blown 87

I thought I was slow, it is a hard thing for me to do at this point to keep enough heat in it and not have the weld turn dull, plus to keep the heat affected zone as small as possible.
I should have the new electrical service done sometime next week, so I can go WOT if I ever need to.

Ducman82

the little V's mean you are too fast...... they should be U shaped. but when you get the nice sliver color, perfect heat. when the little one naps, ill head out to the garage and whip on out and show ya. its true with alum that you need to take the heat down as you go so the metal does not blow out a the end...

Ducman82

Touched twice at the end ( on the left) looks good right before the first touch...

blown 87

Lol, great to see even the pros do that.
For those playing along at home, he actually put two pieces of metal together, where I just ran a bead, big difference, what I did was easy, what he did is out of my reach at this point on really thin stuff.

Ducman82

don't feel to bad. thats 1/8 inch thick strips. 1 inch by 6 inch. my bud STOLE all my thing gauge... (i stole some beer so it evens its self out) i plan to get some more tomorrow so i can play more.

blown 87

Well as long as it was the kind of beer you drink then you came out ok.

I figure if I can learn how to weld this .030 stuff that should take care of most of the things I will need to make for automotive work.
it seems to me that thicker is a little easier up to a point.

I am going to try and make a couple of different tanks, a ADI/supercharger intercooler tank and a dry sump tank.
At the rate I am going it is going to be a while before I am ready to start bending metal, but this is a skill I will have to master before I can move forward on this.

I am lucky that my friend Paul Hunt (Sharkbyte here) is a metal working guru and has pretty much all the tools we will need for forming the parts needed.
That is still a ways down the road for sure.

Ducman82

the metal working is the hard part. then prep, then welding. if i had a mill, and a break, id be set

blown 87

What alloy was that you were welding?
I ask because it seems to have a cooper color to it, or is that just they way it looks in the picture.

One other thing I have found that if you forget to take the plastic backing off of the sheet aluminum it does not weld very well.

Also, when you say I am going to fast, are you talking about the travel speed or the speed at which I dip the rod?
The last few times I have been trying to go forward and heat the metal, come slightly back, add filler and go forward, then repeat.

Ducman82

travel speed, thats how you get the V ripples instead of a nice U. ya know, I'm not sure what alloy this is. i stole it from school so ill have to check on that. prob the cheap stuff for sure. .030 seems kinda thin why not 1/6? can't weight that much more and is MUCH easier to work with....

blown 87

Cause if I can weld the really thin stuff, then the thicker stuff should not be a issue.
(it was also free )

Lizard928

Greg,
Focus less on the look and shape of the weld.
With aluminum you want to run as much heat as you can. Depending on how thick the material is will depend if it will start to run away or vaporize.

I say not to focus on how it looks as I can show you a beautiful weld that is weak, and an ugly weld that is strong.
A good example of this is up hand vs down hand welding. Down hand is easy to make look good but is weak. Where as up is much stronger but is much more difficult to make look good.

Also with TIG welding AC, you have penetration vs cleaning. More penetration produces a stronger weld but doesn't look as good.
And more cleaning removes more of the oxide that forms on the surface. If you look at ducmans and you see the white on either side of the weld, this shows he has a higher cleaning rate vs penetration. This leads to a higher tungsten temp and produces more of a balled end vs pointed end.

As well what type of a TIG are you using? I have to admit I tried an inverter style and loved it. But my synchrowave 350lx is not an inverter. Also adding a pulsation effect (higher the better normally) will produce a stronger weld.

fst951

Hello.

Try the Miller Welds forum. It is great. More info there than you could ever digest. Aluminum is not the hardest to weld. Magnesium is tougher due to the same characteristics as aluminum coupled with lower melting point and easier contamination issues. Titanium is considerably harder as are some stainless, duplex and cast iron alloys. This aluminum is certainly not harder to weld than thick cross section castings as they like to crack. It is very important to devise fixtures and good processes for thicker materials.

If your machine has a pulser section, learn how it works and play with the dwell and amount of power in the background and full power cycles. Also check out the balances for electrode negative and positive settings. Aluminum can also be welded in D.C. for cylinder head repair where thick sections have to be welded quickly and efficiently. If you have the ability to change the frequency and change tungsten tip shapes and finishes, you can find some very nice settings to make your work look even better and weld better.

It is very important to understand the chemical composition of the base materials and filler materials and how that effects the heat affected zone and how the weld strength is changed. That truly is the most important aspect of all welding. Preparing the weld fitment is next followed by cleanliness and finally welding skill of welder. This assumes the welder is capable if doing the weld if the first three criteria are met.

Best of luck. I don't know much about what I write, but I did read this somewhere in a book.

blown 87

The welds have to look good, or I will trash them, call it a personality flaw, but it is what it is.

I am running a Miller Synchrowave 250DX, with pulse, which I do not use the pulse on AC, but I may buy one of the new Miller Dynasty 280's (possibly a bigger unit though), which is a inverter machine.

I have the balance set around 70%, max amperage is set at 70 for the .030, 3003 and 5052 stuff.
I understand what you are saying about the way the welds look, in fact the stack of nickels look does nothing for the weld quality.

Ducman82

pulse can be nice. getting your timing right between pulses is fun! I'm still playing with cleaning vs penetration, that why i go to school and snag practice coupons to play with at the house. (free is good ) :-)

Lizard928

While you are learning, set the balance to 55% penetration, 45% cleaning. This will give you a nicer looking weld with less skillz.
The 250DX is still a very good machine, and stay with Miller, they are WAY better IMO.
Dont be afraid to crank it up, and then just vary it with the pedal after. Its better to pound the heat in FAST and get it fully up to temp and then back off (not easy with hand controls).

And so many people focus on the stacked dimes look, but as you seem to already know, it is NOT important at all. Focus on a strong weld first. Then focus on making it look how you want.

Ducman,
have you tried to weld inconel yet? How does it compare to Ti? I have to get some Magnesium filler rod for trying to weld it. But I find aluminium a breeze (easier than thin stainless!).