Pirate 4x4 banner

Aluminum TIG Critique

874 views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  Coarsegold1 
#1 ·
I've spent three or four hours trying to pickup TIG welding. I'm particularly interested in aluminum. Attached is a sample:



I'd appreciate any suggestions, especially with temperature control (for example the weld on the left went from a "cold" weld to a "melt through" almost instantly.

Thanks!
 
See less See more
1
#4 · (Edited)
Your weld appears to be a red X :D

Your pic isnt showing up for me... - edit - ok.. working now. You are doing pretty good for just starting out. You're going to have to start out hot and adjust your amperage as you go, when you see the puddle getting too wide you need to let up a bit and add filler. Both will help cool the puddle a bit.
Your spacing looks fairly consistent, you really just need to work on your heat input. Keep practicing.
 
#5 ·
Go with a 3/32 tungsten for 1/8" stuff, I use 2% thoriated for steel, and aluminum works fine for both. Doesn't ball up as much as the pure on aluminum. Use 3/32 or 1/16 filler.

The weld on the right it looks like you started real hot then backed off midway thru. weld on the left you did the opposite.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Im betting you did the weld on the left second? It seems you moves right to left and when you started the second piece it was already hot and melted through faster. Are you using a footpedal? If so, learn to finess it. If your using scratch start, get a foot pedal. Its almost required for aluminum in my book.

A 3/32 tungsten will help make a smaller arc (read: puddle) and allow you to use less heat because its more concentrated.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top