Welding Aluminum with a MIG spool gun for the first time EVER 

I like your down to earth honesty and no pretense in this video. Well done !

I've got the exact same set up as you do, and my first time Welding Aluminum with minimal practice. Years ago I made 1/8 inch thick, one inch wide Bows to cover my aluminum fishing boat and they turned out excellent. Today, I'm attempting to weld 1/16" angle to a thick block of aluminum. So I watched your video, to remind me & get tips from your commenters.

My initiation with aluminum spool gun welding taught me that preparation was key, to include preheat to 300 Farenheight, 30 CFH argon gas, correct stick out (3/4"), 5 degrees work angle, and as usual, watch and control the puddle. The puddle is not as easy to see. It should appear as a silvery molten pool. Overheating the material will cause a weird wrinkling of the weld. Also wire speed and voltage take some tweaking. Typically the voltage is upped compared to a steel weld. The blackening is probably due to either/or low CFH, and white oxide on base metal. It is a "humbling" process. I would actually defer someone to learn TIG and /or use Alumiloy, Alumiweld braze rod with propane. Good luck (skill) my friend.

Excellent video...because it's REAL! I think you've done a great job of showing people that not only is it OK to make mistakes..but with skills such as welding, it's the ONLY way you actually perfect your craft! Very well done...and you made it easier for others to dive right in! So thank you

Nice spool gun you got there. I've never used one, but I am looking forward to try. Since, I already have the welder (HOBART 210), I want to go for it. Thank you for sharing and take care my friend.👍👍

Thank you for posting this,,and thanx for giving Jody a "thumbs up". I'm 59 years old and I used to think I was a weldor until I found Jody's site a few years ago and, like you, I have learned so much from that guy. Anyway I love seeing young folks trying and learning and going unafraid,,challenging themselves. You are the future and God bless

I'm reading all these comments, it's actually funny because everyone of us that can charge for welds had to go through the same thing as this guy at one point before we realized Tig welding was an art that needed to be mastered. we just didn't post our embarrassing moments on you tube. I give this guy kudos. hopefully you're stacking dimes with tungsten now buddy

Thanks for putting this video up. I have two things I could offer. Number one, if you use .030 wire use a .035 tip if you use .035 wire drill the tip a little bit larger. I have used 1/16 inch drill bits to enlarge the tip orifice when using 0.035. Using an oversized orifice prevents the sticking which happens when the aluminum wire heats up back into the tip and expands locking it in place. I had very little trouble melting tips once I did this. This modification actually allowed the spray transfer to function, something I never achieved previously. Also don't make such big adjustments, you went from 60 to 70 on your wire speed, try smaller increments, with aluminum especially. I mean what I say when I say thanks for putting this up, it is a common problem with this setup which is exactly the same as mine. You may have gone on to the millerwelds forums and found that many people modify the barrel to use the larger size tips. It involves Drilling and tapping and not everyone has access to that but it is my plan as the next modification. Best of luck to you my friend.

Been using a MM211 for a few years now. Absolutely love it. When I first started welding it was a great beginners' unit, and now that I actually know what I'm doing I'm still more than happy with the unit.

On aluminum when starting a weld, I drag the wire back (about a inch or so) as i'm striking a weld this helps to preheat,if there is a gap it kind of fills it, if its old alum. that you are welding you will be laying fresh clean material on top to run your weld over it.

Good job, it's nice to watch a regular guy trying something new and learning as you go. Thank you for the getting started video

I just got my Miller 211&100 spoolgun. Watching you was educational and comforting as I made all the same mistakes plus more. Hope you give more lessons on aluminum welding with the 100 as you improve your skill. Thanks, Ken

Thanks for the video, It takes a man like you to do it on a camera at the first time. I'm still learning.

Excellent demeanor. Love the trial and error on display, a stroke of genuine genius. Keep up the pioneering work!

Guy - I really appreciated the video, and especially that I'm not the only one who says things like "full-meal deal", "motate" or "be kind-rewind" in everyday life. Thanks again!

Both. It just depends how thick the material is. I don't use the 220 unless it's needed. I have fewer of those outlets around the shop.

