A friend gave me his shops old hifrequncy auto start unit to hook to my welder for tigging aluminum. I spent a few hours today making cables and hooking it up. I only had a little bit of gas and it was helium but I gave it a try. I think i had too much amperage on. (175 to 185) because it didnt look to good. Also the tungstgen was glowing. I think it shouldnt but i am not sure. I am trying to weld 1/8 aluminum. Some of you folks are very good at it. I realize sometimes a lot of that is pure talent and I dont have that but I know there are still things you can tell me that will help me learn. In fact some of you may be familar with the HF unt am using (Arcweld ) I am using my 225 Miller for a power source and have it hooked up on AC. The switch on the Hf unit is also on AC. Any tips would be appreciated. I am Ok with steel although I have only done it scratch tig. This is the first I have tried a easy start HF unit ever. Don
When I had my old Westinghouse Hi-Freq unit running off my Lincoln 250/250 arc welder I made up a chart to show the best setting on the different thicknesses of aluminum and steel I Tigged. It took a while to figure out the sweet spots(settings),but without the luxury of a foot pedal it's the best way. BTW-On aluminum you want continuous Hi-Freq on AC
Thanks. I checked the Miller recommend and they said 115 to 130 HF-AC for 1/8th aluminum. Does that sound about right? I was way above that as i had been misled I fear by a fear mongerer who told me he doubted if my power source (225 thunderbolt) had enough suds to weld even 1/8 aluminum. . Don
Helium is to hot and harsh a gas to use.You need a bottle of straight argon.Turn your amperage down.Try 120.Check what type tungsten you have.You can use differant types but pure (green) is the best for your use.
I started here Sat . (Please dont laugh too hard) This morning after about 20 minutes of adjusting and fiddling i got this far before my gas ran out completely. Next I willl get some proper argon and practice till I am happy. Don
Get a stainless steel wire brush to take the oxidation off the aluminum to be welded together. Keep it for "Aluminum ONLY" so it does not get contaminated.
In addition make sure you are using the correct filler rod that is compatible with the grade of aluminum you are welding.
1. You will need to make sure that you are in the high freq mode continously when welding alum. 2. make sure the material is brushed clean & you can also wipe it down with alkahol 3. The all around alum welding rod is 4000 class & available at any welding supply. 4.As far as tungsten goes the thoriated or red coded works on all materials & is universially accepted today for most ferrous & non ferrous metals. 5. Argon gas is prefered for almost all tig welding. Although helium has a better electrical conductivity it also must be used at double the volume. When welding alum you must put enough heat into the material that it melts before you add filler rod. Usethe smallest rod that you can get stisfactory welds with.
Just a tip for you, an easy way to get a proper ball on your Tungsten is to select DC+ and strike an arc against a piece of non-ferrous metal. The tip will melt into a perfect ball. Select AC and get with it. I agree with others, use green dot pure Tungsten electrodes, pure Argon gas and clean the weld area with a clean stainless steel brush just before you weld. The oxide coating on the surface melts at about 800 degrees higher than the Aluminum underneath and the heat will blow away the metal before the puddle starts to form. Practice, practice, practice.
In the welding book I have by Richard Finch he states that you don't have to ball the tungsten. Just start welding and a perfect ball will form by itself. Frank
I have welded since the late 70's (just for myself) both stick and gas). While unempolyed all of 2009, I took the Miller/Hobart tig class at the local junior college. Take a course if you can. You will teach yourself bad habits that a good welding teacher will help you avoid. I highly recommend the course. What I learned in a semester on good equipment, with a highly skilled instructor was worth the money. BTW I now own my own machine, just a Lincoln Aquarewave TIG 175 and have make a bit of the cost back on a couple of welding jobs. If you can't take a course, then here is what we did. We concentrated on technique over varying things. Example, we used 2% thoriated tungsten, sharpened, 3/32" for steel, stainless, and aluminum. We never balled it for aluminum. Running on AC will pretty much do it for you. Oh, and we only used pulse for stainless, where it was very much appreciated. Don't run too hot, but don't move until you have a good puddle. For 1/8" we ran around between 120 and 140 amps. You will have to back off on the pedal towards the end more on aluminum then on steel. Keep a very close distance from your tungsten to the work, about 1/8". This is probably the hardest part at first. The Hobart instiutute of welding Technology Gas Tungsten Arc Welding was our course book, much more useful info then you will ever find in Finch's books. Also, an invaluable handout on welding aluminum, that our instructor gave us, entitled "Making Successful TIG Welding Repairs on Aluminum" is available by clicking the following link: http://weldingdesign.com/mag/successful-tig-repairs-aluminum-0209/ Tony
While I appreciate that some enjoy courses I learn best in the quiet, on my own, I am paying attention to what you tell me. I am very good at gas welding and I find tig some what similar. There is no chance of a watercooled torch unless someone gives me one. Yes the helium I was using was also ballon grade because i had a small bottle on hand. Argon is not in this months budget so i will have to be patient till next month. I taught myself to tig weld with the scratch tig. I would try a bit and ask a lot of questions Finally i got the hang of it. The welding shop supplied me with mixed gas for that although I didnt know it as I didnt pick it up and it wasnt until I put my glasses on and read the label that i discovered it. I was suspicious right frpm the start but when i asked i was assured it was the right gas. I went to the supplier and he insisted for steel i use mixed gas for tig. I said no to mig but he insited. i contacted his head office as i thought something is wrong here and sure enuf they agreed it should be argon not mixed like the local guy was trying to sell me. Still i am not bad with tig and mixed gas. Yeah i know I could have avoided all this if I took a course but look at the fun and experience i have had. Anyway until i get the argon I am stuck. I have to buy the bottle too so it wont be cheap first time round . Last time another shop lent me their spare bottle and brought it here full without me asking so I am in no hurry to criticize them. Anyway I have kept track of all your recomendations and as soon as the gas gets here will put it into practice. Don
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