just how bad is dipping the tungsten?

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so, I'm doing a bit of fillet welding on some alumium.  generally 6061.  this particulat time, maybe 3000.    and 4043 or 5356 fillers.I use ceriated tungsten all the time.  (just because it's not radioactive. -I believe)  and I grind them in my basement.my welder is a TA185 inverter.I'm pretty bad about the occasional dip or hitting the tungsten with the filler wire.  but unless I ball it up bad I typically just move along.   sometimes I can even shake the molten AL off with a quick flick while it's hot.is what I'm doing "Horrible"?  do I really need to grind out every time?how about the fact taht I almost always use 3/32 tungsten.  and occasionally I over heat it and it turns purple and spikey.   asside from poor arc shape, is this really bad?how about with steel and er70s2?  what If I dip that?  is that ok or real bad?  do I really need to Grind or can I just sharpen and continue?-im an occasional welder.  if critical joint I am more picky.  but typically the stuf I weld is not critical.
Reply:For non-critical welds, no problem. You obviously would not pass an X-ray, but to say I never keep rolling when welding would be a lie. If I just haze the tip, and the weld puddle is not affected, I will often carry that weld until I hit a good place to stop. Go back, check for a dunk spot. If I find one, I will grind it out and re-do it. I will change tungsten, but not fanatically for non critical stuff. For real apperance critical welds, and critical structural welds, I am more militant about cleaning, grinding out, keeping clean tungsten in the torch and spares, etc. But to stick some metal to metal, for the sake of not wanting to use a nut and bolt?? I work with it if it works.And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:Hello dsergison, for the most part a couple of things may come into play here. If the work is "non-critical" and I stress that, you will likely not suffer catastrophic results from dipping the tungsten into the puddle or hitting it with the filler and contaminating it. What will happen is the contaminated tungsten will now have an additional resistance added to it and will require more amperage from the power source to do it's job. It will also likely cause control and consistency issues with your weld bead. If the work is of a more critical nature, it could cause discontinuities in the weld deposit that might lead to cracking in some instances and possible types of corrosion issues in others. Craftsmanship might be considered an additional item on this topic. When you are welding on the aluminum and you dip or strike the tungsten you generally end up with a rather large sooted area around the point of impact and you may also see flecks of dark materials deposited on and around the bead, this condition may continue for varying distances along the joint depending upon how bad the contamination is, thus the aesthetics of the work are compromised. Just a few things to consider, others will likely have additional items to include. Best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:It is a cardinal sin.I admit, I am a sinner!MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:DITTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ITS A NO NO! I do it too. We all do it. Use your own judment. Alum is bad about really screwing up your bead when you dip it.Weldandpower 225Heliarc Rig for itTorchesect ect ectLifes Short WELD NAKEDLooking for a SA200
Reply:when i took my aircraft certs ( AL, SS, CR-MO) they told me to scrap a test piece the moment i dipped or hit my tungsten. for that job i followed those guidelines for all production parts. in reality i stop when i feel like it is causing problems with my arc control. sometimes you can dip and your tungsten stays sharp other times it goes all to hell, experience tells you when you need to change and when to keep going. although using 1 size smaller tungsten can let you cheat
Reply:thank you all for weighing in.   very glad to hear that it's not "certian death" to a joint to dip.  that you always have to grind down to parent metal to get rig of littel tungsten bits that will pollute the bead.  etc...(I do realize if it were X-ray quality weld, that I would.)I'm not the worst welder ever, but I have my days where I do a fair amount of dipping. I dont weld any one thing often enough to get particularly proficient.  and it's usually done in some funny position.  and typically not quite clean as it ought to be.