how hard is it to tig weld aluminum ac/dc

any advice a on machine or links

i am a chef so i got a steady hand ish

i could pick this up quickly watching you tube videos

wanting to tig weld inter cooling pipe or a box for my filter any advice let me know.

keep safe

chef

Depends on your budget mate .... ac/dc machines are not cheap .... there is a few cheap ones on ebay .... wich are best to keep away from ....

http://www.sipuk.co.uk/inverter-welders-arc-tig-mig-mma/sip-05162-weldmate-p177hf-ac-dc-tig-arc-inverter-welder.html

Either that or keep an eye out for a good qaulity  second hand ac/dc tig welder .....they still fetch some good money though ....its and expensive hobby lol you will also need to get a regulator and with welding aliminium you will use helium gas so will need to source out a gas supllier for that  i can throw you up a link if you wish ....

I tbought u only used helium on a dc machine,?

No mate pure argon for stainless steel and such like materials in dc .... when welding aliminuim you use helium on ac

really i did not know that you use helium for aliminuim not
argon thank you for that.
i did not revise its a expensive hobbies or thing to do
nomad a link would be great please you never know what farther Christmas might buy me

I just bought a dc tig cheers for link Leighton  
 
but heres the thing like you mr chef I know fook all about tig welding as have only ever used oxy setylene and then mig to do all my not so good welding lol
 
anyway talking to a mate of mine last Friday down the local whos a good welder on all types of tig stuff and he said 'why on earth did you just buy a dc unit, send it back and I can get you an ac dc rig for around £650'
which I was gonna do but then he told me a lot more on how you need to purge pipes etc to get a good quality weld plus the fact its taken him 2 years of practice to learn to weld to the level hes at now.
 
so I thought bollox il stick with the dc and just learn how to weld stainless and titanium nicely as that will take me months of practice here and there.
did not realise how complicated all this welding lark is with a tig so would be a total waste of money me trying to weld allie with ac dc unit after a year still might not have got my head round it.
far easier and cheaper for me to give it to him and say weld that for me please lol

http://www.weldinggases.co.uk/index.php?_a=category&cat_id=41 
Pure helium is used for thicker applications  otherwise you use a argon/helium mix ..... with adding helium it will increase the amps so say if you was welding at 15 amps it will be then running 18 due to the use of helium  it will all make some sense with abit of research fella .

Its defo an art like you say bob its also very complicated ..... sealing then purging is to get full penetration welds if you use this method it will look as good inside as it is on top  but with abit of practice you can do full penetrated welds without .

mine arrived today but due to all the shit I had going on ive not even opened the box yet

it certainly does sound quite complex, il probably just practice here and there as and when I get time and hopefully should get a little more skilled then.
long as I can do stainless to a half descent level il be happy with my achievements.
I know my limits and time capabilities and I just haven't got time to get my head round the aluminium stuff so will just pay someone like my mate to do a bit here and there if I need any done
saves all the headaches that way lol

btw is this true?
he was telling me do not wear any jewellery whilst tigging as it can cause real nasty burns (even rings etc must be removed 

It can arc even through gloves  and same with a mobile phone in your pocket  it can screw it up ....so in a short yes it can do  mate  not unless you wear rubber gloves under the gauntlets ....

Any ideas on the ac/dc tig welder your mate could get you bob make model etc ?

it was the sip one from catalogue you sent me think it was £780 or something
well that's the one my mate xan supposedly get a bit cheaper

Oh right  i still couldnt justify spending a few more hundred quid on a hobby  have you seen how many buttons and twisty knobs on that machine it look like the inside of the starship enterprise ...

Lol nomad thought that myself .
like bob said i think i will just pay someone to to a job for me.
but not many out there not in oswesty anyways

nomad wrote:Oh right  i still couldnt justify spending a few more hundred quid on a hobby  have you seen how many buttons and twisty knobs on that machine it look like the inside of the starship enterprise ...

yeah its mind boggling tbh

its fine if you've got nothing to do and are bored so you got lots of time to get your head round it all and practice but just to weld a bit of allie occasionally nah il be happy just to be able to tig stainless to a half descent degree.........theres another year of my life gone  

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/
I found this site very useful for all aspects of welding .... defo worth a look for hobby enthusiasts ....