Aluminum TIG butt joint 1/8"?

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A guy I am working with on the weekends is supposed to be an excellent tig welder(never seen him do it. He says he did it in the navy for 12 + years.  Anyways, he suggests that when  I am buttwelding two pieces of 1/8" aluminum together I should be working a "horseshoe" shaped root and adding filller fast and I will get almost the same profile weld on both sides of the joint just welding from one side. Is this true? I can only imagine that if I am getting aluminum that hot that it is going to sag before I get an open root to add filler too.....does this sound correct to anyone? Dave
Reply:I dont know about that..But I just bevel each end on both sides and weld'em.....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:Originally Posted by zapsterI dont know about that..But I just bevel each end on both sides and weld'em.....zap!
Reply:he s talk about using "C" rather than "Z"  or "V" in a weave type motionhope that helps worked with an old naval pipe fitter  yrs ago  he taught me some things
Reply:Originally Posted by prop-doctorhe s talk about using "C" rather than "Z"  or "V" in a weave type motionhope that helps worked with an old naval pipe fitter  yrs ago  he taught me some things
Reply:why would you need a weave with 1/8" aluminium?from the description it sounds (to me anyway) more like he was key-holing the weld or 'pushing' the root in with the filleri've got some Al to weld tomorrow, if i remember i'll run a bead on some scrap and post some pics- cap, root and cross section
Reply:go from top to bottom add filler as you go  using a "C"  or the shape of the horse shoe to fill in between the  upright and the bottom hope that helps sorry no pics carry the puddle an filler  maybe  zap has some pics...... but its kinda what can give the stack dimes look each has their own way to describeLast edited by prop-doctor; 11-26-2007 at 10:15 PM.
Reply:no convenient sized 1/8" offcuts so this is 0.090". same deal but i did this with a square edge, no gap- would have bevelled 1/8 to prevent cooking itno weaving, the torch was moved in a straight line along the joint. the torch is in one of the pics for scale- tungsten is zirconiated, note the ball is no larger than the tungsten diameter. the AC is squarewave (too much hassle to change to sine) but i didn't use any 'fancy' arc shaping- 60Hz, 68% EN. no faffing around with acetone either- straight out the scrap bin and a quick swipe with a SS brushi've purposely included several flaws to illustrate the effects of dawldling/rushing, especially at stop/starts. the DPI pic shows the result of a cold start (similiar cracks can form from craters too). if this were a real part, the crack WOULD grow!caprootDPI- the crack is just visible without it but the DPI makes up my poor photographycross section- for a proper test, sand the cap (and cut edges) smooth and then perform a root bend.
Reply:There's absolutely no need to use the method he described on material that thin, and not only is it extremely difficult to do, but it's even harder to do without a back purge due to the rapid oxide buildup on the backside of the material.  I would just put a slight bevel on your piece and weld as usual.
Reply:Originally Posted by prop-doctorworked with an old naval pipe fitter  yrs ago  he taught me some things
Reply:So #1 in the pic is what its supposed to look like on the back side? thanks
Reply:Originally Posted by SupeThere's absolutely no need to use the method he described on material that thin, and not only is it extremely difficult to do, but it's even harder to do without a back purge due to the rapid oxide buildup on the backside of the material.  I would just put a slight bevel on your piece and weld as usual.
Reply:I think maybe what he was talking about was the "keyhole" method.
Reply:yeah, i did mention that in my first post. i guess we'll never know unless turbo comes back to comment. maybe he's waiting to speak the guy this weekend
Reply:Originally Posted by hotrodderyeah, i did mention that in my first post. i guess we'll never know unless turbo comes back to comment. maybe he's waiting to speak the guy this weekend
Reply:Say I have two pieces of aluminum 1/8" thick butted together with no gap. When I run a TIG butt weld on these two pieces after I cut the metal what should I expect to see as far as penetration ? I had some "great looking welds" that seemed pretty fluent when I made them but upon breaking them you could see that for the most part they sat on the base metal and didn't really penetrate. At one point I got so hot that the puddle was widening. Is aluminum relying on penetration or fusion when welding? Thanks. Dave
Reply:Originally Posted by turbo38tSay I have two pieces of aluminum 1/8" thick butted together with no gap. When I run a TIG butt weld on these two pieces after I cut the metal what should I expect to see as far as penetration ?