First Day Tig Welding Aluminum

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Hello here are some pictures of the first day tig welding.  Took about 45 mins to get what I think are decent looking welds.  I am having trouble with establishing a pool on cold material and burning at the edge on the end.  Do i need to add more filler at the end in order to prevent this? That build up on the edge on this was not from me, spare material from other peoples attempts.Please critique them, and they seemed kind of cold to me, should I be gapping the metal in order to get full penetration?
Reply:also I did not clean the material at all before the weld was completed because I wanted to bang out a bunch of welds to get the hang of Tig welding
Reply:Looks like you got the hang of it, first one looks a little better heat wise, the second looks cold.Good job!
Reply:Some idea what machine, if you have a pedal or not, your settings, filler size etc, would help us give you better feedback. With alum you want lots of amps to get that puddle going fast, then back off quickly so you don't blow thru and continue to back down as you run as the plate heats up.It's possible to tig alum without prep, but because the alum oxide melts at a higher temp than pure alum, it makes it that much harder, especially if you are new and don't have your heat control down yet. By the time the oxide layer melts, the center pure alum is already molten and you usually end up with the bottom drooping too much. I bet if you flip the welds over, you'd see too moch penetration with those.To me the welds look like they were run a tad on the hot side. The bead looks "soft". I'd say you need to work more on your heat control. That control will help with melting off the edge at the beginning and filling that crater at the end. Also you need to practice on consistancy adding filler. The dips look too far apart. Small frequent dips are better than big ones farther apart. All in all not a bad start..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:Ill have to check what the settings were on when I go back into school this week.  This is not a welding school its at Penn State so its just a class to get familiar with the processes but I figured I might as well get as much time as I can under the helmet with a nice machine.  There is a foot pedal and it is a lincoln welder not sure of the size but it is a big industrial unit.  I believe it was set a 100 amps and the thickness of the material was 1/8 inch and I believe the wire used for the passes was 3/32 1100  and 4043
Reply:Won't comment on the welds themselves since others have commented.I will say that "I just wanted to bang out a bunch of welds" is a poor starting procedure.If you don't remember anything else, remember this.  If the weld is worth doing, it's worth doing well.To start off with a bunch of bad habits is just that, BAD.If you're just starting to learn tig welding, I'd recommend you start with mild steel and move to aluminum after you've mastered, puddle control, filler feeding, etc.Also, laying a "bunch of beads" on the same coupon in short order will give you false readings since, after the first bead, the material (coupon) is preheated.Syncro 250 DX Dynasty 200 DXMM 251 w/30A SG XMT 304 w/714 Feeder & Optima PulserHH187Dialarc 250 AC/DCHypertherm PM 1250Smith, Harris, Victor O/ASmith and Thermco Gas MixersAccess to a full fab shop with CNC Plasma, Water Jet, etc.
Reply:100 amps would explain why you had issues getting the puddle to form quickly and why the welds look to hot. For 1/8" alum you want to set the machine to 150 so you can get the puddle to form quickly. Alum is a very good heat sink. If you use less amps to get the puddle started, you heat up the whole plate as the alum sucks heat away from the bead faster than the arc can melt the alum, especially with no cleaning in advance. When the puddle forms there is so much heat in the plate it's very hard to control the puddle. By using more amps at the start, you can quickly form the puddle and then back off quickly on the pedal and just use enough amps from then on to maintain the puddle as you move and not heat the whole plate.If you are not familiar with tig, start with steel rather than alum. With steel heat control is not as critical and you can get a better feel for whats happening with the pedal and see the changes in the material..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:Nothing else to add except to reinforce what has already been said.  But if you want to dive a little deeper into things, consider checking out this thread here.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=51983Have we all gone mad?
Reply:Originally Posted by sn0border88Nothing else to add except to reinforce what has already been said.  But if you want to dive a little deeper into things, consider checking out this thread here.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=51983
Reply:Your doing real good for your first day.......But as mentioned the Tig trade is more than running beads for a bunch of rabid old farts to rip you a new one when you ask to be criticized.......LOLLast edited by B_C; 03-23-2011 at 09:39 PM.  Miller Dynasty 350Twenty Six HammersThree Crow BarsBig Rock
Reply:Just think of how good you will be after thousands of hrs. of this......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 and your eyes are taking a crap and your lungs suck from breathing all the junkit produces and then your company folds or moves out of the area and your faced with a decision of weather to change trades or be a Wal -Mart door  greeter.....Have a good life.......lol  Miller Dynasty 350Twenty Six HammersThree Crow BarsBig Rock
Reply:Originally Posted by B_CYeah and your eyes are taking a crap and your lungs suck from breathing all the junkit produces and then your company folds or moves out of the area and your faced with a decision of weather to change trades or be a Wal -Mart door  greeter.....Have a good life.......lol