It just makes you feel cool. ; D It's kind of like dressing up as Batman or Superman when you're a kid. Welders are like toys for grown ups. I worked my arse off as a kid- now I'm all grown up on my own I can play.

Brian : I mig- welded aluminum with a spool-gun for the 1st time back in 1989 I purchased a Lincoln SP-150 and the dealer hard wired and plumb the connection for the spool gun. And when I was looking at your plate, I reminded me of my plate. I had a plate of the same dimensions ! However I went about it differently than you. I filled one side of the with 3 to 6 in beads with 1 inch spacing between the beads; like double-space on a typewriter. The method that I was employing was to heat up the plate each pass and stagger the heat across the plate evenly similar to torque sequence on a v-8 intake manifold from the middle then eventually out to the corners. As the plate got hot ihad to get-up go to the machine and turn down the dials. I still have not mastered that spool gun and every time I had a welding job, not only did I warm up the metal; but I had to warm me up or acclimate to the unpredictable outcome of what the mig-aluminum process was about to yield. My most successful job was 2 broken handles a-top of professional appliance dolly. And it was the hottest day of the summer and I welded it at 3 pm after it had warmed up to at least 90 degrees all morning. The point of this story is yesterday I finally purchased a Miller Diversion 180 TIG machine with foot pedal I won't have run back to the machine anymore to adjust the Amps and wire speed. I am also looking forward to build some stainless exhaust headers. IJust finished reading: " Brought to you by Miller...TIG Welding For Dummies" by; John Swartz & Brad Hemmert ISBN: 978-0-470-24455-5 and I put the ISBN # out here because I kinda wished I'd read this book ahead of time before making the financial commitment. P.S. I liked your video, and keep up the good work.

I have seen some of your other videos and your training is great. It's like being with your brother. Very personal and humble and I enjoy listening to the on the fly play-by-play comments. Thank You!

I was at US Welding today talking to Todd about buying a TIG setup. For something decent it's about $2k plus tank, rod, and electrodes. This set up is about $200 plus tank and wire.

Good impromptu video. I've never welded aluminum but I'm watching to get the basics. Thanks for taking the time to make the vid

I was welding on some badly weathered and poorly cleaned scrap aluminum. Since buying brand new clean material that is even super thin, it's easy. The contaminants are what make it so hard. I also recommend using a laser temp gun. If it accumulates too much heat from welding too long on it, the whole piece goes to mush. Patience and cleanliness are key to successful welds.

I have the same welder you do. Todays my first time setting up my aluminum gun to. This has been great to see and get your learning curve in my head before trying to figure it out. Great video and a gold mine of easy first steps. Thanks for sharing. Awesome.

Your welcome mate! I do the same work has yourself in England. 42 years worth now, went in a flash!!

I am not a welder. My brother is though. I watched this video as he needs to weld some aluminum for me. I enjoyed watching your video. It was also refreshing to see how honest you are with your own learning and results.

saved me some painful trial and error, i bought one about 3 months ago but didn't get argon til now, looks like i better go get some spare tips. Good vid, thanks

appreciate the fact that you show the leaning process. Thanks.

i like his style.....i like his humility.....and i like the way he approached and analyzed his welding.....identified the problem quickly......and started running nice beads.....this is actually a very good video for beginners.....well done...

So I always wanted to learn how to weld aluminum. So I searched for "how to" videos and ran across yours. It was a deciding factor of what welder to buy. So I bought the same exact one and it's out in the shop waiting for me to make the same mistakes...can't wait to burn out all my tips...FYI. I bought extras....thanks Brian. Enjoyed the humor in the videos.

He's a good teacher and gives good pertinent, prudent advice.

OK I need to blame you for getting me interested in spool guns and eventually getting one for my everlast mig welder. I'm poorer but now I weld aluminum! Thanks bro.

I'm glad I went with tig! The spool gun looks quite tricky and at 3/4 inch and a fan your not getting much gas!

I JUST BOUGHT A SPOOL GUN AND YOU MADE ME FEEL LIKE I DID THE RIGHT THING.YOUR FUN TO WATCH.

i love my wire welder (lincoln 100)......its flux core so i can weld outside....its spool gun adaptable so i may go this route....great vid brian

You're welcome- TIG is the way to go for so many things. It just gives you SO much more control..... once you've practiced.

