Attempting aluminum tig.

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I found this site after reading a magazine at school the day after I got certified...in steel welding! And then there was tig class...and aluminum...different breed entirely!A tee-joint not very good...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~...the other side is where the instructor did half, guess which half!We tried many joint configurations, outside corners in the flat position are easy...for me anyway! The teacher did the middle one here...Lap joints are not hard, but "pretty" is very hard! Back to the tee joint and too much heat!~~~~~~~~Another post:-City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Now with this flat position butt joint, the question is, "Can we get full penetration?". This is half mine and half from the professor.And the root side or "other side".OK! I'll try that!I thought I did better until I checked the root...???? Nothin'!One more! And I'll shove more rod this time...What about the back side??...next post...City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:......hmmm...nothin' again.Again! I gotta hold my tongue on the other side!Flip this over and...Dang!Look out project, I'm gonna crack it open this time! Real slow flip......almost...So, yes I got penetration on the root side, but it lacked reenforcement on the front side. How do you build Carnegie Hall? With practice.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Very good.  Would you agree, the outside corner joints are the easiest, and the T-fillet is the toughest?
Reply:Yes. City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Third pic down..The piece in the middle?Thats-a-nice.. I know the teacher did itButClean the Aluminum better..The crap on top in the rest of the pics is plain as day.. There is no such thing as clean enough with Aluminum..Get better...It's the small things that make the BIG diffrence.....zap!Last edited by zapster; 01-09-2008 at 08:25 PM.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:Hey Danny,Just a few words of encouragement. Aluminum is its' own world and you will get better each time you do it. The more practice you do, the easier it will become because all of your mistakes will show the areas you need to improve. AL can be a headache...if you allow it.....I never allow it. When frustration sets in, just simply stop, get a coffee or beer, think of the application at hand, and formulate a possible solution. As I do MIG & TIG on AL on a daily basis, there are times I still reference my trusty notebook to insure the parameters I am engaging are correct. If possible, keep some notes on your successes & failures as a record for future use. Anyway, I hope that helps and keep practicing.....it will come.Good Luck....DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Thanks very much folks! I really only wanted to introduce myself to tig welding.   It is so skill oriented, that I almost dropped the class until I could get a machine of my own to practice with. But after much crying on the shoulder of the good professor,  , I stuck it out and did as much extra credit work as was offered!  They should look dirty Zap, they've been sitting in the locker at school and the car or garage for a couple months now since they were welded!!  I scrubbed my fingers to the bone with a wire brush before welding though, they don't give us acetone at school for safety reasons. Any other cleaning solutions are ok to use but were not provided by by the school, but must come from the teacher or student. I really have zero talent for this, but I'ld love to be able to afford a small machine! **sigh**City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny