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Need Help Whats the best or fastest way to weld thin aluminum?

0igo

New Member
It’s there a safe way to weld .04 aluminum pieces together? I’m thinking of going out to go buy a welder but I know there’s different types, do any of you have recommendations on what I should use?
 

GAC05

Quit buggin' me
It is a skill like most anything and takes time, practice, and good equipment. See if you can rent a rig and do some tests to see if it something you would be comfortable doing.
I used to do radiator repair and a big part of that was brazing and soldering on very thin copper header tanks, cores & tubes. It took a long while to get good at it. Then radiators started being made of aluminum and plastic......
 

visual800

Active Member
.040 is very thin to weld on and I would expect some warping, have a you thought about lords adhesives?
 

Jester1167

Premium Subscriber
Not to mention aluminum is one of the hardest metals to weld. .040 will be a nightmare and I would look for other options.
 

Tessellate

New Member
Before holding a squeegee I was a licensed mechanic turning wrenches in a custom performance shop. Fair share of pushing rod on 6061... 0.04” aluminum is in the pop can world... you need a very stable machine but more importantly - years of practice. Only process that can do that thin gauge would be Tig - and you are basically starting at the hardest process to learn.

as mentioned if possible stick with the two part epoxy’s or if it needs to be welded - look for a local welding shop that specializes in aluminum / stainless / titanium.

Any Joe can use a glue gun and MiG to pieces so ensure the jobber you sub this to isn’t a mouse that makes Swiss cheese:)
 

Pauly

Printrade.com.au
Less about the welder, more about how good you can weld.

I would be looking at a TIG with a soft start feature minimum. even pulse width modulation too.
 

MikePatterson

Head bathroom cleaner.
.040 is doable but your will probably need a bottle of whiskey and another bottle of zanax. I would use 3m panel bond adhesive or Lord Fusion panel adhesive. If you prep the metal right, the metal will tear before the joint will.
 

The Big Squeegee

Long Time Member
I have welded and been certified for welding aluminum. For something that thin, I would use a TIG welder with a copper backing.
 

iamclaus

New Member
Would aluminum soldering be strong enough for your application? It isn’t really welding, as all you’re using is a blowtorch, bringing the area up to temperature, and letting the aluminum solder stick melt and flow into the joints.

 
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