aluminum is about like trying to push a rope down the street. But that right there, Bob, is about as good as I've seen it done.

@jolujo5842

5 жыл бұрын

No... It's more like pushing rope up a pipe actually

@gabotron94

5 жыл бұрын

Both of your descriptions were hilarious to imagine @@jolujo5842

@dubez3784

4 жыл бұрын

actually its like pissing against the wind.

@jasonburrell3508

3 жыл бұрын

True

@pt5878

3 жыл бұрын

The video would seem to imply otherwise. He is great but also just a man with skills anyone can learn.

The more I watch your vedios the more I realize I don't know. Thank you for making us smarter.

@Mikey-ym6ok

4 жыл бұрын

Crayons effecting your spelling there bud

@fabiancreates1

4 жыл бұрын

"Affecting."

@JonathanElsea

3 жыл бұрын

Bullshit if you know how to weld you can run an aluminum stick rod as long as you preheat the metal.A carburized flame doesn’t help you enough to make a difference however it’s all in the preheat

@JonathanElsea

3 жыл бұрын

However you should remove the oxidized Surface with wire wheel, Tiger Paul, Ryan and rock wire brush pile

@JonathanElsea

3 жыл бұрын

It does help to clean the oxidized surface however if your metal is preheated All you have to do is cram that rod uphill downhill horizontal or on 45, Manipulate the puddle by whipping your rod and you can fill it up while creating a uniform beed

Been welding for 20+ years and NEVER had a aluminum stick rod turn out looking good.

Years ago I had to pass an aluminum welding test using stick electrodes . It was a 1/4 coupon butt weld test using 1/8” electrodes . I used starting tabs and runoff tabs that could be broken off after welding . That way you eliminate the problem of porosity at the start and the crater cracks at the end .

A brave man running those things. Hats off to you Mr. Moffet

From Manitoba Canada here. We led aluminum for many years. I found that stick welding requires more heat and faster travel with tight arc. A fillet weld like that I would make 3 passes switching direction of travel. I have used tig and mig alot, but in some field work repairs, stick had to be used. I found good results with preheat, clean with stainless brush then heat and clean again. I think the key is to get the oxidation, oil etc completely off. I enjoy your videos. Am retired after 30 years in the trade. My motto was to make every weld a good one. I just loved to tig stainless. By watching your videos, I know that you took alot of pride in your work 👍

Thanks guys. I work on aluminium punts in salt water. Our boats / trailers are ally as well as pretty much all of our tools. In the past we've had to travel 60km to fix even the smallest issues. When it's a boat issue it becomes a pain dragging 5m wide boats up the highway. thanks to this I am able to do some of the smaller jobs. saving time and money. cheers. Carl from Mooka oysters

Thank you for talking me out of using stick for ornamental aluminum with this video.

@fun_ghoul

3 жыл бұрын

Just tell 'em it's avant-garde.

You are one of the best teachers I’ve ever had to listen to you explain things clearly thanks

@1nvisible1

Жыл бұрын

*What rod did he use here? I heard "salty flux" but not the number. Thank you.*

Mr. Moffatt, you are the "Earnest Hemingway" of welding. I really enjoy watching you teach. Your tone of voice is nice to listen to as well as the way you explain things. I feel more like I can attempt more welding projects.

Excellent video. I really need this kind of advice as an amateur and your experience is invaluable to so many. Great demeanor for an instructor!

When a experienced welder makes a weld that looks like poop in a controlled environment, you know that's the best that can be done with stick aluminum. TIG is where it's at for me.

congratulations sir. You've just opened my eyes about what's happening in such kind of welding process. Your video is outstanding for me. I was looking persisting for such a knowledge I couldn't find anywhere else. With a lot of respect thanks a lot again.

My dad was a certified welded because he worked for the state and had to weld on federal bridges. Although he has passed he taught me a lot about rods and alloys. I really enjoyed the projects we took on as a team and miss him dearly.

@jackallred8228

3 жыл бұрын

Sorry for your loss brotha. father and son relationships get better over time. I Bet he loved you soaking up all of the knowledge he shared with you.

I thought sure the soot deposit was to reduce spatter, which is another old trick, but I learned something new on the 400 degrees! Thanks!

