Tigging Aluminum with an Engine-Drive

cole5969 · Mon Mar 02, 2015 12:08 am

Howdy. I'm new to tigging and had a question about aluminum. I read somewhere that you can't tig weld with just any old ac current and that it has to be high frequency continuous. All I've got to work with is an old weldmark engine drive that I stick weld with every now and then. I was wondering if I could weld aluminum with it by just flipping the switch to ac and getting after it.Thanks.

GreinTime · Mon Mar 02, 2015 1:46 am

As far as I know Cole, the short answer would be no, not without a high frequency converter.

cole5969 · Mon Mar 02, 2015 1:52 am

Ya know of any thats cheaper than $13000? The welder didn't cost that much! What exactly would one look for in a hi freq converter?

GreinTime · Mon Mar 02, 2015 2:41 am

Honestly man, by the time you find someone selling a box that would work, you would be better off buying an Everlast (or comparable. I only list Everlast because I have personal experience with them) ac/DC TIG machine (that can also stick weld.)

My dad has an old dialarc HF, which has hi frequency built in. For him to find a box that allowed him to use a different pedal, it took almost 20 years and a few hundred dollars.

It would be a similar situation trying to find a hi frequency box that had start/continuous mode. By the time you find one, wire it, and test it, all pending that it works, you will have spent as much money+time that it would cost for a machine already capable of welding aluminum thst would likely provide better performance.

cole5969 · Mon Mar 02, 2015 2:48 am

I'm glad ya told me before I got the boss man to invest $500 in a torch kit that would have been worthless. All we needed a tig for was the aluminum steps on the semi's.I would have felt really stupid and probably really fired. Thanks.

Bill Beauregard · Mon Mar 02, 2015 9:00 am

For me TIGging aluminum was a lifelong dream. It opened up new possibilities of builds and repairs I couldn't consider without. I spent more on a TIG machine than I could reasonably justify. You have two ways to play it, buy a big old dirty Dialarc HF machine, or find someone like me nearby who will make the welds for you.

cole5969 · Tue Mar 03, 2015 2:46 am

It is a dream of mine also. I want to learn as much about welding and do as much welding as humanly possible. I'm only 15 but I already got my life laid out. Tulsa welding school in florida and then weld the rest of my life away. I really ddidn't mean to get this deep. In short I'd go with option 1.

TRACKRANGER · Tue Mar 03, 2015 5:55 am

cole5969 wrote:It is a dream of mine also. I want to learn as much about welding and do as much welding as humanly possible. I'm only 15 but I already got my life laid out. Tulsa welding school in florida and then weld the rest of my life away. I really ddidn't mean to get this deep. In short I'd go with option 1.

Hey Cole5969
Great input, and also, what a fantastic ambition. Good on you for your enthusiasm and efforts. That kind of attitude will sure see success, and other more experienced folks stand back in awe. Keep at it. I really admire young people who have a goal, and set about achieving it.

Go for it!

Trevor