My soldering iron is a steady part of my life and I'm familiar with the theory of electrode welding due to endless timewasting on youtube, but I haven't so much as started an arc with a standard steel welder, let alone an inert gas system suitable for aluminium.And yes, it must be aluminium, because acrobatic drone frames are too heavy if you make them out of steel.For reference, I'd like to be able to do stuff like this but without having to drill too many holes (structural weakness) and use bolts and nuts (needless weight) the way I did for that model. I need to downscale, too, and below a certain size doing it with fasteners is simply unfeasible.I have other projects for which aluminium welding would be handy as well - for instance bicycle work, or my small collection of vintage moka pots (most of which have holes where they aren't supposed to exist).Of course once I learn how to weld then being able to do it with steel as well will be an important skill for my DIYing in general.Speaking of learning: I'm well aware that it'll take a fair bit of time and effort to achieve decent enough skills for my purposes, and I'm fine with that (I might try to get by with alumaloy rods and a butane torch while I git gud). But I've got to start learning from somewhere, and I don't really know where.Like... do I want a TIG system or a MIG? I've googled but failed to find a definitive answer. Amazon has various models of both of those for somewhat affordable prices (like, 200 to 300 euro) - are those any good or do I need to spend more? What about electrodes and cable - do I just get "suitable for aluminium welding" stuff and be done with it, or do I need higher selection criteria?What size gas bottle do I need? I've seen tiny disposable ones on sale, but if the situation is similar to propane/butane and camping stoves it's probably better to spend once and get a sizable bottle, then have it refilled (where do they refill argon, come to think of it?).Any hints will be very appreciated :) via /r/DIY https://ift.tt/2P6MSuh
