Aluminum Welding

[Stacey K]

I would be happy to accept an all expenses paid trip to Texas for the BF and I…he can train you on all of them! [emoji23]


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[Scotchbrite]

Yes, we generally weld the cabinets on the inside only.

 

[GAC05]

Better living through chemistry:

 

[netsol]

Here's something I always heard about welding from when I got into this business and kinda wondered if it was true or not.

I know lotsa old-timers who welded and some wore the helmets and some didn't all the time. Anyway, 2 of the old guys I knew developed epilepsy and they claimed it was from welding...... all the bright flickering light and did something to brain waves or something.

Any truth to that ??

The flash from welding can be the trigger event for a seizure.
You can have the propensity all your life, and either never or rarely have an episode, or, like one of my friends, who lived alone, be completely unaware that he was having periodic seizures. When he got married, his wife discovered he was having at least one seizure a week

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I would be happy to accept an all expenses paid trip to Texas for the BF and I…he can train you on all of them! [emoji23]

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I got a great, all inclusive package that includes travel, lodging and food.

 

[GAC05]

We are in the middle of repairing almost all of the roadside monolith signs for a gas station chain of 13 stores.
The units are aluminum panels on steel frames with acrylic/Lexan cut-outs for the backlit areas.
Aluminum extrusions around the backlit panels are glued in place - no welding on any of them (and no way to remove/replace a panel without prying one of the extrusions off). Looks like a combo of VHB and some structural adhesive. They have started to fail, with panels coming loose, popping out, or dropping inside the can.
They were made in Indonesia and have been up for the last 8-10 years. We have done some spot repairs for panels getting cracked by the weather and a few drunk drivers.
So far the repairs have been holding without issue using VHB and the structural adhesives on all the exposed edges.
Spot welding in the extrusions would seem like a much easier way to do these but they have not wanted us to re-paint the exteriors - yet.

 

[GAC05]

I got a great, all inclusive package that includes travel, lodging and food.

View attachment 158160

Is that temporary barrier - fencing in, or fencing out, the crime scene?

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Tig welding is like playing the drums, mig welding is like playing a drum.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Good point. Forgot about that. I wear a Miller LPR-100. Works a treat. Was at a clients shop burnin' wire and the owner stopped and asked how much more there was to do. Told him about a days worth of work. He looked straight at me and said: "You can go home now". I asked if I did something wrong he said we're all gagging up there. Managed to smoke everybody out of the second floor offices and never smelled anything.

If you want to get grossed out look at the filters after a week of welding. Absolutely filthy and that would have been going in your lungs.

Anything that turns your boogers a different color is not good for you. Welding galvanized is my favorite.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Is that temporary barrier - fencing in, or fencing out, the crime scene?

In the ghetto...you never know

 

[kcollinsdesign]

I have had great success using Alumiweld for simple frames and repairs.

Most of our fabrication is out-sourced. If you have enough business you might be able to justify adding a welding area, buying TIG equipment, and staffing qualified welders. You will also need a large paint booth, the ability to mix acrylic polyurethane, and material handling equipment. I would venture to say that if you can project over $1M in fabricated aluminum sign sales, making your own might be a viable option (you still might find out-sourcing is a more profitable alternative). Most sign shops will find installation, service, and maintenance to be more profitable than fabrication.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

You can sub out paint. We do a lot for manufacturers of all types of things. Most fab shops, not saying sign shops, don't have their own blast and paint facility

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I have had great success using Alumiweld for simple frames and repairs.

Most of our fabrication is out-sourced. If you have enough business you might be able to justify adding a welding area, buying TIG equipment, and staffing qualified welders. You will also need a large paint booth, the ability to mix acrylic polyurethane, and material handling equipment. I would venture to say that if you can project over $1M in fabricated aluminum sign sales, making your own might be a viable option (you still might find out-sourcing is a more profitable alternative). Most sign shops will find installation, service, and maintenance to be more profitable than fabrication.

I don't have plans of building a fab shop.. I just personally have interest in acquiring the skill... and since I'm in signs, I could have a small application for it.

 

[ikarasu]

Mig is pretty easy to learn - Aluminum welding is a lot harder than steel welding. We've had a few guys self teach eachother how to weld aluminum with a mig within a few days of playing around... Granted we weld real estate frames and a few custom podiums and stuff, nothing that needs a perfect weld - I'm sure theyre far from professionals, but for what we do... a guy can learn within a day and "perfect" it through practice within a few weeks. Now our normal welder whos been doing it for years can run circles around them and do stuff I doubt theyd ever be able to do.


I will second the safety part of it though - Our guys use 3M Masks/filters specifically made for welding...and within minutes of putting a new filter on, it goes black. Same with eye protection - we have a large 20 FT by 20 FT area thats closed off with welding curtains... The door isnt always fully closed...and I've looked up many times when I see a blue light in the corner of my eye... one time I was about 10 FT away and I felt like someone poured salt in my eye for 10 minutes. Arc flash is no joke...

Taking a night class or quick course may be worth it just to learn the safety aspects of it.... Most of it is common sense like always wear your helmet / face mask (Most important), Cover your whole body - Welding is a big UV lamp... Even if you're not worried about burning yourself, it can cause cancer / give you a slow / delayed burn you're not even aware of until it's too late. All small things... but most can permanently injure you quickly.

An "essential" welding course runs about $125 over here for a 1 day course, well worth it to get the basics and some tips on what part of the basics you need to improve. It's especially worth it if its a passion project and you wont be doing it daily to hone your skills

 

[rjssigns]

Anything that turns your boogers a different color is not good for you. Welding galvanized is my favorite.

Oooh yeah, the little "ghosts" that fly around when the coating vaporizes. I avoid that s#it like the plague.

 

[rjssigns]

Here's something I always heard about welding from when I got into this business and kinda wondered if it was true or not.

I know lotsa old-timers who welded and some wore the helmets and some didn't all the time. Anyway, 2 of the old guys I knew developed epilepsy and they claimed it was from welding...... all the bright flickering light and did something to brain waves or something.

Any truth to that ??

Never heard of the epilepsy thing but won't say it isn't possible. One thing you can get is cancer from welding stainless. Hexvalent Chromium fumes will absolutely and permanently "F" you up.
Liver and lungs are the most affected. COPD is a known side effect.

 

[Greg Kelm]

There are tons of good youtube videos for aluminum. I taught myself how to MIG weld steel and TIG aluminum. Best advice is to get a 220v everlast TIG, bottle of argon and just go to town. Practice is key!

 

[Ray Miller]

A guy down the road from me has a few welding machines. They're really big. One is close to the size of a picnic table. The rest are big too. Other than one of them they're all on wheels and need a truck or tractor to move them. But he doesn't do aluminum. He's made many things for me over the years.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

The bigger welders can usually weld heavier material but the biggest difference is a higher duty cycle. The smaller carry around types are typically only rated at a 20% duty cycle. That is fine for small projects but they aren't a production machine