going o start a welding class for high school, trying to get tooled up. goal: to be able aluminum boat building capabilities...tig or mig with small budget

by John Hetrick
(Nanwalek,A.K.)

We are going to start a welding class at the Nanwalek High school and need to tool up..my questions are what equipment,to buy ,tig, or mig,are looking to go up to 1/2 inch aluminum. Any other hints you can give would be greatly appreciated thank you very much. John Hetrick. e-mail pittsburgh36@live.com

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My suggestion would be to have both tig and mig.

You at least need to have one tig machine for special situations.

The consensus of welding manufacturers like miller and lincoln is that anything under 1/8" goes better with tig. There are exceptions to that rule but its a pretty good rule.

For 1/2" thick aluminum, you might consider getting some mixed gas with about 25 % helium mixed with the argon. You will want to have pure argon as well but the helium added will boost the heat of the arc for that thick stuff.