@nononsenselogic

7 жыл бұрын

I was actually worried about the soot because the only luck that I have with aluminum welding is to have tight joints and SUPER clean surfaces. If my arcs hit impurites, it is all over. Definitely use fresh abrasives that havent been exposed to other things. He is so right about stainless steel wire wheels. A little rust goes a long way off a carbon steel wire wheel or transfered from common steel. I have had some AWFUL results from impurities. I got burnt so bad I won't even use temp pencils, just my IR gun. Bob is WAY better than I so he can pull it off. I have to keep it pristine to have a chance. So I learned something good too.

@douglasalan7786

7 жыл бұрын

The soot flame is also for annealing aluminum. Take some thin stuff and try it. It turns to taffy

@johncebula9906

6 жыл бұрын

Agreed, cool trick!

@Sketch1994

6 жыл бұрын

Before I got to speed with welding I used to always grind, prep, clean and set everything to like you said have a chance, but after a project I did that required me to lay 2 kg of stick electrodes on some deep rusted steel I learned to spot defects and counteract them while still in the puddle. One thing I learned is if you have rust or probably any type of contaminants close to the borders of the weld you WILL get undercut. It's easy to just grind it some but sometimes you can just live with it.

@glassmakerx

4 жыл бұрын

I suspect he means 400 degrees C. Soot doesn't burn off at 400F. (In fact, even 400C is questionable.)

Thanks for this video, about to get stuck into this and good to know what I'm in for. The cleaning & pre-heat tips will go a long way, cheers.

sure appreciate the demonstration! I've seen these rods for sale and I'm glad to see how it works.

welded a broken propeller on my Yamaha outboard one third missing. I used Hobart aluminum stick and a piece of scrap aluminum blended in with grinder still ok after four years in bay even hit sandbars . Nice show

Thanks for this! It turned out nicer that I thought it would. I learned a few things in this video.

I did it a lot when I worked for a mobile welding company. Sometimes we'd get calls at a few different dairy farms to repair aluminium cattle handling modular fencing. Been about 25 years since then and I still don't miss it.

Not bad at all for aluminum stick.After 23 years of production welding this is the best I have seen so far including my own attemps.Good job.

Straight and to the point. Very well explained. Thank you!

That's about a hundred times better result than I expected.

"Salt" is exactly what that flux is. It takes a molten fluoride salt, normally lithium fluoride, to chemically remove the aluminum oxide that is always present on aluminum. It's typically combined with chloride salts (sodium and/or potassium chloride), and sometimes has sodium or potassium fluoride in there as well. Then there are the binders and such, with the overall result being the "super bird shit" that another poster mentioned, LOL :-) And yeah, aluminum SMAW is way down on the list of fun things to do.

@jolujo5842

5 жыл бұрын

Floride, Chloride or Potassium salts actually depending on the metal ions produced by the plasma of the electric arc.

@davidelliott5843

4 жыл бұрын

Fluoride salts are about the most stable compounds in existence.

I was told this was not possible. glad to see it done. thank you

@nicholasparry6859

5 ай бұрын

Alot of people think they know things they clearly do not 😂 it may not be easy or ideal but it definitely works

Learned a new torch trick on this episode! Thanks. Love your videos, keep up the good work

Pretty good weld Bob, I didn't even know you could weld aluminum with a stick welder, braze yes, but not weld. In the end it's a bit spattery and doesn't look as good as a tig or mig weld, but it still stuck two pieces of metal together quite strongly, and that's the whole objective really.

A thousand times better than I’ve managed so far.

Honesty about material and proficiency. Aluminum stick is difficult under the best circumstances. As Bill Bauer said, that looks very good. And the extra tip on ending a weld is great. I've often wondered about cracks in high stress areas on trailers and other equipment.

I served my time in the 1980s for four years in a welding company one of the old hands told me they were welding alloy gangways in the 1940s with stick welding sure there was an american connection to the story that the yanks had shown them how to do it. Well i listened but but doubted what he told me 40 years later i am enlightened thank you.

@johncoscia5258

4 жыл бұрын

DC welders only for aluminium , then the polarity has to be set by swapping + and - terminals . Now when did these old guys stick weld aluminium ? All the old stick welders i have ever seen have an earth and positive not + and - . If there is an earth it's an AC unit so there's no swapping polarity if you cherish your life and no welding aluminium the last time I tried .