I have stick welded for quite a few years and I like the look of long neat robotic welds. Recently I purchased a 211MVP with an aluminum spoolgun. Before I even took it out of the box I signed up for a MIG/TIG class at a local VOC school; it was a great investment which I would highly recomend for any beginner who would like to learn the right way from the beginning. Don't devolpe bad habits by guessing; all my welds look robotic, thanks to professional instructions from A-Z.

You got my thumbs up when you forgot to hook the ground up.....you're awesome.......

We started using our spool gun at work using the exact same method that you are using. We found that the aluminum plate liked it hot and fast aluminum wire delivery for decent results. I imagine that if one practiced or used the spool gun everyday some amazing results could be had. Keep up the great efforts Brian and greetings from Arizona.

That's awesome- great to have you along!

Thanks for honesty and persistance, Fun to see your approach to mistakes, being human that's gonna come with trial and error.

Thank you for taking the time to video your "first time" :) As long as I can remember I've wanted to find a way to "stick aluminum together". Something that you generally can't do with a MIG, STICK or GAS (well, gas welding alum... a learned art!). A spOOLgun was one of the other possibilities. The other of course are TigWelder$, Kaching!. I know that your L-Curve may have ruffled "experienced welders".. But I think you were a fantastic stand in for the rest of us [shade tree welders] who were thinking of buying one too. I have no doubt I would have mirrored everything the same. Even down to the ground connection (what am I saying, I still do :). Cheers!

i bought the same welder,,,,,before they had been shipped out of the factory,,,had to wait a week to get it,,,,great welder,,,,next year i bought a miller plasma cutter,,,,,if you don't have one you must get one,,,,,will speed up almost any project,,,,oh and heat what your welding on when using aluminum,,,,helps alot

You see and understand things, I bet you are really good at this now!

That's correct. When using this process you have to think "push the spray" not "drag the bead." I would love to do a follow up. Thanks for showing interest. I just bought some material today!

You're welcome - and thanks for the feedback!

I have the exact same setup. Jody's a professional that makes it look easy. Aluminum is tough to get down. As it heats up travel speed also has to pick up or you just melt it. I've actually learned more from watching you than Jody. The black soot issure I've never got rid of. It's supposed to disappear with a push, but mine never has. I'm gonna try again in the spring. Good luck!!

Jodi is always peddling the TIG finger! lol

Notice how much fun he's having though. You're going to be awesome at this if you're not already !.

Thanks for your bravery to actually video your 1st attempts. I believe your tension is set by how tight you screw down the nut on the spool gun. I would be welding left to right or right to left while pushing with the recommended angle, that way you aren’t burning your glove up. Also when changing wire from internal spool in machine or disabling, just cut the wire at the contact tip of gun, pop the tension off the drive rollers and turn the spool to wind your wire out of your gun and whip back onto the spool. This way you don’t waste any wire left in the whip. All GSMA welders require a polarity change from steel to aluminum. I believe the switch on the front of your machine “gun/spool gun” does this. On other machines you actually must change wires over under the lid. Always make sure your gas flow rate is correct and that you don’t have a draft. I’m sure with practice you’ll get the hang of it. Vital to have the aluminum very clean and grease free as well. The machines instructions and setup charts are all very important to read when anyone starts a new process. Best of luck my friend.

Much respect for doing a video as first time use. I enjoy videos that show honest mistakes and errors. I have absolutely no knowledge of welding. I was looking into aluminum brazing and this video was a suggested. Great video my good sir. Thank you.

Practice and surface preparation I'm learning is also very important. Aluminum is VERY picky when it comes to cleanliness.

Spent 20 years welding aluminum, had lots of people tell me welding too fast. Most of those people had experience welding steel not aluminum. I gave them a vice and a hammer and any that managed to break it didn't break the weld, part of one piece always attached to the other. You can also weld towards or away from yourself, only difference is towards burns off the soot, away means you have to wire brush it off. If you are making a small cross section weld no weaving required. Most doubters have welded steel but not aluminum.

