Just starting with Aluminum....

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My question is how do you keep Aluminum from warpping???? Or I do something seriously wrong here. I have welded mild steel, nickel and stainless with a tig having no problem. Every time I go to weld AL it warps all over the place
Reply:What thicknesses are we talking about?  Are you using AC or the far less common DC for GTAW aluminum?Tell us everything: machine, alloy, settings, gas, etc; so we don't have to guess if something obvious might be wrong.
Reply:if its warping it must be thin..what are we doing?...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Yeah, tell us more... I've never noticed a problem with aluminum warping. Stainless is the worst, aluminum spreads the heat out so quickly that warping is minimal in most situations.
Reply:Just bought a a month or so ago a Lincoln 185 Tig. Just got to screwing around with it on some maybe 4in by 10in pieces of scrap. The pieces are .125 thick Diamond plating. Gas is 100%Argon. I cleaned the area very well with a scotchbrite pad and Acitone. Any ideas what I am doing wrong?
Reply:What's the problem exactly??
Reply:I am not sure what I am doing wrong. Every have tried welding it warps. Sorry, camera is not the best so the focus is off.This is my first really working with Aluminum so what am I doing wrong here??
Reply:Looks to me like you're using a little too much heat. Although doing a butt joint on 1/8" material will tend to move a little unless you take your time and stagger your welds or clamp it to the table and allow it to cool completely. You might even need a little pre-bending.Be patient with aluminum...don't try to just blast it with a bunch of heat. Take your time with welding it, watch for the shiny puddle (a little hard to see sometimes), then add your filler.It looks like you dipped the tungsten a little bit, too (the black soot). Make sure that you weld with a clean tungsten or else you'll have to put in excess heat to overcome the contamination.What size filler are you using? It looks pretty thick in the pictures.http://all-a-cart.comWelding Cart Kits and accessories
Reply:in all reality its warping because you need to clamp it down first of all...dont give it a chance to move.. tack it in 2" spaces from the middle out and keep'em small..then run your bead...dont try to run from a to b without tacks along the way...i dont see any or evidence of them in the pics.......zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:I'll bet that exact same size/shape of weldment would warp with that procedure in steel, too.  It's the fact that you are practicing on small scraps that aren't clamped or boxed that's causing your problem, not the fact that it's aluminum, IMO.
Reply:Originally Posted by MAC702I'll bet that exact same size/shape of weldment would warp with that procedure in steel, too.  It's the fact that you are practicing on small scraps that aren't clamped or boxed that's causing your problem, not the fact that it's aluminum, IMO.
Reply:That looks weird to me. If I butt weld two pieces together like that, withou taking any precautions against warping, the piece will end up 'V' shaped. I don't understand how you made it bend like that.
Reply:You would have had a V if you hadn't clamped it to the table. That and the 110% penetration kept this from pulling in that direction. You certainly had alot of heat, keep your bead small. .125 is thin and will weld as fast as you can move the torch so finess is the key here. Have fun.Bill
Reply:Am I using to large of a rod for this or what should my setting be? I am running at 145 max output with the 3/32 torch rod. Maybe to much?
Reply:I would try 1/16" filler.http://all-a-cart.comWelding Cart Kits and accessories
Reply:Someone had told me once a while ago that the filler and the electrode should be about 1/2 what you are trying to weld. Any truth to this? would there be any quick tips for the amps?
Reply:I use 3/32 rod on this stuff and a 1/8 tungsten. I run about 160-170 amps max. On .125 you won't need that much power though. Bill
Reply:I can't add a whole lot because I'm fairly new at tig also but our instructor told us to convert the thickness of the medal to a decimal and that is about how many amps to start with - no matter if we're working on steel, stainless, or aluminum.   e.g. on 1/8 material (.125"), we are told to start at 125 amps and tweak from there.  1/16 material = 60-65 amps, etc.  It has worked alright for me so far.....
Reply:i use 3/32 tung (red) and 1/16 filler mostly, and  do use some 3/32 filler for  the thicker work i domy welder  (idealacr 250) set on med heat range(30-125)then adjust (0-10) bout 4-5 or higher if neededa lot of boat repair (.90) bout 1/8