1G Welding aluminum....

[Archer Fabrications]

I figured out my problem, ive noticed that when my stickout is to high and my torch angle is >90 deg I have problems. When I decreased stickout and kept the torque relatively vertical my problems went away.

With aluminum you want minimum stick out and a small cup not too much gas either caise itll create a vac and suck oxygen into the weld zone.

 

[92AWDHX40]

Great thread lots of good information.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

I am sorry for being off topic cause its not aluminum, but can you talented guys make these reasonable?
I'm pretty sure the damand is there....I volunteer to be the test subject .

 

[RipperXX]

There's spots around the flange where you see the weld doesn't taper and run in smooth with the pipe it comes to a more abrupt stop and there's a rolled edge. To cold, needed more heat.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Oh yeah....its cheap shhitt. But thanks in case I didn't know. Need good SS replacements.

 

[kmetiuk]

Whats going on with the comp housing in the background? Obvs practicing/setting up on it but damn she scorched. Hahaha

 

[SasaniFab]

I am sorry for being off topic cause its not aluminum, but can you talented guys make these reasonable?
I'm pretty sure the damand is there....I volunteer to be the test subject .

I just finished one for a customer, I give alot of credit selling these o2 housing in the 300 dollar range. Its alot of work building them correctly. I had a jmfab, but i modified it for exit by the tire so instead of chopping it I just built a new one out of stainless

 

[SasaniFab]

Whats going on with the comp housing in the background? Obvs practicing/setting up on it but damn she scorched. Hahaha

You got it, before I figured out what the hell i was doing wrong. It was literally stickout and torch angle. That is all. Welding aluminum is cake walk now. Welding can be very frustrating....your problems always end up being something very stupid. Watching expensive al fitting turn into blackened dog shit makes you want to

 

[illestep3]

i wish i was better at welding i miss tig welding cast one day ill get back at it again

 

[EeRiCkK29]

In regards to stickout, you can pull your tungsten way out to fill big gaps or getting in tight spots. Helpful with tubing. It's pretty easy to pick up trash on your tungsten like this, or stick your electrode in your puddle. That will make your weld black real quick. As far as pointed or balled up tips I've stacked dimes with both. Your machine and tungsten will pretty much govern that. One other thing I'd like to add is weld puddles blowing out. I run into this at work from time to time. Occasionally when I've got alot of heat trapped in an object while sealing it shut with a weld... my puddle just goes to hell on me near the end of my weld. Drilling a small hole in your material can help expell the trapped gasses and heat. I tend to fly by the seat of my pants at work so when I get these little anomalies I whip my electrode away from my puddle then back in while jamming filler rod into this little blow out. I've welded dirty aluminum, had gas flow problems, and a good deal of torch malfunctions. Just pay attention to your puddle and listen to your machine.

 

[SasaniFab]

The first four pics are from last night. The last pic was welded about a year ago. Its amazing what a little practice can do

 

[bastarddsm]

Looks like your getting a little catering - need to ramp out of current slower, and try to get a last drop of filler in there. Good improvements though.

Last thing early in the post lots of argument on tungsten type....there are no rules, use what's besymt for you. I like red on inverter machines, for everything, and I use green or even white on my transformer machine for ac. I've even welded aluminum with a $100 110v inverter arc welder on dcep - scratch start! Had to use 5/32 red tungsten for that!

The lws is pushing that E3 tungsten around here, "it works better than red" BS! It sucks, it's just the radioactivity of red so they are trying to get away from it.

 

[bastarddsm]

Looks like your getting a little cratering - need to ramp out of current slower, and try to get a last drop of filler in there. Good improvements though.

Last thing early in the post lots of argument on tungsten type....there are no rules, use what worjs best for you. I like red on inverter machines, for everything, and I use green or even white on my transformer machine for ac. I've even welded aluminum with a $100 110v inverter arc welder on dcep - scratch start! Had to use 5/32 red tungsten for that!

The lws is pushing that E3 tungsten around here, "it works better than red" BS! It sucks, it's just the radioactivity of red so they are trying to get away from it.

 

[SasaniFab]

Looks like your getting a little catering - need to ramp out of current slower, and try to get a last drop of filler in there. Good improvements though.

Last thing early in the post lots of argument on tungsten type....there are no rules, use what's besymt for you. I like red on inverter machines, for everything, and I use green or even white on my transformer machine for ac. I've even welded aluminum with a $100 110v inverter arc welder on dcep - scratch start! Had to use 5/32 red tungsten for that!

The lws is pushing that E3 tungsten around here, "it works better than red" BS! It sucks, it's just the radioactivity of red so they are trying to get away from it.

I was just running practice beads, I normally pedal out slowly. Im using a gas lense with number 7 cup.... I dont use red anymore for obvious reasons. Ny biggest thing is penetration, I find that even when the weld looks good I still get 1 tiny pinhole leak i chase. It can be frustrating.