I been welding for years & we all forget the ground (esp when excited to finish) - cool to see a guy doing a new process for 1st time - My Dad has the 211, and he loves it - plenty of expansion/use! There is no such thing as too clean trying to do aluminum - it'll pay off trying to get the stacked dimes & an effective bond.

My welding Instructor used a cleaning Acid for aluminum and he also told me that Aluminum oxidizes fairly quickly.

My first time ever welding aluminum was actually a weld test for a job opportunity for after i graduate high school. thank god u i had alot of experience in mig that i applied to it lol. great video man!

Thanks for the video! It's great to watch someone else learning. It makes me feel like crap when a master shows you how and then it's your turn and it doesn't work out the same. You have a great attitude and I'm sure by now you have it down.

You did a great job! This is exactly how I learn and advance myself. The first steps can be very nasty and discouraging but don't you give up! If you go through 100 tips then so be it, you will master the machine... I learned to TIG weld from RU-vid videos and my first efforts were very ugly. And now my stainless steel and tungsten weld are very nice. Thank you for your video and don't ever give up.

Thanks for the tips- I figured out the tip cut and rewind, but cleaning the back side I needed to know that- you the man!

I weld aluminum, mostly 16 gauge aluminum with a spool gun, things i learned are ; I use a miller 252 with 100% argon, flow gauge at least 30, always push with the spool gun, you will see better results with pushing instead of pulling, my settings are usually 14.5-17 volts and wire feed speed on the gun from 2-1/2 to 3-1/4. Love your video i was in the same boat but after a few years, nailed it :)

I like you sharing that experience now I know that to do and what no to do thanks

Thanks for the tape. I think the comment about keeping it clean is very important. Look forward to your next spot Steve

Hey Brian, Tks for the experience. We are ready to get our first mig welder. Leaning on the Millermatic 180 and the extra spool gun for aluminum. Don't feel alone, I lost a bottle also. Kept the burn on. Don

You're welcome- thanks for stopping by.

Hold your gun like in 45 degrees angle make a puddle accommodate yourself where you can actually see the puddle and make little arcs from left to right and keep spreading the puddle, rest your left hand in a solid area and use it to guide the gun, its easier to learn if you drag the puddle towards you and practice, practice, practice, that's the key, other than that..very nice welding machine machine I'm buying mine today, nice review on the specs.

I know, you're a first timer, give you a break, so on and so forth. But as guy who's "paid to do it professionally," that was an hilarious scene of a man attempting to weld aluminum.

TIG is probably the way to go I think.

3/4" is a good stick out. I wouldn't say I've done well going fast. Doing short sections and allowing the work to cool between has worked best.

I have a pretty healthy self esteem. I'm in it for the learning/teaching opportunities. Thanks Dave!

THANK YOU!

thanks for sharing! I have a 180 and have alsways been curious about alum welding and like you, never had an ounce of education in it. Your presentation helps and I know I can do it too now! I love your attitude!

Love this video. For us novices, this is what we need to build confidence. Haters gotta hate. F-them.

My preference is of little consequence- life teaches a person much more when they are open to having the experience. I enjoy learning in whatever language or discipline I can.

HI Brian, I give you a lot of credits, I haven't had the confidence to starts my welding machine as it sits in the Garage with a $400.00 cylinder with 25/75 argon and Co2.

The other thing I meant to mention Brian is that I notice you're working on the floor. You might have better control with the piece in a vice on a bench at a comfortable working height - better for your back too :-)

I want all my welds to look robotic like richard's, guess its off to vocational school for me (post from a month ago) great video picking up my 211 today after work and watching everything I can find. Very helpful

I would like to give you some tips I learned. 1 - I hold the gun straight up, 2 - the black is normal, 4-you will definitely know when you don't have enough shielding gas the weld will look terrible and sometimes you can drill out the messed up tips

Perfect video. I'm not a welder either but this is how to learn. Get as much information as you can and then learn by doing the task. Correcting mistakes and keep trying.

