Welded up my first piece. Catch can

[Gamble97]

After practicing a lot I finally decided to try and build something. I tried a catch can awhile ago and it didn't go so well, but now I finished something. All self taught and never had help. Looking to take a class soon though.
First aluminum project I finished. Yes it has a baffle in side.
All done with a miller diversion 180, around 10cfh, #8 gas lens, 3/32 red tungsten and all 6061 .044 aluminum. 4043 1/16th filler. I gave it to a friend and told him to figure out where he wants it and I'll make a bracket for him. The sides I made first in an L shape. 2 of them, welded those together and did the top/bottom last. The top/bottom was a pain in the ass. I kept getting holes I had to keep chasing. What's a good way to pressure test it? How much pressure would a catch can see anyway?
Any tips/tricks/help is appreciated. I have only had my miller for a few short months. Prior to that I had a harbor freight tig, with no foot pedal, dc only.

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Can #2

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I want to build a overflow tank next. I'm still terrible at doing something some that is different thickness so I'm going to hold off on doing round bungs for now. Or until I can find them for cheap. If anyone knows a place let me know please.

 

[bastarddsm]

Your welds are coming along pretty good. You have some nice looking sections. I have the same problem, with having to stop and not being consistant for the full weld. When I get a lump or unpretty weld, I'll usually "gloss" it over with the torch and little current. Sometimes push the excess metal around and smooth it out some.

If your carefull, you can clamp the aluminum between a couple pieces of angle, and bend it. It will save you a lot of welds if your careful.

The thick to thin stuff isn't that bad. Just try and concentrate the heat into the thickpart. Buy some 1/2" rod and practice welding some of the 0.044" stuff to it.

I welded this elbow on my new HY35 a few weeks ago when I was home for break, I was pretty happy with it for not touching the tig for months.

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[ChiTownHussla]

Both very nice.

 

[Gamble97]

Your welds are coming along pretty good. You have some nice looking sections. I have the same problem, with having to stop and not being consistant for the full weld. When I get a lump or unpretty weld, I'll usually "gloss" it over with the torch and little current. Sometimes push the excess metal around and smooth it out some.

If your carefull, you can clamp the aluminum between a couple pieces of angle, and bend it. It will save you a lot of welds if your careful.

The thick to thin stuff isn't that bad. Just try and concentrate the heat into the thickpart. Buy some 1/2" rod and practice welding some of the 0.044" stuff to it.

I welded this elbow on my new HY35 a few weeks ago when I was home for break, I was pretty happy with it for not touching the tig for months.

Kurt that is exactly what I did was use the torch to go over a few spots to make them not as lumpy. I'm sure it's not good practice but whatever for now.
Elbow came out nice, how many amps did that take?

Both very nice.

Thanks. I want to try a few harder designs next. One that requires bending the aluminum to look similar to the stock 2g coolant tank. I need a few other ideas of things to make so I can get more practice in.

 

[bastarddsm]

Kurt that is exactly what I did was use the torch to go over a few spots to make them not as lumpy. I'm sure it's not good practice but whatever for now.
Elbow came out nice, how many amps did that take?

I use an old miller econotig, and you can't set the amperage. The pedal does the whole deal 0-150 amps. I was in the lower range, so I'd say less than 75.

 

[icancruz]

I know that you may want to eventually leave the welds untouched on a part you fab, but until you get those flat, even welds that look so sweet, you should take a sanding/flapper disc to those welds to smooth them out. Any low spots could then be re-leveled with a little more weld, and sanded flush again to get nice rounded corners. Props on diving in and doing it, I personally think that's the best way. Keep up the good work

 

[Bud92gsx]

OP I would definatly get in some more practice on your tig skills..

Some patches do look nice..So you are getting the hang of it..But tigging is something that takes practice, and screwing up alot to master...Just like anything else in life..Learn from your mistakes..

I would come down tho wherever in illinois you are and try helping you..But I think you know what your doing, you just need more practice..Also when tigging, make sure you feel comfertable..



BastardDsm..I love the enginuity on the grinding the cover...Good thinking there..For tigging on an old non adjustable machine..You sure didn't forget how to ride a bike..l

 

[bastarddsm]

OP I would definatly get in some more practice on your tig skills..

Some patches do look nice..So you are getting the hang of it..But tigging is something that takes practice, and screwing up alot to master...Just like anything else in life..Learn from your mistakes..

I would come down tho wherever in illinois you are and try helping you..But I think you know what your doing, you just need more practice..Also when tigging, make sure you feel comfertable..



BastardDsm..I love the enginuity on the grinding the cover...Good thinking there..For tigging on an old non adjustable machine..You sure didn't forget how to ride a bike..l

Forget how to ride? hah, I havn't even taken the training wheels off. This is like only the 5th piece I've ever welded in Aluminum. You can see more examples of my work in my build thread.


Gamble, like the one guy said, you could grind is smooth and use the torch to put some "nickles" back in it. I've done similar stuff on stainless that I've done a less than thrilling weld on.

 

[92awdgsx]

You need to get rid of the Thoriated tungsten(red). Get yourself some green or orange. I use orange, its expensive but worth it. It doesn't ball up as much and lasts longer. For .044" thick material, you should try 1/16" tungsten. It works much better. Are you using a foot pedal or hand controls?

 

[nightmares GS-T]

2% lanthanated also works excellent with aluminum. The color band on it is blue. Its also non radio active. The green (pure tungsten) IMHO is shit but to each his own. Obviously everyone will have their own preferences.

 

[Gamble97]

You need to get rid of the Thoriated tungsten(red). Get yourself some green or orange. I use orange, its expensive but worth it. It doesn't ball up as much and lasts longer. For .044" thick material, you should try 1/16" tungsten. It works much better. Are you using a foot pedal or hand controls?

I can't tell the difference between the red and orange. They both weld the same..to me, but then again I'm new to all this. What are your thoughts?
1/16th on .063 too?
I'm using a inverter machine the miller diversion 180 so the tungsten doesn't ball up at all. Just stays sharp to a point still.

2% lanthanated also works excellent with aluminum. The color band on it is blue. Its also non radio active. The green (pure tungsten) IMHO is shit but to each his own. Obviously everyone will have their own preferences.

I never tried blue. I have to agree with you, I tried a few green tungstens and hated it. Plus they seem really brittle and break really easy.

 

[92awdgsx]

I don't like green either, but it is meant for aluminum. The 2% thoriated(red) is not one you should be using for aluminum. It gives a really dirty shitty weld. The orange gives a nicer cleaner weld and lasts for awhile. I never tried the blue. Do you know the proper way to grind your tungsten?


This will give you an idea.
Tungsten sharpening - YouTube


I would probably use 1/16" tungsten on .063" thickness. It all depends on what I'm welding.

 

[Imback]

You never sharpen a tungsten with it pointing up. You sharpen it pointing down in case if it get's caught on the stone it will fly into the cover of the grinder vs's it flying towards your face.

 

[absolute_DSM]

You never sharpen a tungsten with it pointing up. You sharpen it pointing down in case if it get's caught on the stone it will fly into the cover of the grinder vs's it flying towards your face.

Agreed. Im calling OSHA.


OP, when you're working with a line like that longer than a few inches, you need to make sure you have room to work. You cant just rotate your wrist to follow the line, you may find it easier to keep a light hand and slide it along the table while working the pedal. That makes a straight line a LOT easier.

Some people try to rush TIG but you can go slower with less heat and have a lot more control until youre comfortable.

Also, did you drill the holes after welding it? If thats sealed, the reason it was blowing out is because hot air expands and it had no where to go but out your weld. Next time drill the holes first.

All in all, get in there and keep going, welding is ALL practice and some research to keep you on the right path.

 

[nightmares GS-T]

Proper grinding of the electrode is crucial. Use the hardest stone available to grind it that way your not contaminating the electrode with pieces of the wheel. Also note that the final finish will affect performance. You want to strive for a shiny smooth tip. As for the direction its commonly accepted that you grind against the rotation like the video above shows. I've never tried any other direction so I wont say which is better.

 

[Bo0sTdTsI]

Pretty nice welds better than what I did when I first did aluminum, I agree thoriated wors at times as I used it balling the tip of the tungsten on dc+ then I go back to ac and weld. Something like that I run around 130amps t getthe puddle started then back out on the pedal and continue welding. That was on. Lincoln welder but kinda similar to some millers I've used. A bench grinder would be better to sharpen your tungsten. Tig is pretty straightforward once you understand the puddle some. Torch angle has a lot to do with how th welds look to, and your penetration and tie in on the plates.

 

[turboglenn]

the note about getting rid of the thoriated well, that's old rules for old equipment though he has an inverter machine (diversion - nice starter TIG for sure), so you must remember that. transformer machines with high frequency boxes added on didn't like thoriated, you had to use lanth or other mixes. ON the new inverter machines you can weld EVERYTHING With 2% thoriated and it comes out beautfull, because you don't have to end up "balling" the tungsten or anything and instead of just the 60hz that comes out of the wall you have adjustments from 20 to 250hz (at least i do on my MIller Dynasty TIG and most other inverter based machines are similar)

I still have a place inmy heart for old synchrowaves, but give me a dynasty that can do the same penetration as 250 amps of rtansformer power except i can carry it with one hand and i'm happy

Now about your holes in the top and bottom of the can.. were these where you were "sealing up" the piece, and /or making it air tight before anyholes were drilled in the peices for fittings? If so that's why, you have to have a relief hole in any structure you intend to weld up that will have a pocket of air in it, then plug the hole later with a set screw or other should it need to be air-tight. the reason is you're heatingthe air inside as you weld and it's expanding and blowing outward from the inside and when you get to the last little part it will always leave a hole unless you are good enough to super heat it, then come back and cold weld over the last bit with less heat butstill enough to penetrate (not recomended though)

also, when it comes to dressing a weld (grinding on it for "purdy") aluminum is a material where this is a big no-no. On most materials like steel and variations of it (most ferrous metals anyway) you can do some dressing because the weld is the strongest part of the structure and it's weakest outside the weld bead in the immediate heat affected zone or HAZ (and that's where you don't want to touch it with aything to sand/grind on it) and when weld tested for strength it has to break in this zone to pass in most cases..

But with aluminum the weakest part of a welded structure is the bead it's self and right in the iddle of the bead is where it almost always breaks when tested and it should actually for most cases of testing to certify for a job site or particular application.

I love welding one of my favorite hobbies, I remember starting off with small 2x2x4" catch cans just like those, i sheared off enough sheet to make 100 of em at least and i sat there and made as many as i could untill i looked back and was emarrassed of the first 50 or so and tossed em out or used them in the shop as props, paper weights etc.. one thing making all those cans did was get my technique for edge starting and welded 90* corners up to snuff on thin aluminum.

Another note for ya, the "stacked dimes" is a nice look, but not really an indicator of a "good weld" the weld quality comes from the heat, gas coverage and many other things where the stacked dimes is just learning to pause-go. pause go and put in the same amount of filler each time,, learn to make a quality weld and have the stacked dimes look and you're big pimpin (i have to warm up before any "reaL" project work so i can get my aluminum beads nice and even for that day/material/enviroment as aluminum is picky and TIG in general is as well and every enviromental variable can effect how your weld lays down

 

[hypergenesis]

Thats a really good job for being self taught and what not.

Whats next a SMIM? haha

 

[Gamble97]

Lots of good info I wil post more when I am off my phone. Also I put the holes for the barb fittings in before the top went on. Keep the tips coming I will do more welding today

 

[turboglenn]

I;ll add to bastarddsm's talk about thick to thin parts welding. Use the normal rule of 1amp per .001" material thickness (so 125 amps for 1/8th inch material is an example) what you want to dois set the amperage to the material thickness of the thinnner piece and as he said concentrate the point of the tungsten to the thicker part and keep it there longer , you'll be weavingback and forth with a "duty cycle" so to speak of say 75/25 75% of the time you're pointing at the thick material and spreading filler/puddling it, then the other 25% of the time you're rocking the point up at the thin material and blendingthe metal/filler into it, but since it's thinner you need to spend less time on it and get back to the thick stuff (hence the 75/25 cycle)

I got good at welding razor blades to 1/2" thick steel plates with them standing on their sharp edge welded to the plate.. I also started on the classic coke cans/beer cans but to but welded, that ones tricky and you need to play with your start settings or be really skilled in moving heat around. But all either of these skills prove is that you spent time learning to weld useless items for novelty reasons and almost never incur this type of weld in the real worls (unless you're welding sheet aluminum foil edge to edge fora living in some laboratory)

what settings are you using on the diversion and what thickness isthe catch can material???

 

[Gamble97]

Material is 0.044 and I use 60amps.

 

[Bud92gsx]

I got good at welding razor blades to 1/2" thick steel plates with them standing on their sharp edge welded to the plate.. I also started on the classic coke cans/beer cans but to but welded, that ones tricky and you need to play with your start settings or be really skilled in moving heat around.

Razor blades and cans...Impressive..


Do you also shoot peas at ten paces with a pistol?Or perhapps matches or ear swab thingies..

 

[Gamble97]

I am making another one and got it all lined up and turned up the gas to 20cfh and 63amps. I sprayed the joint with acetone and used a wire brush. When I started the arc I got black smudge. Does that mean it's not clean enough?
Didn't hardly happen at all on my other 2 tanks.
I made an L shape to start off and it turned out ok. I also had a scrap piece of aluminum that is about .080-.100 (not exactly sure) and I welded that on the inside for a baffle to try welding something thick to thin and it turned out well. I also welded two small sections on the inside of the L to try that joint and it turned out good too. I swear it seems aluminum is easier for me than steel.

Say I want to make a catch can that is round, should I just use intercooler piping? Seems a straight 12" section is $20 shipped. I don't remember piping being that much. I also want to try and do a can in mild steel. Where should I get that material from?

Guys I found a century 155gs mig welder with a empty 40cf tank for $250. What do you think? I do miss my mig welder but I know with the place I get my gas from I can only get a 75/25 (they don't do custom mixes) so will I be wasting money with just being able to use flux core and welding mild steel?
Seems when I don't have it I need it, but when I have it I never really needed it.

I need more ideas on what to build. What can I build with the mig? Maybe get some aluminum wire for it (thicker stuff that doesn't ball up and doesn't need a spool gun) and try doing valve cover fittings?

 

[Gamble97]

Got a new toy today

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[Gamble97]

The first thing I welded last night came out good the rest not so good, but here are the pics. I used the harbor freight brake press and it came out ok. Not perfectly square but that is fine.

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Wanna know why your fabricator/welder charges so much for intercooler piping? Because welding all this china shit SUCKS and is not easy. All this showed up yesterday and was BRAND new in the packing, cleaned with acetone and wire brush.

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Not happy with this but it's practice. I have plenty more to practice with.