First time aluminum TIG

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My boss just bought me a miller diversion 180 I have welded a ton of stainless with it but I finally got my hands on some aluminum wire so I fired it up and have it a shot. I don't think it came out too bad but like I said this is my first time on aluminum. How do y'all think it looks and what else can I do to make it better? Thanks in advance CJSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:Pretty...Fricken...Awesome....
Reply:Well, looks like your time with stainless has paid off.Aluminum has a tendency to grow into your tungsten on each filler add, which I'm sure you've already found.Start welding up lap, corner and T-joints since you have your basic technique done already - then see if you have questions.Have fun Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:Found some 1/8 flat bar laying around decided to clean it up and run a fillet weld. I don't think it came out too bad considering my experience with aluminum. I'm also adding a pic of some stainless I did the other day Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkAttachment 740211Attachment 740221
Reply:Wow!Looks like you have done it all your life.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
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Reply:Looks, good, now you've got to practice on some harder welds .
Reply:Material thickness and amps? Beads look a tad cold to me. I'd also like to see the dips closer together, say at least 2x what you have now. The V shape to the bead says you were running a bit fast. Dipping twice as often probably would have solved that issue. You obviously dipped the tungsten a few times. Looks like you didn't stop to clean and grind.  You can tell by the black smutz at the edge of the cleaning zone. That's a bad habit to get into. When you foul the tungsten, you need to stop, regrind and remove ALL the fouling ( alum really tends to wick up the tungsten more than say steel) as well as reclean the plate before continuing. Overall, not too bad. I'm being a bit picky I'll grant you, but it's best to fix issues right at the start before they become a habit that is harder to break..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Does dipping the tungsten result in the black marks that are on the pics?
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWMaterial thickness and amps? Beads look a tad cold to me. I'd also like to see the dips closer together, say at least 2x what you have now. The V shape to the bead says you were running a bit fast. Dipping twice as often probably would have solved that issue. You obviously dipped the tungsten a few times. Looks like you didn't stop to clean and grind.  You can tell by the black smutz at the edge of the cleaning zone. That's a bad habit to get into. When you foul the tungsten, you need to stop, regrind and remove ALL the fouling ( alum really tends to wick up the tungsten more than say steel) as well as reclean the plate before continuing. Overall, not too bad. I'm being a bit picky I'll grant you, but it's best to fix issues right at the start before they become a habit that is harder to break.
Reply:Originally Posted by rahtreelimbsDoes dipping the tungsten result in the black marks that are on the pics?
Reply:Looks like you wont have any problems, Try adding a bit more Balance to narrow up the HAZ and your there  Miller Dynasty 350Twenty Six HammersThree Crow BarsBig Rock
Reply:Originally Posted by B_CLooks like you wont have any problems, Try adding a bit more Balance to narrow up the HAZ and your there
Reply:Originally Posted by kwaksmacker19See that's the problem this machine only has amperage and an ac or dc setting with a foot pedal Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:That was wide open on the pedal with the machine set at 125(highest setting on 110v) I'm gonna try 220 tomorow and try to pre heat the piece a little that was with no pre heat Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:You won't need preheat with 1/8" material - set it about 150 amps and it'll puddle nice and fast.Have fun - aluminum is nice to tig Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:That explains why it looks cold. You can pretty much rule out doing much alum on 110v power. It just really doesn't have the input power to do much. As Dave mentioned 150 amps is about the minimum for 1/8" alum. I prefer to set the machine higher, usually 180-200 amps to get the puddle going fast. Also I'd be surprised if you actually got that much. IIRC to get full output on 110v power, you need something like a 30 amp 110v circuit from reading the manual.I often see a lot of people talking about "preheat" like it's some magical device that will allow them to boost the output on an under powered machine. Understand the the majority of the strength of alum alloys usually comes from the temper of the alloy. Alum in the annealed state is dead soft and very weak. Some alum alloys loose their temper at temps as low as 300 deg F, others aren't much higher. That's why high amps is so important. Alum is a wonderful heat sink. Try and weld low and slow and all you do is heat up the whole piece. Once heated, you've ruined the temper of the alloy and to get the strength back, you'd need to retemper or heat treat the material again. Alum filler is used to combat this in the welds themselves. The extra alloy ingredients offset the loss of temper in the weld and you try and keep the heat affected zone as small as possible so as not to damage the rest of the piece. "preheat can be useful under the right circumstances, but with alum, it's an advanced technique and you had better know what you are doing unless you want your part made from butter soft alum..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Looks pretty good to me and I'm hard to please.Going from DCEN on stainless to AC on aluminum makes you want to hold a tight arc and that will result in you gagging the tungsten with an aggravating frequency. Fight that urge to hold a close arc and you'll keep that tungsten clean.Two turn tables and a microphone.
Reply:A Diversion 180 is a limited machine. Adjust cleaning action by keeping a very tight arc. You're stuck at 120 cycles per second and 72% balance. In theory you can briefly get 180 amps for just over a minute then it needs to cool almost 9. Your beads look a heck of a lot better than mine did at first with the Diversion. I found with aluminum a bigger machine was needed to improve my welds.
Reply:Thanks guys I appreciate all the comments and help it means a lot to me I'll try some of the stuff y'all have suggested and get back with results as soon as work slows up a little Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk