Welding Aluminum?

Anyone done this??

I am goin to attempt to make my own dash (the whole dash), center console and door panel trim... and maybe even headliner and rear trim. I was looking at taking a class on welding as I have no experience doing it (none whatsoever) but, I see these welding rods on the net that say all you need is a propane torch and you can weld aluminum just as good as if you used a welder.

Sound too good to be true?

Any suggestions, advice?

Take the class. If nothing else, you'll get to use REAL equipment for once, and will understand why you probably don't want to mess around with the aluminum "soldering rods" that some specialty companies offer.

There are a few things you MUST do to successfully weld aluminum:

1. The substrate must be CLEAN!

2. The welder needs to produce a lot of heat quickly.

3. The parts must be clean.

4. The welder needs to have good temperature control.

5. Everything must be CLEAN.

6. Thin parts will require support so they don't sag.

7. Did I mention that the parts should be really clean?

8. See #3.

If you don't believe me, ask Earl. He might be fat, but he's not stoopid...

Ok, I figured that the class would be my best bet. I guess they give a lot of info you'd have to figure out on your own, and I'm all for skipping the bullshit and getting down to business.

Thanks for the input.

A few questions: What type of welder do I need to get? (TIG, MIG, Oxy-Actylene, etc, do any of them do regular metals and aluminum or are they specific purpose only?) Does the duty rating really make that big of a difference?

I did it in high school its a really hard to keep it from burning holes through the metel. Good luck man

Just registered for a class, starts 9/12. We'll how it goes I guess.

Jim.. if you make your own dash, could you write in "Rally Sport was here" on it?

Thanks. :)

Oxy-Actylene welding is easy and probably the cheapest way to weld, BUT I dont know if it is constant enough or fast enough to weld aluminum. I just took welding this year and we used torches to weld and we arc welded. The torch kits are cheap but the tanks are where the cost gets you. A small mig welder from sears or home depot might be the way to go.

the only real way to weld aluminum is to tig it, speaking from experince, its one of the hardest by far(i can mig, tig, arc, and gas weld) but its alot easier to control your temp over other styles by far, but it takes practice

hmmmm..... I had a friend trying to tell me to use screws to hold everything together. To me, that doesn't seem like a very good way to build something that is going to be subjected to as much vibration as a dash board.

I think I'm going to put her back together, with a set of cheap ass gauges from pep boys just to get it back on the road, and over the next 6 months or so, if I can get the proper classes and equipment, maybe redo things one at a time. (Spread the cost out, and get to drive it in the meantime). Got some cool ideas on how to do the interior... And if I put any reference to Rally on my dash.... It'll be either that he's my brother in fatness, or I'll put a counter on the dash that indicates how many cheesesteaks he owes me for putting his name on my dash.

:lol: Jim i'll treat you to some cheesesteaks if you ever come over.. I found a little place that sells em over here (Aside from hooters too, btw)

How bout rivets instead of screws??

You could use screws if you used the high strength lock tite.

argon shielded welders can weld aluminum.. oxy acet is the worst to use on aluminum.. the flame is so strong itll just burn right through it

Didn't think about rivets.... might work. I think as far as screws, he was talking about using a sheet metal screw with a lcokwasher and nut, or one of the nuts with the nylon lock ring in it. Not the kind of look I'm going for.

I've enrolled in a welding class, starts 9/12, and there's only 5 people in it. So I should be able to get the instructor to direct my efforts a little bit towards doing aluminum and/or sheetmetal.

The hardest part is not burning a hole in the material your doing. Alum, you have to do fast and not stay in one spot to long. I got to spend a week on alum, my freshman year in hs and I could not get it. I did great with the Oxy-Actylene. You should do fine...

Didn't think about rivets.... might work. I think as far as screws, he was talking about using a sheet metal screw with a lcokwasher and nut, or one of the nuts with the nylon lock ring in it. Not the kind of look I'm going for.

I've enrolled in a welding class, starts 9/12, and there's only 5 people in it. So I should be able to get the instructor to direct my efforts a little bit towards doing aluminum and/or sheetmetal.

Yeah I wouldn't use sheetmetal screws and nylocks that would be ugly.

Grease his palm with a $50.

Grease his palm with a $50.

LMAO! Never thought about bribing a teacher to learn what you want to learn, but not a bad idea.

Didn't think about rivets.... might work. I think as far as screws, he was talking about using a sheet metal screw with a lcokwasher and nut, or one of the nuts with the nylon lock ring in it. Not the kind of look I'm going for.

I've enrolled in a welding class, starts 9/12, and there's only 5 people in it. So I should be able to get the instructor to direct my efforts a little bit towards doing aluminum and/or sheetmetal.
no, dont use rivets, they will work loose over time because of the vibration