I'm a welding instructor and all that has been said is good advice. Aluminum isn't that bad if you have the right alloy wire. 100% argon for aluminum. 75/25 for mild steel. There is one called trigas that has helium added. Helium is for welding stainless. Its not nearly as nice as 75/25 on mild steel though. Spool guns are the best for aluminum if all you have is a MIG. You have to have a high freq tig to weld aluminum. If you will be cutting alot of thick metal I would invest in a chop saw blade with carbide teeth...they will last alot longer. If you will be cutting every once in a while and nothing thicker than 1/4" I would just use abrasive discs. Reason is lots of thick cutting you'll pay for a carbide tip blade pretty quick...but ever so often and stuff under 1/4" you'll have to do alot of cutting to go through a bunch of the abrasive discs. If you have any questions about using the machine just pm me and see if I can help out. Quick startup tip on your mig. Take your heat and multiply by 10 and start there. Normally you will turn your wire speed up a bit from there but to start out that will keep you from building up to much filler. Also migs like clean metal...a little oil residue and such won't hurt anything alot...BUT...the cleaner the metal the easier it is for the welder to mig. Even taking a flap wheel and cleaning the mill scale...(gray color) off the metal and making it shiny will make it easier on you. Anyhow, holler at me if you have any questions. Have fun!!

Last edited by peachgrower; 01/12/17 04:00 PM.