@KR-hg8be

4 жыл бұрын

@@johncoscia5258 there were AC/DC with both polarities welders in common use at the time of ww2. I learned to stick weld on some ww2 surplus lincolns in high school back 10 years ago that had ac, dcen and dcep.

@KR-hg8be

4 жыл бұрын

@@johncoscia5258 there were AC/DC with both polarities welders in common use at the time of ww2. I learned to stick weld on some ww2 surplus lincolns in high school back 10 years ago that had ac, dcen and dcep.

@johncoscia5258

4 жыл бұрын

@@KR-hg8be No such thing as too old , it seems most things have been done before . A lot to learn , thanks .

That looks pretty familiar. It's really fun when you're welding on a boat lift that has been in the water for 20 years. That's some crap to get off.

Great vid! Love watching you go through all the different processes.

Hey Bob. I'm a little late but I've tried this on a dynasty using AC and around 140hz and it actually worked pretty good. Had my waveform set to advanced and ran it like a spool gun stepping and pausing.

this video proves yeah.. stick welding aluminum works but its the worst way to weld aluminum. Still very interesting. great video. good job Bob

@chuckbowen5024

7 жыл бұрын

Very true. I do a lot of boatlifts and docks on location with my Miller Bluestar. It's never pretty.

@richardandres5266

4 жыл бұрын

is it possible to weld aluminium using ac welder?

@matthewflowers3982

2 жыл бұрын

That looked like hammered dog shit.. and he won't STFU and weld

@wanders278

2 жыл бұрын

@@matthewflowers3982 upload a pic of your aluminum stick welds so we can judge them then, since you're such an expert

I've had excellent results with Alluminater brand aluminum electrodes. I've welded truck suspensions, timing cover,boat motor etc.On thicker material,try laying it on fire brick or something non conductive.

@maddogmcfly5504

5 жыл бұрын

which trucks use aluminium on their suspensions?

@jackwierback3373

5 жыл бұрын

You sound like a bullshitter dan

@hotshoter2

4 жыл бұрын

Henderson suspensions has used aluminum walking beams for many many years and freightliner diamond reo and others where using aluminum spring hangers on their trucks back in the 70's

Very cool! Not to shabby. Excellent video, thank you. I never tried to stick weld aluminum but now I want to try it. Preheat first . I like the carburizeing flame preheat trick, never new about that way! Keep up the great work. I just bought a 145 amp yes welder today and can’t wait to start Tig welding only set me back 159$.

Excellent tutorial! I've worked in Aluminum/ glazing joinery trade for over 20 years. The company I last worked for had a professional welder rig welding brackets for load bearing lovers on highrise building. Terrible welds and weak as!!! Your welds look perfect! Nice job. 🙂👍👍👍

I know it doesn't compare to TIG, but this is fantastic for something I never thought was even possible.

Nice demonstration. I agree with you on being the least liked way to weld aluminum but being a field mechanic/welder on construction equip all my life I always carried some stick alum. rod just for the times when you just had to get it done, especially when the trucks and trailers became more popular being built with alum. So I feel it has its place when you can't stop to get it to the shop or get another type of welder out to the job. Like we always said about some of those welds that weren't so pretty " A little paint covers a multitude of sin"

@ericbrite4880

7 жыл бұрын

I had a job where my foreman favorite words were "i hired you as a mechanic not a welder, just make sure it doesn't come off and no one cares how it looks"

Bob makes me feel like I don't know anything and I've been welding steel and stainless pipe for 9 years not a lot I know but still guys a Legend !!!!!

Thank you Mr. Moffatt!! I wish I've had such an incredible instructor for real.

Man You did good on those beads...Heck I have been fab/welding for 18yrs and I hate with a passion aluminum Smaw ..I had to use it in a crunch a few times in farm hopper repairs and such in the field..I could never get it to lay down good...Thank God for tig and pulse mig for aluminum..God bless...

@denniz122

7 жыл бұрын

ur totally right smaw aluminium is very difficult the weld pool looks always messy whatever u do, even if its the right temperature and the slag is hard like a rock of course. The welds shown in this video are really good btw. great work Bob awesome video!

@fredsmith6160

7 жыл бұрын

I saw an everlast video where they tried to stick weld aluminum and it was pretty much the same. You gotta go very fast and it's messy at best.

@aidanwilson9832

7 жыл бұрын

thanks for the tip. I watched the everlast video and it does look very similar. I doubt I will be stick welding aluminum anytime soon.

