Aluminium welding ??

[sharky]

Ok, so I got myself a Cigweld 135 mig welder and have been playing with ally.
I have 0.8mm wire and a bottle of argon. The weld is good and strong. There is a lot of grey 'soot' around it. The ali is spotlessly clean and this is the first time the welder has ever been used.
Is this normal ?

[Pommy Chopper]

How thick is the Plate/sheet?
What liner have you got in your torch? Steel/plastic or brass?
The "soot" is normal, the only proper/best way to MIG weld Ali is with a pulse synergic welder.
If you tack an Ali job up with a normal MIG and take it to someone to TIG after you've piled MIG snot on it, just be prepared to get told to Fuck right off, or face an extra bill to clean the snot off so the TIG welder can do it's stuff and not get any inclusions.
The weld you're trying to do is also porous, so don't go making any beer mugs!!!
Stick to the mild steel on that setup Sharky. Though you'll have to change the gas!!

Cheers'en.

[sharky]

Cheers chap, at least I know its normal..I'm using 2mm plate, but donya worry I'm not taking it to be tigged.
The main reason for playing is that the wifes zzr is all ali frame and I'll need to put a bracket or 2 on the subframe when I attack it over the xmas and its a damn site easier to do it in me garage than having to lug the whole bike to a welder just for a 2 minute job.
Plus he's on 3 weeks holiday..
And No, I won't be doing anything 'structural'.....don't trust me welding that much.

[alfiestorm]

I miged all mine and it was not pretty, then I borrowed the works tig machine and now it is better