I used ER5356 wire. Heres a picture after I put it in vice and smashed it with a hammer a couple of times. It held up well, the weld didnt crack and it bent on either side of it. Not scientific but im not building an airplane just a small rack. Excuse the poor picture my camera sucks indoors.
As far as penetration, I butted the 2 pieces right up to each other and on the back I can still see the joint. Towards the end of the run its puddled a bit as the heat built up. Its nothing like steel, the joint is still there and there is no heat affected zone to judge by. Should I bevel the joints first or leave a little gap between the pieces?
With all the talk about how its a nightmare to mig aluminum I was not expecting to even be able to lay a bead down at all. So far Im pleased with it. I used a new stainless brush and have a new liner which I didnt replace yet.
I'd love to try a tig machine, just dont have the cash to buy one. I have an aluminum mountain bike which has impressive welds that I just drool over, so a TIG machine is definatly in my future. Im going to take some tig welding classes at the local tech college so I can get to use one before jumping in and buying one. New credit card and wanting new tools makes for a big problem for me.