@vincentparker4790

6 жыл бұрын

Jesus is King oil

one thing that helps the weld pattern when i weld stick aluminum is to drag the rod rather than push, i also prefer to us the 1/8 rods than 3/32. 3/32 are flimsy and the rod bends and warps as you weld; 1/8 doesnt have this problem as much. the arc length needs to be close like you said and should sound like bacon cooking. great video tho!

@totemnihil6099

2 жыл бұрын

I was about to say the same thing, normally i drag it with a little bit more aggressive angle and i get minimal splatter and so decent beads

@robbiesmith3162

2 жыл бұрын

If it has slag you drag it, if no slag you push it.

I have used these but I was never sure if I needed to reverse the polarity. It did the job but it seemed the whole thing was a mess with the slag and spatter. I found it helps to have a piece of metal and start the arc on before running a bead.

Great to watch you work Bob. Started Welding again and I'm 44.Did my Apprenticeship in Metal Stitching years ago and Machining. At a age where I developed a few health problems but I'm Studying Welding for all Processes at Leeds College of Building in West Yorkshire UK. You are by far the best source of information in my opinion out there... Ryan Schofield UK

I do a lot of welding on docks and boat lifts in the field. My portable is and old DC Miller Bluestar 2E. Looks pretty familiar. A 5 lbs. box of those rods is about $130.00 you want to make them count.

@mactheknife4786

5 жыл бұрын

Why are the docks and boat lifts in a field? Try using the words ‘on site’ to make yourself sound just a bit less of a tosspot.

@richardmaurer9002

3 жыл бұрын

Welcome to the hair-splitters’ convetion

I watched a guy start welding it cold and after he chipped the flux away his welds were beautiful. His biggest mention was to maintain fast mig speeds. He also said you have to break the flux off the tip of the stick before you arc. Edit: He goes in to explain why preheating isn’t necessary. The heat source is the arc between the consumable electrode and the base metal adequately heating the part when you begin welding. With AC TIG it is able to remove the oxide layer on the base metal during the electrode positive portion of the alternating current. Just like MIG welding aluminum, DCEP constantly removes the oxide layer from the base metal while the electrode flux keeps oxides from forming on the electrode metal and the molten pool. The e4043 flux protects the weld as it cools and forms a protective barrier, which works great even in breezy conditions. Try this again without preheating the part, turn the amps up to 100-120 and maintain mig speeds and I suspect you will see an improvement in your welds.

Thanks for the tips. As a repair guy I love these type of videos.

You my man are a great welder! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us

THANK YOU FOR MAKING VERY INFORMATIVE VIDEOS !!! Thru my lifetime, I've tried doing TIG, but EVERY-TIME I've done it, my filler rod has touched the tungston and has LIT me up! So, I'm set up for Oxy/Actlyn., AC stick, and MIG. & thinking about getting a little plasma cutter..((.just for hobbies now)). Occasionally I'll bend some Stainless and get it ready to weld, but I have to take it to our local tech school to have it TIGGED up. The material is usually 1/8" Stainless Steel Wire. QUESTION: Is there any way I can weld this with an aircraft torch? Is there a tiny filler rod and a dipping flux available to do small stuff like this? I like to make cup holders, Racks to hold hand soap dispensers, toothbrushes, etc., to attach to the wall, to make for an un-cluttered neat area. I've made the racks with Hot-Roll, & heavily painted it, and Cold Roll and done several coats of industrial paint, and it still ends up rusting, over several years! CAN I DO IT ???

wow, if there was ever a guy that ever tried this stuff and could possibly do it as wrong as it could be done. That would be me. I didn't do anything like you did it. I've never seen a electrode disappear as fast as my aluminum rod did. Glad to see a pro like you having at least a little trouble with it. makes a guy like me not feel quite as bad haha.

@shawncase2755

5 жыл бұрын

aaron wood p

THIS viewer appreciated this episode. Love all your excellent videos. As a woodworker for the last 50 years, I always wanted to take up welding. I did a couple years ago, faced with remodeling a few gates on my property. I am HOOKED. What a hoot and a half. I appreciate your southern self-deprecating sense of humor. Say what you will, those of us out here in Internet Viewerland are impressed with your talents. (On our knees bowing in Wayne's World style, 'WE ARE NOT WORTHY!" LOL!) Keep it up.

