i know---i stink. But this was my first attempt at tigging aluminum. i also pulsed it when adding rod. i think aluminum is actually easier than steel and more fun, but that may be because in this case i had a pedal so i did not have to scratch started which ruins the electrode. Feel free to comment, criticize, augment etc. Don't hold back----any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated and welcomed.
i've never tried it, but that doesent look to bad! have you tried welding two pieces together yet and pounding it apart? it would be interesting to see how strong the weld is.
Thats not so bad! Better than mine. I have a Lilcoln 185 Tig and I got real discouraged practice welding on an old aluminum frying pan. Then I found out it was cast aluminum which a welder said is really tuff to weld right. I'm going to buy som clean metal and practice some more now. Thanks for posting pix.
Your a bigger man than me, mine still look like that but to ashamed to show them. Not really, but yes... practice, practice, practice, I like mild and stainless better myself.
Don't pulse with your foot. Adjust for more penetration and less cleaning. Use helium argon mix for gas. Wire brush the weldment and wipe with acetone. Use 2% thoriated tungsten.
Just practice running beads like the video.Straight argon will do you well argon mix is job specific and costs a way more not required for practice.Cleaning with a brush is a good practice to get into. Brush must be stainless and dedicated to alum only. What is your welder and what were your settings.What tungsten size what filler rod size.Get familiar with running a puddle with no filler rod and start there.Ask lots of questions and join the welding web ton of great knowledge over there. T
well i never bought a bottle for my tig so i have never used it but i keep thinking that i will be able to do some nice welds in my waqrped mind
Actually both the top (3rd bead from top) picture and bottom picture(3rd or 4th bead from top) are butt welded together----i think the instructor just wanted us to run beads, but i couldn't resist. i haven't pounded them to test, but they seem pretty strong
1) I believe it was a miller dynasty 200 (based on visual i.d. at the miller site compared to what i remember at the lab). 2) It was set at 125amps max. Other than that i don't know because, well---the instructor was kinda rushing thru it kinda downplaying the importance of setup and was kinda hopping in and out of the booths. 3) Have no idea what tungsten or rod size.
Gas welding and welding aluminum are two different animals. Did you make a "ball" tip for your 2% tungstun? Did you set up the machine/welder to A/C? You do have High Freguincy, right? Love aluminum, welds really good if all is perfect, beats you up if not. Have some fun!
Judging from your pictures, almost all the beads are still cold, do you notice that about half way through the bead it is starting to flatten out?? That's because aluminum heats up 4 times faster than steel so you either need to speed up or back off the pedal. Watch out for the big crater at the end, aluminum is famous for crater cracks. The proper way to end a bead on aluminum and stainless is to "tail out" the weld pool, meaning slowly breaking the arc by backing off the amperage. What type of machine are using, if it's an AC CONTINUOUS high frequency then you can't and shouldn't be using 2% thoriated tungsten, that is a DC tungsten. However, if you are using a high end machine like the Miller Dynasty that is AC High Frequency start only then yes you can use 2% and the biggest benefit to that is that it can and should be prepped to a conical point, you'll have much better control over the arc especially on thin aluminum as opposed to balling the end. Also 2% should never be balled only tapered. The other options for tungsten are pure (color band is green) or Cerium (color band is orange) or Zirconium (color band is brown). Cerium is nice because it's not radioactive and can be used on all currents. Aluminum is difficult to weld correctly but once you get the hang of it, it is quite nice. Good cleaning of the parent metal to remove the oxide is a must, those oxides melt at 3750, pure aluminum melts at 660, that is why you need a lot of amperage to start the puddle. Typically I teach my apprentices to start for 1/8th material around 125-150 amps to develop the puddle, ease into the pedal and don't floor it, once you get the puddle wet then back off the amps to maintain the width of puddle you want, I'd be around 100 amps once I got the puddle going. Of course the better you get the more heat you will be able to handle as your travel speeds will increase. If you have a Dynasty to work with there is a lot of settings that you can really fine tune. Things like balance, you can control the setting to set more on the positive side of the cycle for better cleaning or more on the negative for penetration, depending on what you want. Frequency is another fancy setting you can play with, on a Miller Dynasty you can change the frequency up to 250, which means you'll be deaf, LOL, a frequency setting for aluminum is around 120-165 which is nice, but again it's up to the operator and what he/she likes. As for the pulse, people often believe the pulse is what gives a nice stack of dimes look but it is not, that is hand skill, pulse is good for high heats in out of position welding, like vertical and overhead but some guys just like using it everywhere. To each there own. Remember, dipping the filler rod is the ONLY correct way to weld aluminum, beads can be made nice but if you don't allow the puddle to penetrate the corners first the you will ALWAYS get lack of fusion in the corners on a lap joint. I prefer 4043 filler rod over 5356 but again, to each his own, just remember 5356 filler rod is NOT acceptable for any high temperature service. Keep practicing, it looks like your getting the feel for it, just don't be shy on the heat especially at the start you'll be backing off anyways as the weld progresses.
Marvin, being that I taught welding . . think I may have something I'm working to with my question? Don't be so eager to jump in and spout something!
hooliganshotrods couldnt of said it any better. keep practicing your on the right path. play with settings too so you can get a feel for whats too cold and hot.
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