Precision Tig 225 with Aluminum

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Hey Everyone! I'm fairly new to tig welding and even newer to the aluminum side of tig. I have a PT225 and I've been practicing my aluminum welds, but I'm not sure if I'm using the right tungsten.  Ive been using green and Ive also tried red. For prep; I grind it to a point with my htp tungsten grinder. I noticed with the red that at lower amps it wont ball it will just put this weird crystal looking things off the sides of the point of the tungsten, at higher amps it balls, now with green , it balls very easily, but after welding there seems to be a little bluing on and around the ball and it just doesn't seem to be near as easy to get a puddle started as it is with the red. With the green I also noticed it seems to start harder too.  Should I be using red or green on my type of power source? Most of what I read says green but around here i see a lot of guys say they use the Red.  I'm having a problem when welding fillets and lap joints; the arc seems to want to wander from the puddle with both red and green tungsten. Every once and a while also sometimes seems that the arc is wandering to the filler rod and wants to melt and ball it up. Ive been practicing on 1/8th inch plate and 1x1 1/8" square tubing. its 6061 aluminum and I'm using 3/32 4043 filler and 3/32 tungsten at 130 - 160 amps. I will post some pics later of some practice welds.Any advice would be great.ThanksLincoln Power Mig 256Lincoln AC/DC 225/125Lincoln Precision Tig 225Hypertherm Powermax 45Victor O/A torch
Reply:Pretty sure your Precision Tig  is a Square Wave machine that probably likes Pure Tungsten (Green)  I have the Lincoln Tig 355  Square wave machine and use pure all the time for aluminum.....Inverter machines are not happy with pure and guys use other types of tungsten.....There are good on line videos you can watch to get ideas on how to tig weld go to you tube and type in weld videos and see what you come up with.......No since practicing the wrong ways and picking up bad habits.....their hard to change....  Miller Dynasty 350Twenty Six HammersThree Crow BarsBig Rock
Reply:You can also try Zirconiated. Balls nicely and has a higher amp capacity then pure. I think it's brown, but not sure.
Reply:Here is some pictures of some of my first aluminum attempts: Attached ImagesLincoln Power Mig 256Lincoln AC/DC 225/125Lincoln Precision Tig 225Hypertherm Powermax 45Victor O/A torch
Reply:The second and last pic form the above post is the reverse side to show penetration. Here are some more pics: Attached ImagesLincoln Power Mig 256Lincoln AC/DC 225/125Lincoln Precision Tig 225Hypertherm Powermax 45Victor O/A torch
Reply:from the manual: Attached Images
Reply:You can use pure(green), red (thoriated), gold(lanthinated). ThePure balls easier do to not "binder" for lack of a better word at the moment. It's harder to start a puddle because the arc is not as focused. The  thorium in red band tungsten acts as a "binder" to hold the tungsten together and from blowing apart, this intern makes it harder to ball and also keeps a "more focused" arc. This focuses the heat making it easier to form the puddle. I run an inverter machine and run lanthinated tungsten (gold band) because it hold together better for the type of wave form, which is also variable on my machine.  Your machine should have frequency balance about 50/50, variable to probably+ or - 10%.The arc is going to find the easiest path to follow, in Which case will be the cleanest metal, typically the filler. Don't introduce the filler to the puddle until your ready to add it because the arc will tend to want to jump to it. On a fillet weld you almost have to steer the arc. Starting on one side and maneuvering the torch to jump the arc to the other plate etc. jump it back and forth a couple times to get both sides clean and hot, once you get both sides clean good with the cathodic etching( cleaning action) get a puddle started (typically you bottom side) on one side and dip filler to it and use to arc to wash it to the puddle to the other piece, once you have that bridge formed it will continue down the line. I find a fillet weld will typically take a bit more heat to fuse properly. I watch the front edgeOf the puddle To make sure it is washing into the parent metal. Then dip filler and repeat.I hope this helpsI'm not good at explaining things, it's a lot easier for meTo show someone what I'm trying to explain hereMelt some metal and have fun. Be safe and remember when hanging the torch over your leg welding ac, take you foot off the pedal, it smartsMiller bobcat 225g  - spoolmatic 1Mm250 - 30a spoolMiller spectrum 375Thermal arc 95 Everlast Ex 250As the boiler turns, these are the days of our lives
Reply:Also use a stainless steel toothbrush to clean the are being welded, it will make it easier to work with. Acetone also helps, but not a must.Miller bobcat 225g  - spoolmatic 1Mm250 - 30a spoolMiller spectrum 375Thermal arc 95 Everlast Ex 250As the boiler turns, these are the days of our lives
Reply:Prep, prep, prep. Clean that weld area and brush it with stainless brush. Acetone is one of the more common cleaners people use. Just make sure the cleaner doesn't leave behind a residue of its own. Another thing that can get you contamination is having the heat of the torch ball back the filler while it's out of the argon shield. Then the next time you dip it, it will introduce contamination. For arc wander, make sure you've got a good clean ground. Also, if you aren't already, grind your tungsten lengthwise, so the grinding marks/lines run down the length of the tungsten, not across the point. To be honest, I'd probably ditch the pure tungsten, especially with a newer machine. The bigger/fatter of a ball your tungsten has on it, the less stable it will be at low amperage. Aluminum heats up and dissipates quickly, and on joints like you have, you have to be right on top of it to control the heat. It will build up pretty fast and the puddle will start to widen and wash out. Some good practice for this is to start welding towards the edges of your practice plate. Start in the middle, and weld out to the edge. Try to get really good at keeping a consistent puddle shape as close to that edge as you can. Aluminum actually runs best when you jump on it quick and move fast, but it takes time to get good at controlling the heat and finding your rhythm.Keep practicing, aluminum is fun stuff!
Reply:^^^^^^^ agreedMiller bobcat 225g  - spoolmatic 1Mm250 - 30a spoolMiller spectrum 375Thermal arc 95 Everlast Ex 250As the boiler turns, these are the days of our lives
Reply:astaindsoul5446 thanks for the awesome information and advice; you too Zmechanic!. I will be doing a lot practicing and studying! Zmechanic: To be honest, I'd probably ditch the pure tungsten, especially with a newer machine.
Reply:I like 2% lanthinated, it holds together best I think. Also if you get a gigantic ball on your tungsten, say 1.5 time tungsten diameter you arc is gonna be very unstable on low end, don't be afraid to take her to the grinder and touch it up. I've used pure, thoriated, ceriated, and lanthinated on your style machine and like I said I like lanthinated.Miller bobcat 225g  - spoolmatic 1Mm250 - 30a spoolMiller spectrum 375Thermal arc 95 Everlast Ex 250As the boiler turns, these are the days of our lives
Reply:Originally Posted by astaindsoul5446I like 2% lanthinated, it holds together best I think. Also if you get a gigantic ball on your tungsten, say 1.5 time tungsten diameter you arc is gonna be very unstable on low end, don't be afraid to take her to the grinder and touch it up. I've used pure, thoriated, ceriated, and lanthinated on your style machine and like I said I like lanthinated.
Reply:Originally Posted by ZmechanicPrep, prep, prep. Clean that weld area and brush it with stainless brush. Acetone is one of the more common cleaners people use. Just make sure the cleaner doesn't leave behind a residue of its own. Another thing that can get you contamination is having the heat of the torch ball back the filler while it's out of the argon shield. Then the next time you dip it, it will introduce contamination. For arc wander, make sure you've got a good clean ground. Also, if you aren't already, grind your tungsten lengthwise, so the grinding marks/lines run down the length of the tungsten, not across the point. To be honest, I'd probably ditch the pure tungsten, especially with a newer machine. The bigger/fatter of a ball your tungsten has on it, the less stable it will be at low amperage. Aluminum heats up and dissipates quickly, and on joints like you have, you have to be right on top of it to control the heat. It will build up pretty fast and the puddle will start to widen and wash out. Some good practice for this is to start welding towards the edges of your practice plate. Start in the middle, and weld out to the edge. Try to get really good at keeping a consistent puddle shape as close to that edge as you can. Aluminum actually runs best when you jump on it quick and move fast, but it takes time to get good at controlling the heat and finding your rhythm.Keep practicing, aluminum is fun stuff!
Reply:I can't sleep and have to be up at five and its 20 to 11:00, but any how IWanted to see what became of this thread. Not much as I suspected.'id like to see more pics of progress. Your flats are not far off. But anyways in my ADHDness of things I thought I wouldPost a little more info on frequency balance, be ause it can makeLife really easy if set correctly or a pita if not set correctly. Being you have probably +-10% it's not gonna be. Huge difference but it can. Ac balance is basically thePercentage of the time the DCEN and DCEP stay on. Typically, but not always it is reference to the DCEP side of the ac wave. So say you balance is set on 60% this would mean that the DCEP side of the ac wave is on for 60% of one wave. And DCEN is on for the remaining 40%.So how does this come into play, and how does this crap help or hinder me....Well DCEP(dc electrode positive) is where we get our cleaning action side of the ac. Which is great, some times we have places we can't clean as well as we should, but still gotta weld it. Cathodic etching is the proper terminology of the cleaning, it's that dull area just outside the weld. So if we're trying to weld something "dirty" or "old" etc a high percentage of DCEP will help us. But it produces a lot of heat into the electrode. So the tungsten takes a beating and can actually become so molten that it can blow apart and  cause tungsten inclusion. Also with high percentage of DCEP we loose some penetration properties. This is where DCEN come in. The higher percentage of DCEN the more heat we will transfer into the weld. Creating more penetration.So say instead of 60% DCEP from above we turn it down to 35%.This would mean DCEP woul be on 35% of one wave and DCEN would Be on 65% of the time.So now we have less cleaning and more penetration.Most of us weld on "new" aluminum. So we don't need the cleaning, and to much cathodic etching looks like poo on something's you want to look shinny and stack o dime.So moral of my rant...... Typically ( check your manual)The highe the percent the More DCEP more cleaning, use for older, weathered, dirty, can't get the toothbrush in there stuff.The lower the percentage the more penetration. Used on new, shinny stuff.Good nightMiller bobcat 225g  - spoolmatic 1Mm250 - 30a spoolMiller spectrum 375Thermal arc 95 Everlast Ex 250As the boiler turns, these are the days of our lives
Reply:Your welds don't look that bad as far as heat and wet out, I would concentrate on resting your torch hand on a wood block or comparable to steady your weld bead and make your Dabs more consistent meaning finish with what you started with.....  Miller Dynasty 350Twenty Six HammersThree Crow BarsBig Rock
Reply:astaindsoul5446: I can't sleep and have to be up at five and its 20 to 11:00, but any how IWanted to see what became of this thread. Not much as I suspected.'id like to see more pics of progress
Reply:I use a pt 225 and 2% thoriated does the trick for me. As for lanthanated, havnt tried it yet. Its on my to do list.
Reply:Originally Posted by Malave16I use a pt 225 and 2% thoriated does the trick for me. As for lanthanated, havnt tried it yet. Its on my to do list.
Reply:Originally Posted by welds4dYou can also try Zirconiated. Balls nicely and has a higher amp capacity then pure. I think it's brown, but not sure.