@orbitalair2103

4 жыл бұрын

I've been learning and practicing about 3-4 weeks now, using just youtube. Theres lots of tips and help here. good luck, it is fun.

You did a very good representation! I run it on the hot side and use it alot in the lumber industry..couple rods at a time and more than that use the spool gun

is it possible to finish a hole like that by oxy torch or would it just turn into a pool of aluminium

Question #1. What do you think the thinnest aluminum plate a person could realistically stick weld? Question #2. How important is it to keep the aluminum rods in an oven? Great video.

@danielmahoney5736

Жыл бұрын

Looking for an answer to this as well..

@derekcollins1972

Жыл бұрын

Probably around 1/8 and maybe a bit thinner using a backing plate.

Damn...I went threw 1Ib of 4043 3/32 aluminum welding rods and I couldn't get my beads to look like that! I missed a step! I didnt pre-heat the material. Awesome video Mr Bob and thanks for sharing!

Interesting, never seen that done. Thanks

This is the first video I've seen about stick welding aluminum. I've tried this without instructions on how to do it and failed. Now I'm going to take some time and do it again.

It still amazes me how many "welders" I meet that don't bother with stick. Stick is easily the most useful and cost-effective of all the processes. I refurbish old iron bed-frames in my free time and I literally haven't touched my MIG gun in ages. I literally only use the MIG process for filling holes. It's just too expensive to use it for anything else. BTW... For someone who admittedly rarely uses Stick for anything, those beads sure do look nice.

@richmac918

5 жыл бұрын

That's true and I was one of them. Had an old tomb stone welder many years ago and it was a pain in the ass. Big, heavy, couldn't do much with it as it was limited to 220V and not exactly portable. Bought myself a small Lincoln wire welder and got addicted to it because it could be run on 110/220, only weighed about 60lbs. and could weld just about anything. Got a little 160A inverter stick welder as a present and after trying it for a bit it's now my favorite by a long shot. Welds great, weighs about 15lbs., cheap to feed, sets up in about 1/5 the time the MIG takes to set up. My go to welder now for certain.

@shanonallen5395

4 ай бұрын

​@@richmac918Do you have a brand you would recommend?

@richmac918

4 ай бұрын

@@shanonallen5395 The one I got was an Amico ARC160. I'm sure it's Chinese and I wasn't expecting much but the thing works (and works well). There are a slew of cheap Chinese inverter welders on the market these days along with a s**tload of KZread people testing them out. The one I have was inexpensive but there are even less expensive models out there now.

“I said it was gonna be rough” *shows great welds*

had to run these rods a couple of times in the army, vertical uphill seems to run a little smoother. good video!

I would a been calling my Mom out to admire my awesome skills if I could reproduce that weld in my shop! Have fun, G.

great demo. i have been welding for a long time and i never saw a aluminum stick rod. i do have a couple of boxes of rods called postalloy by utectic that i think are for aluminum repair but i dont have a clue how to use them.

I think the thumbnail picture of your stick aluminum weld is the nicest sample known to mankind! I tried this many years ago.. and figured stick welding aluminum is as practical as putting a elevator in a outhouse...🤣

Thanks! My dad told me that this is possible, many people don't know. Thank you so much for this video!

not bad,that mess is hard to use ,almost impossible to control the arc. i worked for a company that ordered the wrong size cable tray ,had me cut it down and stick weld it , complete nightmare . that was almost 20 years ago ,i still have some of the old Aluminum stick rods , i use them for tie wire on fence.

im sure i missed it but what rod are you using im not much of a stick welder but id like to learn how to weld aluminum with stick it would defnetly come in handy

@Welddotcom

7 жыл бұрын

4043 - DCEP

i give you props BIG TIME! I use to teach welding before i got my cwi, and i had a student ask me to show them some aluminum stick welding

@Welddotcom

7 жыл бұрын

It is one of our least favorite processes to run. However, when the viewers ask, we do.

@radicaledwards3449

7 жыл бұрын

Weld.com why is it the least favorite?

I know a guy who built an entire aluminium inboard recreational fishing boat with stick. It actually turned out really nice. He’s an old timer and obviously learned back in the days when people perhaps used stick on aluminium more often.