when you was trying to stack dimes and the weld was sinking, to much heat in the work piece, think and look at your work wile welding, all that heat has to go somewhere and well its the work that take is all. alum is a good heat sink but not all that great for constant welding on, let it cool off some n burn some more, noticed it was warping, alum will also tell you if its getting to hot by looking at the bead, if its ripples r getting smooth then its time to cool it with a air nozzle or let it sit. dont remember how many spools ive ran out, to many to remember, my first welds was, well,,, puke on a stick looked better i could say.. your travel speed got to fast and your angle went wrong, you'll improve as you practice. yes u can drag weld with it. just takes practice to find what works best for you, i drag on thin stuff to keep from blowing holes in it, but if its real thin i just tig it. time an practice and it will come natural to ya, the tips can be cleaned up and reused, think ive used the one on my mig at work for bout a year. got a few .035 tips that i can now run .045 through. lol and oh, $25 on welding supply com they have locktite can of ceramic nozzle spray, well worth it to help save your tips, coat the bottom of your cone and spray the hole inside of the cone wile its on your gun getting the tip as well, the burn back dont stick as bad and spatter falls right off. have fun and practice practice

Thanks man... I REALLY appreciate you putting this video up , and sharing your experience , it was a big help to me !!

Thanks for the video, I just got a Millermatic 180 with same spool gun. I found your video after laying some hideous "welds", and was amused to see you have the same issues as me with the hose clamp, feeding the wire, forgetting the ground clamp, and burning up a tip resulting in a huge mess in the gun. Glad it's not just me!

Thank you- and thanks for the encouragement!

Thanks for the encouragement! I weld side to side too. And you're right- the camera has it's own effect- kind of rushes you/distracts you.

It is. It was a POS NIGHTMARE because it had a clamp undone inside the torch sleave. Once I figured that out and fixed it AND learned it's a constant contact style it's been a champ. I've really liked it- especially for the price.

I started off with Arc. It's pretty cool for thick materials.

Be Kind Rewind is a great movie.

Thanks for the feedback!

Wire feed aluminum is very difficult. I went to school for welding and we did 10ga aluminum with TiG and MiG. Tig was a lot easier because you get better heat control plus pre and post flow of gas. We used Lincoln training C300 machines with their Aluminum Mig gun. Much easier to do it that way than using a spool gun. But no one really wants to spend dang near $9,000 for all that.

Good vid. I just did the same thing the last two days. I didnt blow a tip yet, but I did have the wire speed a little low and the wire would molten ball up like a water balloon, then drop, then molten ball up, and drop again. It worked just looked weird. Problem was the wire was too slow feeding into the sweet spot, but the immediate area was still hot enough to melt the wire like solder anyway. So faster wire speed fixed that, I got the proper spray.

I have the same machine & spool gun. The first aluminum job I did was on 4" square tubing with an 1/8th wall. It worked great except for the inherent cold starts.

Love this, I guess I'm not the only one that would show this without trying it first. Learn more from the mistakes than a lucky hit. Keep up the interesting tests.

doing my first time now :) Thanks for your video!

No one is perfect.... some people fail at commenting, some people are long and boring. We all get by just the same.

Well spoken sir.

Welcome- great to hear from you!

the first accessory I purchased when I bought my mts250s was a spool gun. Great tool and opens up the potential for aluminum welding. Nice video.

Thanks I just got one yesterday. I was doing the same thing last night lol. Thanks for the time and sharing.

You may need to reverse the polarity for aluminum welding by reversing ground and lead cable.

i got to 13 minutes, then realised "why am i even watching this, ive never welded anything and i have no clue what a MIG spool gun is! hahaha i only really watch your bike and car vids :)

Try turning the wire speed down, its called spray welding. If the machine is set right spray welding also cuts down on the spatter. The black should never be on the bead but it is normal for it to be on both sides of it. Try cleaning it with a rag rather than a wire brush. Always push.

I'll start off by saying awesome video. I hate when people say 1st time welding x product and it turns out great , either via editing video or being proficient to start . Your video is real life with the frustrations and trial by dial . All the research I've done using the spool gun , is use at the same angle as tig and pushing instead of pulling . I have also found that the spool guns leak in regards to shielding gas leakage and not having diffuser this info is from weldingtipsandtricks , he explains why you get the black soot and its a combo of low flow to fast of wire speed and irregular shielding gas pattern . I am getting my first spool gun this week . I have tried tig welding aluminum but can't keep a steady pace for longer runs longer than a foot.