Aluminum Stick Electrodes any good?

I tried them and was very disappointed. The weld looks good outside, but breaks easily and looks like a bagel dough inside, full of bubbles.

I've used them in Vietnam with air and gas rig, because there wasn't anything else around and they worked pretty good, but it took a lot of heat to to get the aluminum base hot enough to get started. The worse was when I was welding a machine gun mount to an armored personnel carrier, about an inch and a quarter aluminum plate. Should have bolted them on. I also repaired a diesel tank with them on a big earth mover with the arc welder and they worked well also. Welding aluminum without tig or mig is quite challenging, when you don't do it all the time.

I used them and still occasionally do. They work well enough. Some things to remember however..

They burn FAST. At least 2x as fast as a steel electrode.

They wont burn as pretty as a stick electrode..but they do the job well enough.

Its best to experiment on some aluminum scrap before trying your hand on something thin, or something that is going to be visible to all.

Read the amps/polarity requirements of the manufacturer. Its pretty damned important to get it right. Most are AC..some are actually straight polarity DC and so forth.

If I was going to be needing to weld on an aluminum fender or similar on a boat trailer (for example)...Id not be the slightest bit afraid of doing it with stick. But read the recommendations and do a couple trials to get the hang of it.

Gunner

"A conservative who doesn't believe? in God simply doesn't pray; a godless liberal wants no one to pray. A conservative who doesn't like guns doesn't buy one; a liberal gun-hater wants to disarm us all. A gay conservative has sex his own way; a gay liberal requires us all to watch and accept his perversion and have it taught to children. A conservative who is offended by a radio show changes the station; an offended liberal wants it banned, prosecuted and persecuted." Bobby XD9

What he said, and keep a short arc.

Steve

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Ayup. Long arc makes wierd blobs and a real wierd looking messy crappy weld.

And it happens QUICK too

"A conservative who doesn't believe? in God simply doesn't pray; a godless liberal wants no one to pray. A conservative who doesn't like guns doesn't buy one; a liberal gun-hater wants to disarm us all. A gay conservative has sex his own way; a gay liberal requires us all to watch and accept his perversion and have it taught to children. A conservative who is offended by a radio show changes the station; an offended liberal wants it banned, prosecuted and persecuted." Bobby XD9