I honestly never knew you could stick weld aluminum before. My mind is literally blown. And I must say if you don't have anything better, the end result is not bad at all. Like it's obviously not production quality welding you would see on aluminum bike frames, but for a repair in a pinch, or work in the field. It's quite impressive.

@0hypnotoad0

4 жыл бұрын

Even for something more structural I'd say this weld looks really good. If the aluminum is going to be supporting any weight and taking racking forces, it looks like it got very good penetration and coverage.

I’ve asked several people who weld for a living if you could stick weld aluminum, they all said no... except for one who shook his head and said, “You can, but its uglier than my wife.” Lol. One thing I noticed about welding aluminum, everyone gets real serious about how it looks.

Very informative video. Your welds looked good for as little as you do it. Thank you for the tips.

Devoted student to the art, thank you for the knowledge makes work fun and satisfying.

Another good video Bob!

Great video, honest, helpful

Good presentation Bob! Thanks!

I've tried it also but did not know to preheat. Now I know why it got better as I went. The welds still hold up a mixer at work I welded 10 or more yrs ago.

I have had the displeasure of stick welding aluminum before several times, and it pretty much sucked every time. My mentor calls the flux super bird shit and he's pretty close to right on the money. My experience is don't weld to the ends start at the ends and work to the middle because as you approach the end of a joint like that the material will be way too hot and you'll have a lot of problems with it washing out and sagging. The other thing that has worked for me is to just pause at the start a bit just off the joint, if you can that is, and let some heat soak for a second then move onto the joint and giver. Make a mess but it's easier to clean up a flat spot beside your start than both sides of a joint! I would like to see this used on a crack repair on say a bell housing or some other real world, probably shouldn't be doing it like this but i'm in to much of a hurry to do it right so i'll do it right next time it breaks, type of repair and see if the results are any good or even possible?

i would love to see a stress test of this to see the strength.

@Mikey-ym6ok

3 жыл бұрын

I wonder what how much the tensile strength is

Hey big brother I’m glad to see u went out of ur comfort zone for us much appreciated for answering our questions n I dare u to do this atleast once a month big brother it’s not bad at all just maybe to u but like u say it’s the action of that metals pools going crazy but I can tell u have it all under ur belt brother thanks again

Awesome video , Not only very educational but very well presented. Thank you

understand, Aluminum cools off fast, also need to preheat it more and burn that rod as soon as the torch is shut off, That's why you had a rough start, it was too cold. I've done this in the field plenty of times where i could not reach with my spool gun. once u do it a few times. it'll work itself out. And it is NOT cheap to buy those rods..

@user-mt9tn1ni4g

5 жыл бұрын

Do you ever use a rod oven to preheat the rods that makes a big difference

@chowlynlyn4442

5 жыл бұрын

What rods is that?

I got laughed at for mentioning this at our shop. Well ima give it a go now.

@v8vince761

3 жыл бұрын

How'd it go?

@jordyboy321

3 жыл бұрын

@@v8vince761 not had a chance yet unfortunately! Just a stream of mild and stainless jobs atm

@MastaSquidge

3 жыл бұрын

@@jordyboy321 its been an additional 2 months. You get the last laugh yet?

@jordyboy321

3 жыл бұрын

@@MastaSquidge I'm afraid not. Been too busy making a shit ton of tables!

@MastaSquidge

3 жыл бұрын

@@jordyboy321 Booooo

BOB, Love your modesty Sir!, Great weld considering the process used, You could knit Fog! Well done.

OMG, Bob.... You've brought back my nightmares!!! LOL 😎 Late '70s, early '80s.. got stuck playing with the old Lincoln AC buzzbox and some 1/8" aluminum rod with blue flux on it.. Being a young hotshot stick welder who had seen more nasty, oddball things to repair than any welding shop in the state.... When a guy said: "can you fix my aluminum.........." I said "sure, I guess so".... LMAO!! My boss, AKA my dad, went to town and brought back a big hand full of aluminum rod, he said the guy in town said, run it low and slow... I swear, I wasted a full rod trying to get it to run!! Finally picked up a piece that had about an inch of flux missing.. I stuck it probably twice?? Then it ran!!!! Freaking nightmare!!! I can probably still do it, but..... I'll stick with the spool gun 😎 I do want to set up a dirty scratch start TIG on the service truck.... I'm sure I'd like it much better than the stick!!! Bob, Thank you for yet another great video!! Learn or relearn something every day!!